Dots, Lines & Destinations

How much does the CEO matter when someone else is pulling most of the strings? United Airlines is about to find out as succession planning will see Scott Kirby take over as CEO in early 2020.

Also in this week's show:

* United orders the A321XLR to replace its 757s. What does this mean for TATL service from IAD/EWR? And for Boeing's NMA??* Aeroflot's new A350 cabins look pretty swanky* American Airlines is adding routes that don't touch a hub* South African Airways is still on the brink of collapse, but now officially so* Canada's Harbour Air made history with the first electric commercial aircraft flight* DrukAir flies the only planes between Singapore and East Timor, which is slightly strange for a Bhutanese airline* Seth went to Bhutan and had an interesting trip

Enjoy the show!

Flying on Thanksgiving Weekend can be a crazy experience. But this year it seems someone took one of those idiotic "how to get upgraded for free" stories a bit further than they probably should have.

[powerpress[

Also in this episode:

* India's IndiGo continues to have trouble with its P&W engines on the A320neo, to the point that regulators want to ground older frames awaiting replacement engines. But it might also be possible to fix the problem simply by not running them so hard.* EL AL will try Melbourne service in Summer 2020, with some technical and routing challenges along the way* The FAA wants to have more control over the 737 MAX return to service, including individually approving each aircraft before Boeing delivers them to airlines.* Hong Kong Airlines is in a world of financial troubles, with the IFE system offline because it cannot pay for the content and regulators threatening to shut it down if more money doesn't show up this week.* Norwegian's long-haul operations will soon drop Copenhagen and Stockholm as European gateways, closing routes that launched the airline's 787 services. But it could also launch service at Heathrow with a trio of weekly slot pairs in Summer 2020.* The A350-1000 got a boost in the total seating capacity, which is probably bad news for your hips and knees.

A fun, brief anecdote from Bhutan is also in the mix this week; more to come on that front eventually.

Enjoy the show!

No, we're not the first people to make that joke about a trip to Kathmandu (and beyond in Nepal). But Seth is there now and having way too much fun so we're talking about it, including the different types of hotels and tour options and how to get over some travel fears it might cause.

Also in this episode:

* Emirates placed/refined some orders – both Boeing and Airbus – at the Dubai Air Show and they raise questions about its fleet planning process* The 737 MAX is still a mess, as are aircraft engines. Can the MAX avoid the DC-10 experience? And why was Muilenburg so bad testifying in Congress last month?* Chinese airline Juneyao will add a 5th freedom route Helsinki to Manchester which is an interesting choice but doesn't get us very excited* The AirAsia HQ is pretty cool. The company's decision to launch ticket sales for third party airlines is more confusing, though.* Avatar Airlines (re)applied for an operating certificate and plans to fly 747s all over the USA at super low CASM so its low fares can still make money. But there's plenty of hypocrisy in the business model and marketing message.* Seth and Stephan have thoughts about visiting Singapore* Seth shares some tales from a week exploring Nepal

https://twitter.com/DotsLines/status/1198807847930339328

Enjoy the show!

[wandrad adid=2]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd3Mt8JBBBg

What's better than running in to a fan of the podcast in Singapore on a random business trip? Getting to chat with them about some cool technology that helps make travel better. Oh, and some fun dots and lines accumulated over the years.

At the Future Travel Experience conference in Singapore this week Seth met up with Florian. He's a regular listener and works in the industry at Xovis, a company that helps monitor passenger flows through airports. The goal is to help reduce queue times and give actionable data to airports that helps them make the travel experience just a little bit better.

He also spent several years living in Singapore and collected a fair number of dots and lines traveling in the region so we chat about that, too.

Definitely not the typical show, but an interesting conversation, albeit a short one. We both had to get back to work.

This was not on the topic list when we started the recording, but somehow we got on to the idea of shutting down LaGuardia in this week's show. Even by our standards that may have been a tangent too far gone. But still an interesting conversation.

Also in this week's show:

* China’s is losing billions dumping inventory into the US market. Or maybe not. The numbers are opaque as ever.* Norwegian might operate the SSJ to get access to trans-siberian routes* IndioGo adds 300 more A320neo family planes to its order book* AAdvantage members can now redeem for Premium Economy partner aAwards* The new terminal at New Orleans opens this week and it looks swanky inside* WestJet will fly YYC-FCO on its 787 for Summer 2020* IAG is buying Air Europa to boost Madrid and Latin American markets* EL AL's 747 retirement marks the end of 40+ years with the type serving the airline* Delta Air Lines has a new terminal open at LaGuardia* MSP-DLH Landline bus service with Sun Country

And, as mentioned above, plenty other tangents and topics we explore. Enjoy!

Is there a good way to describe the 17+ hour flights that seem to be proliferating? Ultra long-haul doesn't seem to be quite enough. So we're brainstorming new ideas in this week's episode.

Also in this week's show:

* The US government is blocking flights to most of Cuba* United Airlines hosted a Media Day event* Some interesting data on what are hubs and how they compare* Air New Zealand dumps London for Newark * Doha Airport plans its expansion* Boeing further delays 777x, cuts 787 rate (and Commercial Aircraft CEO fired)* Airbus picks up a Spirit 100 frame order 

And, as always, plenty more. Enjoy the show!

What if 20ish hour flights are neither special nor a good idea? Qantas continues to push forward with its "Project Sunrise" tests which are paving the way for nonstop service from Sydney to London and New York City. While such flights are technically possible, perhaps they're not really what the industry should be focused on today?

Also in this episode:

* Delta created a new product bundle called SkyMiles Select that just might help funnel more customers into the ranks of its Medallion program.* Aircraft boarding remains far more stupid an experience in the USA than elsewhere in the world.* Uber/Lyft/taxi pickups are moving at LAX and from some of the headlines you might think the world is ending. But also many airports are doing similar things and it isn't always terrible.* Swiss briefly grounded its A220 fleet for engine issues, though the carrier did not disclose exactly what happened and the planes were back in the air pretty quickly.* Southwest is raising the requirements for Companion Pass status in the Rapid Rewards program and changing a few other rules.* Aero.com is trying to woo millenials with a luxury flying experience on CRJ200s. Think it'll work??

And, as always, plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Who had a worse week, Boeing and the 737 family or United Airlines frequent flyers??

Among the topics in this week's show:

* Roaming SIM cards are still a thing and we're dipping back into an old favorite resource.* Boeing had a pretty bad week, with an Ethiopian whistleblower raising claims of questionable maintenance and training practices, Southwest pilots suing for lost wages, at least 38 older planes grounded after inspections revealed cracking in the “pickle fork,” and more. But that also led to reports of a renewed 767 using the GEnx engines from the 787 line as a possible play. Oh, and the CEO is no longer the Chairman.* Taiwanese upstart Starlux wants to deliver luxury in the sky with lie-flat beds, but its current route profile tops out at 4 to 5 hours in the sky. That’s a hard value proposition to drive, especially without the long-haul portion of the network feeding traffic.* South America will see a shift in alliances with Delta investing in LATAM. American might pick up GOL and there's a renewed push for United, Avianca, Azul and Copa to figure things out.* American Airlines shifted a bunch of management roles around; Fozz is not impressed.

And, as always, plenty more. Enjoy!

With 4.5 hours to connect in Hong Kong there are a few options on the table. Sure, the first class lounges call, but with the Airport Express running (no guarantees these days!) a quick trip into the city to meet up with friends is also on the table.

This week's show features a chat with Danny Lee, an aviation reporter based in Hong Kong, an AvGeek and generally great guy. We talk about the situation on the ground in town, with his experiences covering the protests guiding the conversation. Plus lots about airlines and some questionable judgments when it comes to favorites.

Also worth noting, the situation on the ground in Hong Kong is very fluid. This conversation was recorded before the face mask ban took effect and that has changed the tone of the protests and the resulting experiences with the transit system and other bit that could affect visitors. Be safe out there.

A bit of a trip report this week, with tales from Hanoi and how we got here.

I know there should probably be more in here about the things we did and where we went and the flights and all the awesome experiences. Oopsie.

Here's one bit about the craft beer scene that's interesting.

And a few Twitter threads from Seth & Jason flying the LCCs around the country.

https://twitter.com/WandrMe/status/1177763576817176577

https://twitter.com/WandrMe/status/1177832540662448128

https://twitter.com/WandrMe/status/1178877834510520320

Enjoy the show!