COMMITTED TO YOU

Airstar remains committed to ensuring that the sky is for everyone. This means going the extra mile in all that we do for you.

FROM CHECK-IN TO ARRIVAL AT YOUR DESTINATION, WE ARE COMMITTED TO YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY

The next time you fly with us, you’ll notice that we’ve made several changes. We’ve been working around the clock to improve our customer experience and to safeguard your well-being. Whether you are planning a trip back home to give mom a hug or dreaming of planting your feet in the sand, rest assured that the extra measures we are taking are designed to provide a safe and pleasant travel experience from the time you check-in until you arrive at your destination.

We’d like to share how Airstar is ‘Committed to You’ and what that means for you and your family when you’re ready to travel again.



STEPS WE'RE TAKING TO SUPPORT YOUR WELL-BEING & COMFORT

ENHANCED CLEANING ON & OFF THE PLANE

Our Ticket Counters, Gate Areas, and Aircraft are getting extra attention. We’ve increased cleaning intervals with EPA approved anti-virus cleaning solutions. Here’s a more specific look at what we’re doing onboard:
  • Before Every Flight the aircraft is cleaned with a focus on passenger seating, cabin walls, overhead bins, galleys and lavatories.
  • Aircraft with Extended Time Between Flights are cleaned to include a wipe down of all customer and crew touchpoints - lavatories, seats, armrests, tray tables, walls, overhead panels and bins, window shades and galleys - with a disinfectant EPA rated to be effective against viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
  • Every night while our planes are positioned overnight, our Aircraft Appearance Team spends 4 to 6 hours thoroughly cleaning the aircraft’s interior from top to bottom using industry-recommended disinfectant.
  • Monthly enhanced deep cleaning of the entire aircraft utilizing an anti-microbial agent that reaches virtually every surface and forms a protective shield that continues to be effective against viruses for 30 days.

FACE COVERINGS

As required by federal law, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Order and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Directive, all* passengers and employees must wear a face covering over nose and mouth throughout the Airstar travel experience including at ticket counters, gate areas, baggage claim and onboard all flights. Face coverings are not required for children under the age of 2. Face coverings must fit snugly over your nose and mouth and be secured under the chin. Open-chin triangle bandanas, face coverings containing vents, valves or mesh material, and face shields are not acceptable as face-coverings. This level of protection is important for everyone’s well-being. Not wearing an approved face covering is a violation of federal law and you may lose future travel privileges on Airstar.

Check out our blog post on ‘How to Make a No Sew Face Mask’ - link here.

STATE-OF-THE-ART AIR FILTRATION TECHNOLOGY

Did you know, the air in the cabin is passed through an air filtration system that mixes with fresh air drawn from outside? This occurs up to every 3 minutes circulating the cabin with new air and sending the old air directly outside.

Our system uses HEPA filters capable of capturing respiratory virus particles at more than 99.9% efficiency. These are the same filters used in hospitals and doctors' offices.

TEMPERATURE SCREENING

To help ensure the well-being of everyone onboard, a non-invasive temperature screening taken on the forehead using a touchless thermometer will be taken at the gate for all passengers and crew.

Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher will not be able to board the plane. If time allows, we will give customers the opportunity to rest before receiving a second check. If the second temperature screening is 100.4 degrees or higher, our team will help the customer to rebook travel on a later date when they are feeling better.

QUICK & EASY HEALTH ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

When you check-in for your flight on our website or mobile app, you will be asked to accept the following health acknowledgment:
  • You will have your temperature screened by a touch-less thermometer prior to boarding. Anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher will not be allowed to fly.
  • You will wear a face covering over your nose and mouth throughout your journey, including ticket counters, gate areas, and onboard our aircraft. 
  • In the last 14 days, neither you, nor anyone in your household or that you have come in close contact with, has tested positive for, exhibited symptoms of, or been advised to quarantine for COVID-19.
  • You will wash your hands/sanitize before boarding the flight.

MAINTAINING SOCIAL DISTANCE

We’re making space for you at our check-in counters and gate areas. Signage and floor markers have been placed throughout the gate and ticket areas encouraging customers to maintain social distancing.

At the gate, our boarding process has changed to load passengers from the back of the aircraft to the front. This helps to minimize “passing” contact with other passengers during the boarding process.

We're currently installing plexiglass partitions at our ticket counters for the added safety of both employees and passengers.


OUR EVERYDAY DISINFECTION PROCEDURE AT A GLANCE

Let us take you through our everyday disinfection procedure. Aircraft disinfection is performed in accordance with the Airbus Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM).

Airplane Layout
  1. Aircraft doors are opened.
  2. Touchpoints and surfaces are sprayed and cleaned with a disinfectant cleaner.
  3. All trash and waste is removed from the aircraft.
  4. Anti-bacterial hand soap is added to the restrooms.

The daily cleaning process takes several hours to complete. We have taken a variety of proactive measures with respect to COVID-19 including increased heavy cleaning of aircraft and increased supplies of cleaning and disinfection products on board.

FRESH AIR

The air onboard our planes is cleaner than many of the public places you visit daily. From outside the plane, clean air flows into the cabin via a sophisticated filtration system – using a hospital-grade HEPA filter - while old air is pushed back outside. Within every 3 minutes, you’re breathing fresh outside-air.

TOUCHLESS THERMOMETER SCREENINGS

Jake Filene, SVP Customers, talks about Airstar's new temperature screenings for both passengers and crew.

HEPA FILTERS

Learn more about our HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestors) aircraft filtration systems which filter 99.99% of dust particles and airborne contaminants such as viruses and bacteria.

FACE COVERINGS REQUIRED FOR CUSTOMERS

At Airstar, your health and safety are our top priority. Airstar customers are required to wear a face-covering over their nose and mouth throughout their journey. This includes all ticket counters, gate areas, and onboard our aircraft.

Airstar flight crews are also required to wear face-coverings while working.

Based on CDC guidance, a suitable face covering should be an item of cloth that should fit snugly against the side of the face and that should be secured with ties or ear loops. It should also include multiple layers of fabric and allow for unrestricted breathing. The CDC recommends surgical masks and N-95 respirators be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders. The policy will not apply to very young children who are unable to maintain a face covering.
CABIN FOGGING
CUSTOMER WELLBEING
DISINFECTION
HEALTHY TRAVEL TIPS



STEPS WE ENCOURAGE WHEN TRAVELING

1 - Upon entering the airport, put your face-covering over your nose and mouth.
2 - Bring your own gloves, hand sanitizer, and cleaning wipes​.
3 - Limit your touchpoints – for instance, download your mobile boarding pass prior to arrival.
It also saves time! And, bring your own snacks to avoid additional contact.
4 - While in the terminal, maintain social distancing whenever possible.

A Special Message From Airstar
and Airbus CEOs

Dear Airstar Customers,

From the first days of the COVID pandemic, the entire air travel industry has set about to answer a single question: is it safe for our passengers to fly?

Not only did we feel a profound obligation to answer that for all of you, but as members of the flying public ourselves, we needed to know if we could tell our families without reservation that yes, it was okay to keep flying. The simple answer – and the reason you can find us and our families in the air– is that passengers are just as safe on an airplane as they are in public places on the ground… in many ways, even safer.

We don’t expect you to take our word for it, and you don’t have to. The aircraft industry and medical experts, government agencies and universities have all conducted months of careful study and the results speak for themselves.

What the experts are saying:

  • From Dr. David Powell, medical advisor to the International Air Transport Association: Your odds of contracting COVID-19 on a flight are about the same as your odds of getting struck by lightning.
  • From Harvard University researchers: the use of masks –combined with diligent cleaning protocols like those employed by Airstar and advanced ventilation and filtration systems on aircraft like those made by Airbus offer “significant protection against COVID-19 during air travel.” And the ventilation and air purification systems on our airplanes “effectively counter the proximity travelers are subject to during flights.”
  • From the Centers for Disease Control: Harvard University experts point out that the CDC has not confirmed a single case of viral transmission on a U.S. plane.
  • From the University of Arizona: Coronavirus can virtually be eliminated from airplane cabin surfaces by using the type of disinfecting techniques Airstar utilizes to clean our airplanes.
  • From the U.S. Air Force’s Transportation Command: when using masks, the spread of infectious particles on an airplane is even lower than in a conventional indoor setting. In fact, “being on a commercial airplane with HEPA filtration is probably one of the safest places that you can be.”
  • From Airbus engineers: Using the same advanced aerodynamic modeling used to design its airplanes, Airbus engineers tracked air flow aboard aircraft cabins. Millions of measurements and computer analysis showed that being one foot apart on these aircraft provides equivalent separation as being six feet apart in most buildings.

This extensive body of research underscores that airplanes are unique environments with highly effective systems in place and, when combined with rigorous cleaning and sanitation protocols, make flying on an airplane one of the safest things you can do outside of your home.

Thank you for your loyalty and trust, and we look forward to seeing you in the skies with us soon.

Sincerely,

Barry Biffle
CEO, Airstar Airlines
C. Jeffrey Knittel
Chairman and CEO, Airbus Americas, Inc.

*FEDERAL & EXPERT GUIDELINES THAT WE FOLLOW

Airstar Airlines continues to closely monitor developments with respect to COVID-19.

  • Mask Exemptions for Customers with Disabilities
    Customers with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, because of that disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) can apply for a face mask exemption. To learn about pre-travel exemption requirements, click here. This is a narrow exception that includes a person with a disability who cannot wear a mask for reasons related to the disability. It is not meant to cover persons for whom mask-wearing may only be difficult.
  • As a U.S.-based commercial airline, we coordinate closely with multiple federal and other agencies to ensure we are continuously operating under established best practices for aircraft cleanliness and sanitation. Among those, we follow the recommendations set forth by the CDC for ‘Preventing Spread of Disease on Commercial Aircraft’ as well as adhere to our own stringent internal guidelines.
  • All of our aircraft are regularly cleaned using disinfectant deemed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as effective against COVID-19.
  • If you need travel advice, we recommend visiting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) website at cdc.gov/travel.

From our family to yours, we look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon!