The last time I took a trip on an airplane was in February 2020 when I got "flewed out" to San Diego for a YWCA USA national training conference. Getting past the TSA gates was relatively easy and worry-free because I was only staying overnight and didn't bring a lot of luggage. No one on our flight had to worry about getting weighed before we boarded the plane.

Traveling by airplane has certainly changed a lot since February 2020. It was the final month before the COVID-19 pandemic essentially brought the airline industry to a near-screeching halt. Travel by plane options are starting to pick back up now in droves, especially since most Americans have been infused with doses of cash by way of stimulus checks and states across the country have lifted their face-mask mandate restrictions.

Washington state has even been affected by the sudden changes in airline travel post-COVID. Avelo Airlines has set up shop in the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco. I knew that there were flights one could take to Las Vegas, but I wasn't aware the Pasco airport goes to ten (10) locations!

There is currently nonstop service every day from the Tri-Cities airport to Salt Lake, Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, and Seattle. During certain seasons it also offers flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, and now, Hollywood, California, thanks to the addition of Avelo Airlines! How come the Yakima Airport doesn't have such luxury?!

The Tri-Cities Airport is home to Delta, Allegiant, United, and United Express airlines, while the Yakima Airport only hosts Alaska Airlines. Avelo Airlines is brand new as of April 2021.

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If you are a plus-size person, watch out for airlines to start weighing you. This cruel practice is a result of nosy busybodies in the Federal Aviation Administration who will not only have certain passengers be weighed before boarding, they will also add ten (10) pounds to our weight because of clothes and shoes.

The reason we might have to get weighed is that the airline industry thinks most passengers have gained about 20 pounds since the COVID-19 pandemic. This means the weight allowance for airplanes has to be adjusted, even though some airlines have implemented the "block a middle seat" option. If planes start to get full again and everybody has generally gained 20 pounds, then that means fewer people will be able to fly on a plane at a time. This could result in the cost of plane tickets going up for everybody. I am definitely not looking forward to that. I suppose I'll be sticking with flying to Burbank on those cheap Avelo Airlines flights!

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