No more masks in business and first? Cathay leads the way!

When the question of social distancing in the air arose at the start of the health crisis, discussions spontaneously arose as to whether or not they should be applied indiscriminately, depending on the class of travel.

For example, at the time, the neutralization of the “middle seat” seemed obvious, and some people noted that on aircraft that didn’t offer a specific seat (European medium-haul aircraft, for example), it was the de facto standard in business.

There’s no need for “distancing” in front classes, because whether you neutralize a seat or have a specific cabin, the situation is much the same: passengers are at worst spaced apart, and at best isolated.

The next logical step was to consider whether it was necessary to wear a mask in certain business and first cabins, either because the passenger is really isolated or because he or she has a totally enclosed cabin.

At that time, some airlines exempted the use of masks in these cabins, except during service when contact with personnel was unavoidable. The rest of the time, when passengers were on their own, they could do as they pleased.

That was “before”. Very quickly, almost all fleets were grounded, and the wearing of masks became the norm as soon as they were able to fly again, without anyone asking the question.

The issue was raised again this week when Cathay Pacific decided to relax the requirement to wear a mask on board its aircraft in limited and specific circumstances. These situations include business and first class passengers, provided they are in a reclining position on a seat with a 360° reclining bed.

It’s a precedent that raises a number of questions.

Does Cathay Pacific have the right to dispense with the mask?

Well, yes, it is. In fact, depending on the case, the wearing of a mask is imposed by the airline or by the law of the country, in the absence of any international rule on the matter. In the absence of any specific rules imposed by the Hong Kong authorities, Cathay is free to do as it pleases. For example, until recently, masks were not compulsory in the USA, but by the airlines, and Air France’s mask requirements may be higher than those of other countries.

Is flying Cathay dangerous?

An emotional reaction would be to think yes, otherwise why would everyone force the use of the mask? But let’s not forget that an airplane is one of the safest places to filter and renew the air, and if there have been cases of in-flight contamination, they have been totally marginal. Finally, let’s recall the context of this exemption: in cabins, where you are by definition in an isolated or enclosed individual space, and only when you’re lying down, which often means with your nose in your pillow or under your blanket. Let’s end with the fact that the widespread use of tests, combined with the start of vaccination campaigns, means that the risk is nothing like it was a year ago.

However, Cathay is taking a gamble in terms of both health and business. Knowing Hong Kong’s seriousness and rigor on the subject, we assume they know what they’re doing.

What impact will this have on Cathay?

From a health point of view, we’ll have to bet that Cathay isn’t playing with fire, given the restrictive conditions it imposes (when lying down or eating). And all it takes is one warning for the airline to backtrack in no time, so the risk is extremely limited.

From a commercial point of view, while this may worry some passengers, it is likely to be a minority among those who, particularly on long-haul routes, will want to avoid wearing masks in flight as much as possible.

It’s also a safe bet that some passengers will be willing to spend more or use their miles to travel in a class with less stringent mask requirements.

Once again, it’s a bet and we’ll see how it pans out.

What about other airlines?

It’s safe to assume that all of them will be watching Cathay closely. If the initiative bears fruit from both a health and commercial point of view, we can assume that others will want to follow suit, but not all will be able to. In most cases, they have not imposed the mask of their own accord, but because of national legislation, so it’s up to governments to decide.

And given their cautious approach to public opinion, we can bet that many won’t risk it.

Image : Cathay Pacific Business Class on B777 by MMXeon via Shutterstock