the loneliest number

For people who do not like the hassles of crowded flying, the days of the novel coronavirus may offer up just what you are looking for.

Depending on your risk tolerance.

When I flew north to Oregon, last month, I did not know what to expect. That is not exactly true. Alaska Airlines -- or the public relations staff at Alaska Airlines -- has been filling my inbox with sugar-coated words about the steps it has taken to make my flights with them reassuringly sterile.

So, I knew I would be wearing a mask. Everything else was supposed to have been done before I boarded the aircraft. Hospital-quality air filters. No touching. And crews that would sanitize the plane's interior with the dedication of massaging Kobe beef.

I am currently in the Los Angeles airport awaiting my 6:00 AM flight to Seattle. (Whoever made this reservation is going to get a good talking to, said I to myself when rolling out of my hotel bed at 3:15.)

The staff at the Manzanillo airport have developed a standard of performance art that would please any Homeland Security agent. Before heading off either to Immigration or the check-out counter, passengers are required to fill out a Covid-19 form declaring they have not experienced a list of symptoms in the last-whatever days.

Wise travelers automatically check "no" just as they do on their customs form. The difference is that after the form is filled out, it is corrected to 100% by a temperature reading.

Other than the presence of masks and no one touching anything (like boarding passes), the boarding process was as normal as any airline boarding process can be -- where aging businessmen traveling alone think they are included in the "children under 2" category.

The only unusual thing most people would notice during the flight is the lack of food service. The disappointing hot chicken sandwich has been replaced with a cheese and fruit "plate" in the type of plastic container that usually contains arugula at the market. I really did not notice because I always pack my own in-flight meal.

What is really different is the lack of people at otherwise teeming airports. Last month, I was the only person going through security. The only one. Today, there were two of us. And, as you can see, the terminal looks more like a set for On the Beach than LAX airport.

The sense of separation extends to the cabin. The usual 2-2 seating is now 1-0-0-1. I realize that the airline cannot make a profit with that arrangement, but I do enjoy the additional space. Maybe this is some sort of marketing scheme to induce passengers to buy a second seat as a cordon sanitaire once the virus drops off of our trauma screens.

I do not dislike crowds. But I will confess the lack of crowds has made flying feel a bit more like an adventure rather than a field trip to the bee farm.

In about an hour, I will be on my flight to Seattle to catch a connecting flight to Redmond. If all goes well, I intend to use those two hours to Seattle trying to salvage some sleep.

Thoughts of crowds can wait for another day.