I’m planning to fly to Chicago during November , I want to book Early as possible to get a good deal for a flight and rental car , should I book in a months time or wait until the summer months !! I’m thinking by summer tourism should have opened up .

Book when you want to, most Airlines seem to be offering easy cancellation

I personally doubt things will open up this year, hopefully improve.

The minute things start to look like they might open up air fares will start to rise and quickly. If you have found an airfare you think is really good, I would book it, so long as it has flexible terms and you are willing to take a flight credit in the event that things remains closed down and you need to cancel. No one knows, but unfortunately I also doubt that things will open up by the summer. This is just an observation not a political comment but the Biden administration appears to be ultra cautious so I would plan on things opening up later than sooner. Perhaps by the fall or winter with proof of vaccination but no one can be sure. If you are based the UK, I would book with British or another European airline as you would have more possibilities to use a flight credit than if you booked with a US airline.

I just flew back from Chicago and right now these covid testing regulations are a nightmare.

First: Add atleast 300 - 400 £ in UK for the:

- 80-90£ for the cost of Covid test before you fly out and then
- 210£ for the 2 compulsory tests after your return. They wont even let you board the flight without the test booking.
- Then another 80£ - 100£ for the ‘Test to release’ on day 5 of ur quarantine, if you dont want to be confined to ur home for 10 days.

Second:
Then about 200$ in the US for the tests when you arrive and again before you board the UK bound flight.

This excessive testing paranoia in the UK is just crazy. I had to do all these tests ‘Despite’ having the Covid vaccine.

Other than American Airlines and United, no European airline is operating direct flights between the UK & the US. And that too in a much less frequency.

you may be able to books these US airline flights as code share but not sure if the same regulations apply.

You may have had the vaccine but you could be a carrier and pass it on...

Fair enough but why make people take 4 covid tests in 8 days?

No European airline could operate a direct flight from the UK to US before CV19 either.

Has that happened ?

I have no idea, but that’s why they are asking people to wear masks, distancing etc even if they have been vaccinated. IMO they are not sure, but want to cover all bases, especially with the new strains that keep appearing,

You're correct, in Brexit land, but before Covid-19 "European" also referred to "British". And so British Airways and Virgin Atlantic would have qualified under the term "European".

Vaccination levels must reach critical mass before conclusions can be drawn. According to recent CDC guidelines (scroll down to "What's Changed"), it would seem that we're headed in the right direction.

I travel frequently between LAX-LHR. For me, the mandatory costs are:

• LAX to LHR: $120 pre-departure test plus £210 UK-mandated Covid-19 test package
• LHR to LAX: £80 pre-departure test

And so the grand total is £375/$525.

(As per your note, Test to Release is optional, and it doesn't make sense to opt in given that the UK is still in a national lockdown.)

The incubation period ranges from 2 - 14 days, median of 5 days, so presumably that's why.

In a loose sense maybe, but while people can be nationals if multiple countries companies can say they are “European” but they are actually only incorporated in one country, and are restricted in terms of routes they can fly. So while IAG is the holding company for BA and Iberia for example, they are the subsidiaries in their respective countries and would only fly from UK-US and Spain-US. Yes there are exceptions with 5th freedom rights for some airless but I am not aware of European or UK airlines using them to the US, only ones like Singapore/Emirates etc.