Two airlines disappearing in a month is bad news, but that seems to be what's happening right now. Ouch.

Among this week's topics:

* Thomas Cook on the brink of collapse (now confirmed)* XL Airways also halting operations* Virgin Atlantic has some very, very unrealistic expectations of its future at Heathrow* Virgin Australia wants to buy back the 35% of its loyalty program it sold off a few years back* Aeroplan has a new plan for its award charts that could be interesting (in a good way) for points fiends* Stephan went flying in a balloon, which is very cool but especially so considering his fear of heights

Enjoy the show!