By Taylor Rains
XpresCheck Partners with Hawaiian Airlines to Offer COVID-19 Tests in Select Airports
On Monday, XpresSpa subsidiary XpresCheck announced it has partnered with Hawaiian Airlines to create COVID-19 rapid-testing centers in select airports with nonstop flights to Hawaii. According to GlobeNewswire, the company will operate at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Hawaiian’s behalf. Currently, Hawaii requires travelers to obtain a negative COVID-19 test to avoid a 10-day isolation period.
XpresCheck plans to open one testing location in each of the three airports – one each in Terminal 4 at New York-JFK, Terminal E at Boston Logan and Terminal 4 at Phoenix Sky Harbour. The company offers three ways to check for the virus, including a rapid-molecular test, a PCR test and an antibody test. Both the rapid and PCR tests require a nasal swab, but only the molecular test will receive results within 15 minutes. The rapid test costs $200, and the PCR test costs $75.
The third option, an antibody test, requires a blood draw or finger prick to determine if a person once had the virus but was asymptomatic. This test also costs $75, but people can pay $90 if paired with a PCR test. Both test results are available within 3-5 days and can be viewed on XpresCheck’s private portal.
The company encourages passengers to make an appointment, but a walk-up option is also available. Passengers with appointments are advised to fill out the registration form before arriving at the facility and are asked not to arrive any earlier than five minutes prior to their scheduled test time. Negative tests will allow passengers to continue their travels. However, if a passenger tests positive, they and their companions will be asked to leave the airport and quarantine. Rapid-test results will be provided via text, so passengers can easily provide proof of a negative test to Hawaiian Airlines and officials in Hawaii.
XpresSpa CEO Doug Saltzman commented on the partnership, saying, “We are very pleased to be welcomed as a trusted partner of Hawaiian Airlines and the state of Hawai’i so more travelers can safely return to vacation travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our growing network of airline partners are providing more travelers more access to more destinations heading into 2021.”
Hawaiian’s senior vice president of marketing, Avi Mannis, said, “Our collaboration with XpresCheck furthers our commitment to making pre-travel testing seamless and accessible for our guests returning home or taking a long-awaited Hawai’i vacation from Phoenix, New York City and Boston while also doing our part to maintain Hawaiʻi track-record as a safe destination.”
In addition to Hawaiian, XpresCheck has also partnered with JetBlue Airways to offer rapid-tests at Boston Logan, and United Airlines to offer tests at Newark Liberty International Airport and Denver International Airport. Like Hawaiian, United’s facilities are for passengers on nonstop flights to Hawaii.
XpresCheck offers COVID-19 tests to people eight years and older. Visit the company’s website to make an appointment or find more information about the sites.
Taylor Rains graduated from Florida Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Aviation Management in 2017. She has worked in the aviation industry for the past five years and has a specialty in safety analytics for part 121 airlines, but she has also worked for a part 135 company in Alaska. Her experience has allowed her to work in many areas of aviation, including airport operations, flight operations, security, inflight, dispatch, and maintenance. Taylor is also an avid traveler and has used her flight benefits to fly on as many airlines and aircraft types as possible. So far, her favorite flight has been aboard KLM’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.