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After a rebound in travel this summer, people are once again canceling travel plans due to the growing number of Covid case. In a recent poll, 27% of those polled said they had postponed a trip and over 54% said the Delta variant made them less interested in traveling right now.
It’s an act of emotional balancing that a lot of people struggle with right now. On the one hand, we’re desperate to reconnect with friends we haven’t seen in person in ages for a big event. However, the pandemic is raging again.
Houston’s Cotton Starr on Wednesday expected to see his friends in San Diego for the first time – in a long time.
Kim Hoff, outside of Denver, is waiting even longer – she plans to meet her friends at Dragon Con – a pop culture convention in Atlanta next month.
Both have canceled their long-awaited trips due to the spread of the Delta variant.
“It was really heartbreaking not being able to finally go,” Starr said.
“It’s been about two years now since I got to see them,” Hoff said. “When rates have skyrocketed over the last week or so, I thought, ‘No, I’m sorry, there’s no level of logistics that will make me feel good if I bring this back with me. “”
The highly transmissible strain of COVID accounts for most of the new cases, which have skyrocketed across the country in the past two months.
“It wasn’t just the rates in Atlanta. The rates are getting worse here in Colorado,” Hoff said. “And who knows how many people you’re going to run into at the airport.”
Hopper travel app economist Adit Damodaran says demand for summer flights has stabilized from pandemic highs, leading to lower prices.
“Air fares are going down,” Damodaran said.
But its service has noted – since July – that one aspect of the journey is on the rise. There has been a 33% increase in the number of people purchasing cancellable tickets.
“People want to have this option to cancel if for some reason, you know, something happens, the situation turns out in a way that they can’t take that trip,” Damodaran said.
Other potential pitfalls for passengers are the increase in airline cancellations. In June and July, domestic flight cancellations were above their average 1%, resulting in 10,000 cancellations in July alone.
Spirit, American and other carriers suffer from understaffing, bad weather, and other issues, leaving people like Starr worried. To help her manage her lupus, she takes immunosuppressants.
“I’m a high risk category,” Starr said. “So I was a little concerned about what was going to happen on this trip. I was going to be exposed to a lot of people, a lot of angry people on planes didn’t really want to get involved with that.”
The worst-case scenario made him cancel his plans.
“Our hospitals are filling up so fast and we are one of the largest medical centers in the country,” Starr said. “I don’t know if there will be room if I have to go eventually.”
Hoff’s sick grandfather caused her to change her mind.
“I remembered that I might need to take a short-term trip to see it,” Hoff said. “And if I’m taking the risk for anything, you know, it should be the family.”
Cotton didn’t buy a cancellable ticket, but Southwest is giving him credit for his next flight. Hoff has purchased travel insurance and will be reimbursed through them.
For all of the people who cancel their plans, a significant number are still considering sticking with their trips. 26% of people say they plan to travel in October, according to a recent poll.
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