Great news: The holiday weekend wasn't a total meltdown, despite warnings from airlines.

Also in this episode:

* Air New Zealand confirms new Business Premier/Luxe and SkyNest* Deutsche Bahn confirmed as Star Alliance partner* DL $10k VDB, also offered change fee waiver because it is too busy* European capacity caps* Cathay brings back JFK-Vancouver in a bizarre way* China’s Big 3 pick Airbus for single-aisle refresh* Delta MAX 10 order maybe likely at Farnborough* Some reports of 737 MAX in-flight AOA sensor issues* BA thinks only men are doctors* Passage du Gois in France

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

*

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Summer travel is definitely here. Good luck with that.

Also in this episode:

* Seth's Polaris experience on a TATL trip* Delta/AmEx 747 card* WestJet goes back west* A321XLR first flight* Heathrow Slots* Norse UK's planned US routes from Gatwick* Lufthansa A380s coming back next summer

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Austin connecting traffic* Emirates first class gets from home check-in service in Dubai* JetBlue/Blade Helicopter partnership* Oman Air joins oneworld

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Trade shows are back, and so are we. Greetings from Hamburg and the 2022 edition of the Aircraft Interiors Expo.

Special thanks to Jason for joining and sharing thoughts. Also, sorry about the lower quality audio the first 8ish minutes. It gets better once we sorted the microphones out.

Change happens. But it gets way worse if the airline forgets to tell you.

Also in this episode:

* Krisflyer devaluation coming from Singapore Airlines* Norse Atlantic adds Berlin routes* United adds SFO-Brisbane* Russia's spare parts problem (and new plane order)* Testing gone for US inbound travel* Comair (South Africa) collapse

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Planes being parked* A public charter option* Vueling screwed up a flight change email

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Day two of a trip to Europe always brings along some jet lag challenges. But we're trying our best.

Also in this episode:

* Buy 2 years of Thai *G for $10k + $10k travel credits* KLM/AMS meltdown* Ryanair Afrikaans language test* Brexit keeps Niceair out* American Airlines increases code sharing with Qatar Airways

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Some travel tips for Austria and Riga* Initial insights from a CEO conversation in Europe

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Some terribly dorky jokes get us started this week, but eventually we manage to transition to terribly dorky conversations about airplanes, so that's mostly a win.

Also in this episode:

* IAG confirms MAX order* Delta, United officially vie for CPT slots* United's P&W 772s coming back* Turkish taking Aeroflot NTU A359s* Norse London-JFK launching* KLM new PremY seat is real, AF new F seat is hinted* KLM canceling flights due to lines at AMS* Virgin Australia/Qatar Airways loyalty reciprocity* Alaska Airlines pilots authorize strike

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* UA Express employee fights a customer* Northern Pacific crowd funding* Breeze A220 Transcon ops launched

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Sure, the conversations were great, but our plans for a grand birthday celebration came up short.

Also in this episode:

* More consolidation in Latin America

* *A Credit Card coming

* Pilot shortage proposals

* Incapacitated pilot coming back from the Bahamas; ATC talks guy through landing

* Southwest power/wifi/bins

* United’s single-aisle inflight entertainment and wifi update delayed

* UA 764s coming back with Polaris

* New UC at EWR

* Air France new cabins on some 77Ws

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* PANYNJ will pretend to enforce street pricing again

* LHR trimming pax/hour

* HA investing in larger flying boat

* And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Mergers generally reduce competition. Upstarts increase it. And somewhere in the middle, we like to talk about all of options.

Also in this episode:

* Lufty needs options for 777X delay, and A380 is maybe on the list, but in the meantime, more 787-9s and even more 777X (freighters) on the books* Oh, and that's the same 777X that major lessors are now calling into question.* Avelo gets an Orlando base, and the MCO-Charleston route sees new competition* Breeze sets up shop in Provo, for a west coast base* SkyClub Access rules changing* Airbus production boost and A321XLR delay* Avianca to buy Viva, but keep operating both brands in competition with each other* Variability in companion benefits from different elite status programs

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* AF 777 incident* Turkish launching a ton of new Russia routes* Smoking pilots may have caused the EgyptAir crash over the Med

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Flight status. Travel history. Connection updates. And lots more. That's the promise from Flighty, and we've got founder Ryan Jones on this week's show to talk about it.

As part of that, we're giving away a few free years of access to the paid version, so let us know (either in a comment or on Twitter) if you're interested.

Also in this episode:

* Project Sunrise is for real, as Qantas formally orders the A350-1000 aircraft that will eventually fly from Sydney to London and New York City nonstop.* Norse Atlantic formally launches its first transatlantic routes* Tailwind wants to fly seaplanes to Washington, DC.

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Hard to believe we're still saying this, but please stop being an asshole on airplanes. Or anywhere else, really. But definitely not on airplanes.

Also in this episode:

* 777X now not likely certified until late 2024, airline delivery in 2025.* NPR article doesn’t understand that China Airlines isn’t a Chinese airline* SCASD Grant applications* Breeze planning transcon flights at HPN* Recaro seatbacks* Golden knights scared the US Capitol Police pretty good* AA long-haul fleet shuffle triggered by BA needs

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Punch out* Kirby pissed at Spirit Airlines/JetBlue at Newark* A flight simulator in the United App

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!