Let’s start with who she is: a senior flyer with pre existing conditions, along plus a yen for travel. She liked adventure so much that she left a solid finance job and started The Women’s Travel Group in 1992. This person is me ad I have two pre existing conditions. In fact, my 2 pre x conditions are fewer than most of you have.
The two pre existing conditions are my two sons. They are in their 40’s living comfortable safe lives with good families and good jobs. Their basic worries ‘appear’ to revolve around climate change, monopoly power over all lives, various political candidates, whether or not their children’s teeth are coming in straight, and anorexia for young girls. Clearly this is an exaggeration which I am using for emphasis.
The generation of 30’s to 40’s, whatever letter you ascribe to them, have never had to deal with the draft, world war, threat of a nuclear bomb, poor job market, rationing (until the recent TP shortage) or McCarthy type fear. Now comes their first external shock: the Covid 19 pandemic.
Where do they displace this shock? I believe it is on us, their grandparents and seniors who they label“age deniers”. Whether to travel is a personal decision that should be unilaterally yours. For those of you whose children and grandchildren are warning you about travel, ponder this:
IATA, International Air Transport Association just released statistics on virus cases related to air travel: 44 cases since early Spring or 1 case for each 27 million fliers. If one assumes 90% of cases are unreported, we are looking at 1 case for each 2.7 million air travelers. IATA attributes this low number to the wearing of masks and airplane airflow systems. Boeing, Airbus and Embraer did their own studies and concur with these findings.
Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines announced in July that flight attendants are catching Covid at a lower rate than the general population! In fact flight attendants have a lower rate than ground personnel at American.
So how can we get rid of pre existing conditions, ie our families’ angst. Lets continue to share facts and science. Let’s remind them of the serious stuff we already met conquered: cancer, bone loss, broken hips, colon diseases, depression? Lets reassure them that as overprotective we were with their childhood, we are equally careful with our own lives. We are not deniers but realistic. We have grey hair to prove we can assess a situation and approach it prudently. Travel is a personal decision, think about it.
A travel story from The Women’s Travel Group. Visit us on Facebook and Instagram. Tell us what you think here.
