Dots, Lines & Destinations

A new variant of concern doesn't have us too concerned. At least not yet. Plus greenwashing, hub bluffs, and pilot retirements.

Also in this episode:

* South Africa Omicron variant brings lockdowns and travel bans* India finally reopening to normal scheduled international flights, but excluding a bunch of countries* Air Canada's “penalty” for refund failures* British Airways bluffs on Heathrow hub move* Qantas add a Green status to its frequent flyer program* Cathay pilots retiring (tied to Frankfurt incident, among other things)* A trip report, as delivered at the Thanksgiving table by my father* Arcades making a comeback in airport terminals* Whitehorse-Yellowknife-Toronto on Air North next summer* Black Friday sales around travel??

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* A340 to Antarctica* DOJ Stepping up enforcement* Should Stephan travel more?

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

What are you thankful as the Thanksgiving holiday arrives once again? Probably not being involved in any of our first few topics is a good start.

Also in this episode:

* Holiday bonus pay* More migrants - BCN incident* ATL shooter on Saturday* Dubai Air Show

* Indigo Partners massive Airbus order

* A 737 MAX win as well

* Emirates' Premium Economy play

* Freighters that did and didn’t happen

* Artificial Intelligence for gate assignments

* MAX in South Korea, China likely next, flight tests running in India* Norse STN slots* Singapore Airlines MAX seats unveiling* T2 to T3 connector at SFO open

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Billy Bishop Update, with Porter grabbing WiFi and Connect getting different pilots* China ADS-B crackdown

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

This week’s episode is a little different. It’s just Fozz and Stephan, as Seth is soaking in all the avgeekery he can at the Dubai Airshow and there hasn’t been a ton of news.

Some of the highlights are:

* Follow-up from Patreon supporter Lee on the A220 and all-business configurations across the ocean.* Pilots turning down extra holiday pay.* AA making cuts in NYC.* Rumors that British Airways will start London-Heathrow to Indianapolis and bring back some of their other thin routes in summer of 2022.* Alaska Airlines extending the 50% EQM bonus into next year and rumors of a status challenge in the first quarter.* The old Continental Presidential Plus card is dead and Fozz is heartbroken.* United Polaris lounges and American Airlines Flagship lounges are starting to re-open. Newark’s Polaris lounge will be open before Thanksgiving.

Seth will likely be coming in next week with a bunch of news out of Dubai, so we’ll see what the airshow has in the works for the aviation industry!

Europeans (and many others) can once again visit the USA, assuming they're fully vaccinated. And more than a few airlines are very happy about this.

Also in this episode:

* Some follow-on discussion about Bonvoy and points transfers and where the value lies for our host* Heathrow parallel departures* Return of the Albatross* UA wheelchair incident that a passenger died from* Mallora incident on a Moroccan flight* AA paying FAs up to 300% for holiday peak* United stopping a bunch of random routes* SEA-BLR and DFW-TLV delayed again* Boeing has 11,000 employees seeking exemptions

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* Travel planning, and how much is too much research

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

American Airlines decided to cancel more than a thousand flights over the weekend, the latest in a string of airline collapses when faced with outside pressure.

Also in this episode:

* More thoughts on the AAdvantage and Bonvoy changes announced a couple weeks ago* Spirit slowing growth/recovery because it can’t hire enough people* Kazakh planes are now being registered in Ireland* United goes to 22 daily at Heathrow from next summer* ITA joining SkyTeam for now* Hyatt changing some award rates* Rule changes for travel to the US

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* HSR funding in the infrastructure bill that might finally become law* Allegiant IROPs costs* Waltzing Matilda pilot mess

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Call it Breeze Airways 2.0. Or at least version 1.5. The carrier unveiled its very first A220 at the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Mobile Alabama this week and it is quite a different onboard experience compared to the Embraer E-Jet fleet.

This week's show was recorded on the drive back to the airport, so you're getting the very first impressions from Seth, as well as Chris Sloan from Airchive and Zach Griff from TPG.

Also in this episode:

* American Airlines massively revamped the way elite qualification will happen starting in 2022* Marriott Bonvoy is scrapping award charts, and that's probably bad. But occasionally hasn't been completely terrible for some of the airlines that went down that path.

Enjoy the show!

Perhaps we should've saved some of these topics  a week or two, where the Dia de los Muertos celebrations would be more appropriate. But here we are.

Also in this episode:

* United Airlines has some interesting new routes for Summer 2022* Alitalia is dead, but not entirely* More 787 production issues* The LaGuardia AirTrain is dead, or at least on pause* Ryanair blocking charge-back customers* Short-haul air tax coming to Belgium* Owner of the JW Marriott Phuket is suing Marriott* Sun Country new routes and rides

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* AA/B6 elite reciprocity next steps and a bug in the systems* Air Canada Elite Status Match and then immediate jack up ofqualifications

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

We faced a couple mechanicals getting this week's episode recorded, but are willing to admit that truth, rather than blaming weather, unlike some airlines.

Also in this episode:

* British Airways drama, including:

* The A380 is coming back, as are a bunch of US routes

* Gatwick short-haul might not really be dead after all

* A very bad day trying to get to Hong Kong

* Southwest Airlines' operational meltdown last weekend* A big biometrics push by AirAsia * Tata buying Air India, and the mess that it includes* New vaccinated travel lanes added for Singapore, and a demand spike that crashed the company website* Spirit Airlines launching service in Miami, FL and Manchester, NH last week* Old UA 747 moving to a Seattle mixed use building* Air Belgium gets its first new plane, an A330neo that is part of a significant fleet refresh

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* AmEx closing a bunch of Membership Rewards accounts* United Airlines' December schedule includes an interesting collection of point to point routes* The new Dulles Polaris lounge is finally opening later this month, and some others should be reopening soon

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

We're on location this week, recording at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston where industry CEOs and suppliers gathered to absolutely not collude on anything they cannot legally address.

{That collusion comment is a joke; I just love the fact that they print out and distribute a reminder to all attendees to behave.)

Also this week, we've got Danny Lee on the show as a guest to talk about travel between Asia and the USA, the aviation climate in Hong Kong, and whatever else comes along.

Enjoy the show!

An irrational amount of discussion about connecting flights takes over this episode. But, in our defense, one of you asked about it.

Also in this episode:

* A trip through the new terminal at DCA* American and GOL are getting closer in South America* Stockholm grabs some interesting new routes from Eurowings and Finnair* US entry rules are changing, and airlines responded quickly* Northern Pacific (who!?!) bought some planes* A listener question about gate assignments and connecting flights* FlyBe is hiring pilots again* The AA/B6 alliance in Boston/NYC faces challenges from the US DOJ* Executive club status extension and benefits changes* Bilt's credit card adds bonus categories

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

* SAA back in business, for now* British Airways' Gatwick short-haul shut down* Burbank PTSD

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!