COVID-19: I should be in New York now watching America vote

If it wasn’t for the pandemic, I would be in New York now to observe the elections first-hand. I would have been back from 3 weeks in the Caribbean, nicely tanned and relaxed, and would be somewhere in the thick of it observing America as it voted and received the results.

I was in Massachusetts for the re-election of the Obama administration in 2012. It’s so much more than elections are in Australia, especially since it’s held directly post Halloween.

Well that travel option faded a long time ago as Qantas cancelled the outward flight and then Barbados insisted on testing on arrival with a stay in a ‘facility’ if you didn’t receive a negative result.

Trump and Biden and travel

Now I think Trump has been a terrible president and so am definitely not a supporter. Am I a Biden supporter – not sure. More of an ‘anyone-but-Trump’ person. On the other hand, I think Biden is likely to be a steady pair of hands that will restore some civility to the USA, and rescue it from the moral, political and governance chaos of the Trump administration.

Oh, and by the way, I think Biden will manage the COVID-19 crisis much better than Trump.

Why is this relevant to a travel blog? Well, I think the sooner the pandemic is under control in the USA, the sooner we will see a return to a semblance of normality on the travel front. And since Trump has made no real effort to control it, Biden can only do a better job.

2PAXfly Takeout

The aviation industry has a difficult road ahead when it comes to sustainability. It’s going to require a relative revolution in technology, with ‘electric planes’ or hydrogen planes, or some form of jet engine that doesn’t require a carbon based fuel. And that is going to require the development of an alternative to jet engines probably.

It’s a big ask. It will take time to develop.

This move to home grown and manufactured SAF is a first step – maybe even a baby step in a very long road of innovation. In the long run, US$200 million won’t even touch the sides.

To My American readers, I hope you have already voted, and if you haven’t – then do it now.

I will be watching the results on TV from a friend’s haven in Bondi Beach and hoping for a Biden win, not just for Americans, but for the rest of the world.

The sooner Trump goes, the sooner I will be able to visit your great country again.