Covid-19 Alaska

[ajhunts]

Got an email today from Alaska Airlines cancelling our Seattle to Ketchikan flight on the 27th of June, enroute to fishing in Craig. Was lucky to see it as we were headed out the door for the day. Would have missed our flight from Ketchikan to Klawock. Both flights were scheduled at a civililzed time to get us to Craig about 5 pm, in time to rest up for the beginning of our 3 days of fishing the next am.

Alaska rescheduled us from Seattle to Anchorage, then to Ketchikan late in the day by way of Juneau, Petersburg and Wrangle. Nice. Lots of potential exposure. Would have been a challenge to get to Klawock at that time of the day, as well.

Called Alaska. Thought they might have been limiting/creating space on the flight due to the Corona bug, and was prepared to plead my case to not be bumped. The lady said we were not being bumped, but that Alaska was cancelling approximately 40% of their flights at this time. Our nicely timed flight in the middle of the day was the one cut.

We are now leaving home in the middle of the night to get to Seattle for a daybreak flight. Was able to finally get our reservation to Klawock changed to mid day, but we still get to hang out in Ketchikan for a while.

If you are headed to Alaska any time soon, be aware of what happened to us and be prepared to quickly adjust travel plans accordingly.

At least we hear the fishing (at least at this time) seems to be quite good.

 

[Kevin Dill]

If you don't want to miss anything (as in mandates, news, restrictions, advisories, etc) then you're well advised to keep on top of everything. This is definitely not the year to make assumptions or depend on past behaviors. Everything is subject to change, affected by the infection stats, economic problems, political turmoil and so on. The water is extremely muddy.

Just yesterday I exchanged messages with Nick Muche and told him this: I have absolutely no worries about getting to hunt, as most of it is out of my control. I think I'll be moose hunting this September. I'll believe it when I feel the cub tires touch down at the airstrip. Until then....keep taking steps and have some faith boys.

 

[LostArra]

Got an email today from Alaska Airlines cancelling our Seattle to Ketchikan flight on the 27th of June, enroute to fishing in Craig. Was lucky to see it as we were headed out the door for the day. Would have missed our flight from Ketchikan to Klawock. Both flights were scheduled at a civililzed time to get us to Craig about 5 pm, in time to rest up for the beginning of our 3 days of fishing the next am.

Alaska rescheduled us from Seattle to Anchorage, then to Ketchikan late in the day by way of Juneau, Petersburg and Wrangle. Nice. Lots of potential exposure. Would have been a challenge to get to Klawock at that time of the day, as well.

Called Alaska. Thought they might have been limiting/creating space on the flight due to the Corona bug, and was prepared to plead my case to not be bumped. The lady said we were not being bumped, but that Alaska was cancelling approximately 40% of their flights at this time. Our nicely timed flight in the middle of the day was the one cut.

We are now leaving home in the middle of the night to get to Seattle for a daybreak flight. Was able to finally get our reservation to Klawock changed to mid day, but we still get to hang out in Ketchikan for a while.

If you are headed to Alaska any time soon, be aware of what happened to us and be prepared to quickly adjust travel plans accordingly.

At least we hear the fishing (at least at this time) seems to be quite good.

Alaska Air changed my flight also but actually made things better for me to time my testing 72 hours before departure for Ketchikan on the 26th.

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[Southeast]

Any reports on the Covid travel process from those that have been up fishing? I have two trips (Juneau and Fairbanks) scheduled in the next 2.5 months and I’m still trying to figure it out.
My impression is that you’re golden with the 5-day results. Just get another test at the airport and then walk out and disappear into the bush. Right?
What about if you can’t even get a 5-day test? What do they do with you after you test at the airport? Are you free to go? Could a guy head out and just start his 14-day DIY river float? That part is very confusing.

 

[Josh86]

Any reports on the Covid travel process from those that have been up fishing? I have two trips (Juneau and Fairbanks) scheduled in the next 2.5 months and I’m still trying to figure it out.
My impression is that you’re golden with the 5-day results. Just get another test at the airport and then walk out and disappear into the bush. Right?
What about if you can’t even get a 5-day test? What do they do with you after you test at the airport? Are you free to go? Could a guy head out and just start his 14-day DIY river float? That part is very confusing.

I called the anchorage airport and they said after I take the covid test I'm allowed to "quarantine" at my final destination (Kotz) however, I guess Kotz is testing everyone regardless of whether or not you have negative results in hand and I assume you're not allowed to leave the airport until you have results. Turnaround time is less than an hour in Kotz so thats promising.

 

[LostArra]

Regarding Alaska Air rescheduling flights: our flight (737) from Ketchikan to Seattle had 13 total passengers. Lots of social distancing room.

 

[duchntr]

I called the anchorage airport and they said after I take the covid test I'm allowed to "quarantine" at my final destination (Kotz) however, I guess Kotz is testing everyone regardless of whether or not you have negative results in hand and I assume you're not allowed to leave the airport until you have results. Turnaround time is less than an hour in Kotz so thats promising.

As of an hour ago mandatory re-testing in KOTZ is not true as long as you tested in AK within 48hrs. A buddy who tested in Anchorage yesterday just landed in Kotz, signed his declaration form, showed his negative results and went on his way.

 

[Josh86]

As of an hour ago mandatory re-testing in KOTZ is not true as long as you tested in AK within 48hrs. A buddy who tested in Anchorage yesterday just landed in Kotz, signed his declaration form, showed his negative results and went on his way.

Awesome. Thanks for the heads up. Just found out today that Alaska Airlines cancelled all of my flights so I had to rebook everything and add a day to my trip. I now have a layover on the way home and we are planning on bringing back meat as checked baggage... fun times

 

[Kevin Dill]

Just found out today that Alaska Airlines cancelled all of my flights so I had to rebook everything and add a day to my trip. I now have a layover on the way home and we are planning on bringing back meat as checked baggage... fun times

Do be aware that most Alaska Air terminals have cold storage for meat and fish, but it may NOT be freezer storage. I found this out a few years ago, so be sure to check it out before trusting your frozen meat to stay frozen. If it leaks juice or has any smell it's probably not going back on a plane.

 

[Josh86]

Do be aware that most Alaska Air terminals have cold storage for meat and fish, but it may NOT be freezer storage. I found this out a few years ago, so be sure to check it out before trusting your frozen meat to stay frozen. If it leaks juice or has any smell it's probably not going back on a plane.

Our layover is in Seattle and I guess the Seattle airport has a place called Smarte carte that you can store frozen baggage over night for $25 so we’ll probably go that route. https://www.smartecarte.com/baggage-storage/seattle-seatac/

 

[LostArra]

Our layover is in Seattle and I guess the Seattle airport has a place called Smarte carte that you can store frozen baggage over night for $25 so we’ll probably go that route. https://www.smartecarte.com/baggage-storage/seattle-seatac/

I would call ahead of time about frozen storage. I've always used Ken's in the Sea Tac airport for frozen storage but they were closed due to covid. Don't know about Smart Carte. Shout out to Alaskan Airlines worker Steve in Baggage Services who checked my fish on thru for my next day flight and let me take it to AA freezer. He also checked my regular bag at the same time. Saved me $70

If your layover is less than 12 hours Alaskan Air will check your bags on thru to final destination and store fish in their freezer( my layover was a little more than 12 hrs). This saves you from rechecking luggage and paying luggage fees again.

 

[Josh86]

Alaska Airlines has said they will reimburse me for any unintended baggage fees due to the change of flightsand they will pay for our hotel room so that's a plus. I'm not sure if the airport at my end location (Wichita, KS) has cold storage or not I'll have to check, its a very small airport.

 

[wyosam]

It will be interesting to see how the current testing-based Alaska plan holds up. With the large uptick in cases across the country, the materials for those shorter turnaround tests are getting harder to come by, and the turnaround times on others are getting longer again as labs are inundated with tests to process. At the facility I work for about a month we had very good in-house testing availability, but now the consumables are in short supply again, and we are having to send some of our tests out. The turnaround times on those are longer than they were a month ago. Most of those supplies are being allocated federally, and it will be interesting to see how travel-related testing is prioritized (that was the first thing we stopped offering). I hope everyone is able to make those trips north this year. I had to cancel my trip for a Dall hunt because of travel restrictions by my employer. Could have really used that escape and recharge, but I guess there will be another chance.


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[Danny Hoey]

We are suppose to go to Anchorage on the 25th, next Saturday. I called all the local testing facilities and they are all 5-10 days out for test results. Looks like we are cancelling.

 

[Nick Muche]

I was told one hour turn around on tests in Anchorage.

 

[Josh86]

We are suppose to go to Anchorage on the 25th, next Saturday. I called all the local testing facilities and they are all 5-10 days out for test results. Looks like we are cancelling.

Why not just test at the airport in Anchorage when you arrive? "Quarantine" until you get the negative results. Not sure how long it's taking to get results at the airport though...

 

[Danny Hoey]

Why not just test at the airport in Anchorage when you arrive? "Quarantine" until you get the negative results. Not sure how long it's taking to get results at the airport though...

Our trip is 7 days. I'm not sure where you are required to quarantine....they don't make you stay at the airport do they.

 

[Josh86]

Our trip is 7 days. I'm not sure where you are required to quarantine....they don't make you stay at the airport do they.

I called the airport and they said i was allowed to quarantine at my final location and wouldn't be required to stay at the airport. Sounds like you'll have results before you leave the airport though as long as nothing changes. I have an overnight layover in Anchorage so I should be good to fly to anchorage without previously taking a test. Kotz isn't testing if you already have negative results from Anchorage.

 

[Danny Hoey]

I called the airport and they said i was allowed to quarantine at my final location and wouldn't be required to stay at the airport. Sounds like you'll have results before you leave the airport though as long as nothing changes. I have an overnight layover in Anchorage so I should be good to fly to anchorage without previously taking a test. Kotz isn't testing if you already have negative results from Anchorage.

I called the airport as well and she said that we could quarantine at our final destination as well. Which would be at the Russian River in an RV

 

[william schmaltz]

My boss got back to town last week. It took 5 days for his results. My wife surveys all her patients that travel and says it’s averaging about 4-6 days for results if tested at airport. But that could’ve changed in the last week.

Why not just test at the airport in Anchorage when you arrive? "Quarantine" until you get the negative results. Not sure how long it's taking to get results at the airport though...