Some airlines, like JetBlue , even require passengers to wear face coverings over their mouths and noses throughout check-in, boarding, in flight, and while deplaning, while others may only require that masks be worn on board.
“Some airlines, including Delta and Alaska, are limiting the number of people seated in first class, so that is basically 50 percent of the capacity,” said Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst and principal at Atmosphere Research.
While the experts agreed that there is likely to be more overall space, especially between passengers in first class, it’s likely not going to make much of a difference, unless you’re in a particularly secluded seat or suite, or the airline is limiting business or first-class capacity.
Andy Christie, global private jets director at Air Charter Service, a global charter brokerage service that helps connect travelers with private charter flights, says that taking a private charter flight can almost “completely minimize the risk of transmission,” simply by reducing the number of contact points and exposures.
Their flights operate out of private hangars and terminals, and planes have been reconfigured from 50 seats down to 30, giving passengers around 36 inches of seat pitch — or a similar seat experience to business class on a major domestic airline.