United Airlines will become the first US airline to offer pre-flight rapid COVID testing starting October 15th.
In this article
United to Trial Pre-flight COVID-19 Tests in San Francisco
It will initially roll out at just one airport in San Francisco (SFO) and only for passengers traveling to Hawaii. If the program is successful, they would like to expand the program and cite New York, LA, and Chicago as the next probably expansions.
Hawaii Reopens – COVID Tests Avoid Quarantine
Hawaii reopens to tourism on October 15th, with a change that will allow tourists to avoid a mandatory (and truly enforced!) 14 day quarantine with a negative COVID test within 72 hours of arrival in Hawaii.
These rapid tests will fulfill that requirement. They will cost $250 if administered at the airport. Flyers can also pay $80 plus shipping for a test sent to their home that will give results within 48 hours.
COVID Rapid Testing in New York
In New York, Newark (EWR) and JFK Airport (JFK) are already offering COVID testing through XpresCheck for a fee. It’s a seemingly solid pivot for airport spa company XpressSpa which has been clearly hurting during the pandemic.
The Issue with Rapid Testing
I don’t see it discussed by the articles talking about this rollout by United, but COVID rapid tests have tended to have a high false result rate. This test is by Abbott and Abbott lists a 98.5% accuracy rate. That’s actually great compared to the rapid tests we’ve had to date, with accuracy sometimes off by as much as 10%. But that still means that there’s a 1.5 in 100 chance that you could register as positive when you don’t actually have COVID. Or test negative when you have it. Obviously, I have no solution to that – but it’s worth being aware of.
Overall
It’s a great move by United. They aren’t administering the test themselves so it’s much less effort on their part than their press release might have you thinking. But I do believe strongly that accurate rapid testing pre-flight is the key to getting us closer to normal when it comes to flights. If we had something truly at 100% accuracy and everyone had to take it at the airport within an hour or two of the flight, it would seem we’d then be safe to remove masks and return the flying experience to normal. Of course, the expense of those tests needs to be borne by someone, somehow, and no matter who pays, the flyer will be the one paying….
Questions?
Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.
And if this post helped you, please consider sharing it!
You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards.
New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.
