Nightmare at 36,000 feet? The ballad of the COVID Cowboys. Will 2022 be the year of travel recovery?

For the week of February 21, 2022:

Nightmare at 36,000 feet?

As the "unruly passenger" pandemic continues (there were several last week ), I'm sure you all read about an American Airlines flight 1775 on its way from Los Angeles to the Nation's Capitol, which had to divert to Kansas City because a passenger tried to open the outer cabin door.

What you may not have read was how absolutely bonkers this episode of "unruly passengering" was.

This incident started (apparently) because the passenger, later identified as Juan Remberto Rivas, believed everyone around him was "out to get him" and he thought he should be immediately upgraded to first-class.

To accommodate Rivas, the flight crew moved him to another seat (not first-class which was full), but that didn't placate Rivas.

According to the criminal affidavit filed in the case (see we read more than just the wires), Rivas menaced passengers, threatened the flight crew, tried to break a champagne bottle and turn it into a weapon, tried to hide the plastic silverware like a "shank," assaulted several flight attendants, and then tried to open the door on the main cabin.

When Rivas tried to open the cabin door, that's when the passengers, the flight crew, and an off-duty pilot, tried to stop Rivas. During the fight, a flight attendant brained the guy with a coffee pot. Rivas fell to the floor and several passengers and flight crew hog-tied him with duct tape and zip ties.

The Captain (or PIC if you must) radioed the emergency and landed the airplane in Kansas City after Rivas was subdued; hog-tied like a steer at the county fair. Even that didn't placate Rivas, who apparently demanded that "someone put a bullet in my brain."

Guess there's no pleasing some people.

Upon landing, Rivas was taken into custody and has been charged with one count of interfering with a flight attendant (a felony ). If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison and significant fines.

As of Feb. 15, there have been 499 unruly passenger incidents  reported this year to the Federal Aviation Administration.

That's 11 incidents a day for those of you who aren't human calculators.

The ballad of the COVID cowboys: Texas sues the CDC

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, are suing the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Health and Human Services, to end the federal mask mandates on aircraft.

The lawsuit , filed last Wednesday, argues that the mandate imposes a “restriction on travelers’ liberty interests” and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not have the authority to introduce such a blanket preventive measure.

I went on record last week , for the New York Post, and said I thought it would be unlikely that the "mandate" survives into the summer. My observation apparently shocked the Post editorial staff (which I didn't think was possible). It wasn't based on some epidemiological analysis or some grand insight into the virus - but rather my time in politics as an advisor and a policy analyst. Put simply, everyone's had enough and we've decided, literally *, death be damned. (* of course, we mean figuratively in this sentence, but literally, in terms of the fact there remain literally thousands of people dying every week of COVID.)

Let's take a quick look at just some of the things happening.

The Super Bowl was largely mask-free . Tyson Foods announced last Tuesday that it will end mask requirements for vaccinated employees at some of its facilities. Fully vaccinated Amazon and Walmart workers are no longer required to wear masks unless mandated by local authorities. Microsoft and Meta are bringing employees back to the office. And the Coachella and Stagecoach music festivals won't require attendees to show proof of vaccination or a negative test for the coronavirus or to wear a mask. New York State and County are ending their mask mandates. DC is going to drop its mask mandate. Even California is ending its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people.

In short, it appears mask mandates are about to unceremoniously fall faster than the Berlin Wall at the end of the Cold War.

Only time will tell.

And now.... this...

So... while researching the last story... obviously, not everyone agrees. I was reminded of "Point/Counter-point" on SNL.

Bryan you ignorant slut.

TAP Air Portugal CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener expects that airplane mask mandates could be a forever thing. Beyond masks, Ourmières-Widener said other protocols like more stringent aircraft cleaning and vaccine mandates could all remain in place.

"We are still very cautious," she said. "The pandemic is about to be gone. The recovery will take time."

But Ourmières-Widener added that she would like to see global protocols in place.

"We are just pushing to have one voice, one protocol that could be accepted," she said.

So... there's that.

I'm back Baby!

Travel agents, hotel operators, and restaurateurs say they’ve seen dramatic spikes in demand in the past week, following a drop of more than 40 percent in daily U.S. coronavirus cases and spates of warmer weather in some parts of the country. (This according to an article in the Washington Post last week .)

I'll tell you this much - I've seen prices double in the past three weeks for my flight tickets. I've also seen a spike in the prices of hotel rooms - both excursion and business.

As an economist, I can tell you that there's a fair amount of data suggesting that demand across the board is surging. So what companies, hotels, airlines, travel agents, and others are feeling is the beginning of a massive run in spending. This of course comes at a time when the Fed is desperately trying to untie the "Gordian knot."

Before we get out the champagne, let's remember we've been here before.

We're one Greek letter away from everyone freaking out.

Forgive me if I'm reserved in my celebrations, but it seems encouraging doesn't it.

And finally...

I want to thank every one of you who read this, and who subscribed to get it weekly. "The View from 30,000 Feet" had over a thousand people join and subscribe in the first week of publication.

Not to go all "Sally Field," on you - but apparently, you really really do like me .

Rebecca, my social media consultant, confessed she was ready to call her family and friends and tell them to subscribe and chat up the newsletter. (I hate to say it - that's a common ploy in advertising, especially around content marketing, to have an audience of "shills" make the client think everything is going swimmingly. I've never done it, but we know it happens.)

Thankfully, she didn't need to get "Grandma" to give me kudos.

If you could share this with someone in aviation - then I might not ever have to call on Rebecca's Grandma for personal reassurance and mental growth.

(Hint - that means I'd like you to share the newsletter.)

I hope we continue to entertain you with our irreverent wit and commentary. That's our goal.

About "The View from 30,000 Feet":

"The View from 30,000 Feet" is a weekly newsletter distributed on LinkedIn that covers news stories we think you might have missed about aviation, aerospace, and travel. It is produced by The Aviation Agency , an advertising agency that focuses exclusively on aviation, aerospace, and defense clients.

The views expressed in the newsletter are those of the Executive Editor (Bryan Del Monte) and are based on reports found across the Internet and from sources we think are reliable. If you have an idea or a contribution, feel free to write to stories@theaviationagency.com . If you're a media source and you'd like our thoughts for a story, reach out .

As always, thanks for reading.