Dots, Lines & Destinations

We've known for years now that Berlin's Brandenburg Airport is a mess. It is one of our favorite topics. And this week the BBC has a great story out reminding us that's still the case, along with some of the back story for how it got to be so bad.

Also in this episode:

* Does anyone care about the travel experience on a now-defunct airline? Seth flew Joon just before its ultimate demise and found it unsurprisingly Air France-ish.* The Paris Air Show had lots of stories about the A321XLR and one big story about the 737 MAX.* Additional bugs were also found for the MAX, extending its grounding. And questions are being raised over the outsourcing of its software work.* Chase and United are fighting over their credit card offerings* American really is giving up on its Chicago-China flights* Turkish melted a window out of a brand new 787, likely screwing with the type's introduction to service for the carrier* Austria's railroads might get some fancy new trains in a few years* Disney might have its own airline* South African Airways is getting some new planes

Two airports announced plans for major renovations in recent days,each topping five billion dollars. But the work in Phoenix involves building out bus gates. Because that will be loads of fun in the summer.

Also in this week's show:

* An Air Canada passenger found herself on the carrier's no-fly list after buying fraudulent tickets

* Qantas is launching service to Chicago and San Francisco from Brisbane

* An update on Project Sunrise

* More MAX cancellations

* United's Travel Club officially dies

* A 747 shows up on a tiny Caribbean island

* LOT got swindled out of $700,000 in a particularly embarrassing scam

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

What goes into the design of an airport? How do architects bridge the gap between here and there? We've got a special guest talking about architecture and design choices on this week's show.

St. Martin-based architect Damien Richardson joins us on this week's show, recorded on location at the Caribavia Caribbean Aviation conference in St. Martin. We chat about how airports are designed and built to blend the roles between airside and landside operations, especially in international environments and with business aviation. Bringing local elements into the design is one facet, of course, but it is more than just that.

We also talk about some favorite bigger airport designs and even the future of travel where airports are no longer really a thing to worry about. Enjoy the show!

What do you do with an extra night in Seoul? How about a quick trip to Jeju City for dinner??

Thanks to IATA and Korean Air the show is recording in Korea this week. Seth is joined by occasional guest Jason to talk about a few different inflight products, ranging from long-haul business class on Korean to short-haul LCC operations on a 777-200. It was quite an adventure!

https://twitter.com/WandrMe/status/1134239797072093189

Plus, we still had some free time in town so we also got seats in the "Exciting Zone" for a local baseball game. It was very exciting.

https://twitter.com/AirlineFlyer/status/1134393303162597376

Enjoy the show!

Air New Zealand will continue to expand its 787 fleet, adding the –10 starting in a few years. But the carrier chose a new engine provider in hopes of better reliability for the new planes.

Also in this episode:

* An airport manager indicted for fraud* UK eGates open for more passengers* The new TWA Hotel had some trouble with its food court in week one* AA and its mechanics appear headed to war* Delta has uniform troubles, including a lawsuit* Airbus still insists the A380 was a successful product, likely to help protect its balance sheet* Boeing will drop the Embraer name from its commercial aircraft joint venture, but maybe not from the planes

Call it a PR stunt if you must, but the record for fastest US transcon flight fell last week, and the airports involved are an interesting pair.

Flights from Santa Monica are becoming increasingly rare, especially as the city does things like shorten the runway as it tries to shut the facility completely. Still, it is an impressive record, especially considering the congested airspace around NYC that was involved. That congested airspace also included JFK arrivals and some Long Island residents are unhappy about the major airport they have just 10 miles away.

Also in this episode:

* The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appears to have violated some laws with regard to funneling landing fees away from operations at Newark Airport. Also, some interesting commentary about how the airlines' lobbying group is misrepresenting some details around passenger facility charges (PFCs) and where the money comes from and goes to.* Another impressive BizAv flight was a nonstop on the Bombardier Global 7500 from London City to Los Angeles.* Hyatt and American Airlines have a new partnership that might be useful for some challenge-related games* US carriers were allocated a dozen new slots at Tokyo's Haneda Airport for Summer 2020 operations, with Delta and United winning big* JFK Airport finally has an on-property hotel. The TWA Hotel at T5 – housed in the old TWA terminal – is now open. Lots of little kinks to still work out to get to full operations but it is there. Also, some questions around how long that will last.* Should Machu Picchu have an airport nearby? Construction is starting and a lot of people are pretty pissed.* US residents in Austria have a new and unlikely (or maybe not so unlikely) place they can turn for help: McDonald's.

Some follow-up from last week's conversation about the Delta/Union sparring and plenty of other bits in this week's show, too. Enjoy!

Delta's flight attendants are pursuing union representation again. Not surprisingly, management is opposed to the idea. The visuals on how management is fighting it, however, are slightly surprising. That also plays into a discussion around what it takes to be a strong leader, for airlines or otherwise. So many seem to be doing it poorly today, though Wall Street doesn't mind as much as the employees and passengers do.

Also in this episode:

* El Al & Alaska are teaming up as partners in their loyalty programs* The blogosphere is agog at Turkish Airlines getting downgraded by SkyTrax* At least one Hyatt hotel has discovered a sneaky way to avoid making too many rooms available for reward bookings* Norwegian is trimming its TATL route network this winter* Gate assignments at the new Berlin Airport. Yes, really.* Delta Air Lines is talking about expanding its free wifi program to full browsing sessions, not just messaging. Trials are underway. The carrier also is making it easier for lapsed elite status to be recovered for some passengers.

A fun new livery and random other bits round out the show. Enjoy!

Cutting money-losing programs makes sense in many cases; airlines around the world have trimmed first class cabins from their fleet, for example, to control those costs. Selling off a profitable segment of the business is a little less normal, especially when it might just be the last bit that is consistently making money.

Topics in this week's show include:

* Initial thoughts on the Aeroflot SSJ crash on Sunday that resulted in 40+ deaths.* Aer Lingus adding the AerSpace EuroBiz product that isn't quite business class or even really eurobiz, but it is better than economy in a few ways.* Bombardier selling off its aerostructures division, the last profitable part of its commercial aviation division.* Etihad taking over Jet Airways slots in London, squatting on them until it can find someone to buy or lease the valuable assets* Delta launching Mumbai service from JFK* Korean Air slashing its first class cabin from many routes* A Delta Air Lines SkyMiles redemption experience that was truly dumbfounding* More thoughts on the Heathrow expansion plans

Enjoy the show!

United Airlines launched a revised livery for interesting reasons. Does Stephan really hate it or just not care? And do the explanations around why it launched make any sense?

Also in this week's show:

* United plans to fly to Cape Town. Who wants in on that fun line, and will South African Airways care?

* The Embraer E195-E2 is now certified and should enter service in the second half of the year.

* Mitsubishi is stepping up test flights on its MRJ product line and we're not really sure why.

* Allegiant wants to fly to Mexico. Can it bring the leisure-focused package tourism product it is so well known for south of the border?

* SAS is dealing with a huge strike from crew, causing many flights to be cancelled. Including a few that Fozz was booked on this past weekend. But he booked them through United, creating extra challenges in fixing the mess.

* Hong Kong Airlines is dealing with financial issues but also more than a little drama. Among the problems, no one seems to be sure what the ownership structure is or where the money is coming from; law suits are part of the fallout. Danny Lee is doing a great job of tracking the soap opera for the SCMP and is worth a follow on Twitter to keep up.

* Speaking of airlines with unfortunate financial circumstances, Korea seems to be a pretty challenging place to do business these days. Asiana is up for sale and Korean Air isn't in a particularly great situation either.

Enjoy the show!

JetBlue finally confirmed the worst-kept secret in commercial aviation: The company will convert some of its aircraft to the A321LR and launch service to Europe, with London the first stop. That service will also feature a new seat for the Mint business class cabin. Lots of additional details on the service remain to be seen.

Also in this episode:

* Is the 737 MAX production slowdown tied to an engine shortage?

* Why is a HiFly A380 headed to Senegal?

* A new world's largest plane took flight over the weekend. But why??

* Can Midwest Express make a comeback? With or without cookies??

* Jet Airways continues to slide into oblivion, though it isn't quite dead yet.

* Avianca Brasil is similarly collapsing but fewer people seem to care.

* Norwegian deferred some of its A320neo orders.

* An American Airlines A321 had a VERY scary departure from JFK.