Layovers - Air Travel podcast

By Paul Papadimitriou

Society & Culture Business Aviation Places & Travel

What's Layovers - Air Travel podcast about?

The Air Travel podcast — an aviation and travel show, created by Paul Papadimitriou @papadimitriou, hosted along with Alex Hunter @cubedweller — top #1 in 47 countries and counting.

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Layovers - Air Travel podcast episodes:

03.07.2024
136 DXB - Vegan First Class, lounge bouncers, jet stream rush, intermittent flying fasting, improper JFK
Alex flies to New York, meets the jet stream and an unbelievably bad customer representative. Paul flies to Dubai, tries the new Emirates plant-based signature dishes with a First upgrade that this podcast made possible.
02.01.2024
135 RAK - Epic tropical lounge, composite burn, full row downgrade, going veg, MAXed out Boeing rant
"They looked around the region at all these great airports and gone: let's get the TK Maxx version of that"
11.29.2023
134 HKG - All business class 321neo, biometrics AI airports, Qatar 2.0, boarding group 0, IFE gold standard
Alex returns to Hong Kong, Paul discovers La Compagnie. So much travel, so little time to record!
10.22.2023
133 ALA - Bundling the unbundling, Condor Brewdog, BER secret door, overhead bin booking, inaugural JetBlue, LH sneakers, with Alex Vukolova
At Layovers, we keep our promises: long time listener Alex Vukolova waited 5 years to be a guest, and this is the day, she's been awesome, for a very special show — we travel on Condor, JetBlue, Transavia, or BA,...
09.30.2023
132 BLQ - Finnair hippos, IST hugeness, fast track lounge, Super NES passport, Midfield Tom Cruise run
We visit Bologna, Istanbul, Bari, Birmingham, Brindisi, we are in a Mission Impossible movie, and we're running like Tom Cruise over the new Midfield Terminal in Abu Dhabi.
08.18.2023
131 NRT - The Amazing Zipair Race from London to California to Tokyo to Osaka and back
It's a lot about Japan in this episode. And the two dings, the ominous two dings, they will make robots of flight attendants.
07.20.2023
130 MSP - Cheap travel and the hamster wheel of miles and status in the post-Covid devaluation times, with Kyle 'Hello Kitty' Potter
Kyle Potter, Executive Editor at Thrifty Traveler, all-around awesome dude, Hello Kitty enthusiast, and long time Layovers listener and friend, tells us all about why MSP is the best thing ever, like everything in Minnesota.
06.19.2023
129 GVA - Attaché bromance, Air Force Ones, 777X windows, fly with film, Covid weight, Vomit Pro, Brian Shul
We ate a lot of chocolate, lots of cheese, and laughed a lot — how we traveled to Geneva to record Attaché for YouTube (the airline didn't put us on a scale for the return leg).
06.02.2023
128 AUH - Etihad 2.0, Midfield mirage, Swiss cheeseboard, 40000ft silent floating, Louis Vuitton lounging
What rookie mistake did Alex do this time? A story involving cheeseboards, Star Wars mirages, and a hot air balloon.
04.27.2023
127 JFK T8 - Mint Studio wow, airfare inflation, BEY dual time, increased turbulences, why do you go to a lounge?
Alex finally flies something else than BA/AA to the US, and Paul has so many questions (but no ceiling).
03.09.2023
126 MAD - Mad dash at MADrid, skip the JAL banana, BA/LHR chagrin, Lufthansa seat Tetris, Emirates is Apple
How is it we had never actually done MAD as an episode title? This ends today, however the mad MADrid dash from T4S to T4 never does.
02.18.2023
125 CDG T2 - The 747 is forever, a London NY bridge at JFK T8, Air France lounge joie de vivre, 777 guillotine, the airport game
The romantic rendez-vous in Charles de Gaulle — and yes, we finally give you our answers to: airports we think are overrated, airports we like, airports you love, airports we feel ourselves in, airports we need to visit.
01.21.2023
124 LAX — In and out LAX, the rise of Turkish Airlines, frequent flyer free agents, airline consulting, LA celebrity handling, with Hakan aka LAFlyr
Our friend Hakan, aka LAFlyr, is opening 2023 with us — from going early at the airport as a kid to see the planes, to, err, going early to the airport as an adult to see the planes (but he...
12.31.2022
123 BRR — Flying the Concorde, visiting all the Concordes, accessing the Concorde Room, a Concorde episode with GGL Ed Parsons
Ed heard the Concorde prototype as a kid, flew on the Concorde before it got retired, explored all the Concordes in existence around the world since, and now accesses the Concorde Rooms. What a great guest for a fun episode...
12.15.2022
122 FLR — Joyful Norse, Doha Changi Gardens, in-flight 5G, A380 returns, Avios loot boxes, limitless UK liquids, nacho cheese lounge
A few snowy destinations, a few Italian destinations, some airport gardens, and everything in between — be excellent to each other.
11.22.2022
121 JED — Flying to Saudi Arabia to see AlUla, Jeddah airport aquarium, Emirates cost cutting, desert driving, Indy travel philosophy
The adventure of flying to Saudi Arabia to see the Nabataeans tombs of AlUla.
10.31.2022
120 YUL — World Cup flights, Avios stash, Alaska royalty, Nein to AirTags, Upper First Class, Trudeau Dorval or Mirabel
Alex needed to be in Quebec City, so he obviously flew to Montreal — or maybe Paul did send him there so he can have an excuse for STILL not having been to Canada.
09.28.2022
119 KHI — Flying in and around Pakistan, Queen NOTAMs, Japan rush, United x Emirates, ticket inflation, Virgin plusgrade, Argo escape
Paul flies in, out, and around Pakistan. Alex gets plusgraded to Upper Class.
08.25.2022
118 LAP — Victorville overfly, 2bn Emirates refresh, Star losing Lufthansa, taxiing EWR for 9hrs, Windsor Suites, smuggling McMuffins
The Southern/Baja California Alex & Megan 2022 Tour, and the air travel stories of the summer. (And no, it's the other La Paz, everyone).
07.08.2022
117 VLC - Summer of discontent, Alitalia hit-and-run, AirTag anxiety, A380 comeback, so long Comair, Vuelinggedon
Strikes add to the travel chaos, for a summer of discontent, and Alex experiences it all first hand — are we back to the 1970s? Two hours of air travel stories to unravel it all, and more.
06.23.2022
116 MDE - Brace for travel chaos, turbulence forecast, Medellin missed approach, 747-200m fine, air-bus routes, cascading wet leases
Brace brace brace, travel chaos ahead! Another two hours fly by between Alex and Paul, going to Medellin and back, with a million stories in between.
05.12.2022
115 RTW - Mark Vanhoenacker: Imagine a City, a (787) Pilot Sees the World
A Round the World conversation with our friend Mark Vanhoenacker for the launch of his new book 'Imagine a City'. We talk about our love for cities, the small ones of our birth, the big ones of our dreams, afar...
04.29.2022
114 UVF — Losing Virgin(ity) from sunset to sunrise, SLU, Airbus Ecureuil, ever late 777X, who pilots Air France?
Virgin Atlantic to the Caribbean and back, Paul is finally no longer a Virgin virgin. Flying from SLU over St Lucia in an Airbus Helicopter. The Cathay white liveries. The 777X is delayed for the 500th time. Who's flying the...
04.06.2022
113 MLE - Seaplanes, A380s and (not) remembering DXB. A220 flying through the biweekly BA IT mess.
Emirates, Emirates and more Emirates, in First, in Business, on 380s or 777s. To Male and seaplanes for Alex, to Dubai with a blank at deplaning for Paul. But also some SWISS (the savior), some BA (when it's not cancelled),...
02.17.2022
112 JFK T5 - JetBlue Mint Studio, SFO for 3 hours and back, powered 747 relic, non-reclining Finnair, Airpotle
We're back, after Alex took his time to hack a 747 seat belt sign, and Paul having played too much Airportle.
09.29.2021
111 LIH - Touring the US in the pandemic-ish era, the MAX is back, the recovery not yet
Alex tours the US, from Denver to San Francisco to Las Vegas to Oakland to Hawaii, and gets to experience his first 737MAX, and the Great Pacific (aka lyrically talking about ZOA KZAK Oakland Air Route Traffic Control Center). We...
06.09.2021
110 SIN T4 - Vaccine tourism, supersonic Boom, Mi(g)nsk detour, Covid passports, plague terminal
Alex gets cancelled (not him, the flight!). Duty free to nowhere (and no good pricing anyway). No kidnap fee, a new product by Ryanair. Plague terminal at LHR. Amber, the color of confusion. Genomics quarantine. Digital health visas (aka Covid...
05.12.2021
109 DIVERSION - Storminess reroute, Steampunk Singapore, (AL)ITA(LIA), pandemic fleets
Alex outsmarts a diversion, using all the on-air WiFi. Paul talks Scrabble (he clearly spent too much time on the ground). Flights to nowhere and airplane food to your door are not for us, even if it's BA First. 2...
04.28.2021
108 WFH - We Meet Again
When two friends who haven’t seen each other for a year, meet again. One didn’t travel, the other just a little. Recorded live, no edits.
04.02.2020
107 - A Golden Era of travel ends, another will rise
Flight 107. We might have been in a Golden Age of travel, and didn't see it — it's now time to reflect, and think about the next one, a different one, with perhaps more friction, and certainly some pain in...
03.13.2020
106 OGG - The 2020 Virus Crash, the world is shutting down, keep healthy, cheer up, we will beat this (and, guys, that Kahului final will make you smile!)
Flight 106. The 2020 Virus Crash, the world is shutting down, no one is flying — this could become the biggest downturn ever in aviation history and perhaps the biggest global recession since World War II (we certainly do not...
02.28.2020
105 DCA - Covid19, 787 raffle, LHR Volunteers, business+, Ben's Chili Bowl, with Elizabeth, Dan & Ed
Flight 105. Everything you wanted to know (or not know) about the coronavirus (aka Covid19, Sars2, or World War Z) and its short-term effects on the world of air travel — from the hassles to the precaution to think about....
02.08.2020
104 MSP - KC-10 flying gas station, cheese cubes and hummus, why Delta, alliances no more, A220+
Flight 104. The cheese cubes and hummus episode, with Doug Zschoche, aka OfficerWayFinder: everything you ever wanted to know about why flyers love Delta so much. What it is to fly the KC-10, the flying gas station, and to play...
01.16.2020
103 DEN - Fish, Chicken, Beef, Lasagna, the flavors of the airlines …and the lizards conspiracy
Flight 103. It's always fish, chicken, beef and lasagna, airplane food, airport food and more food: airline Christmas menus, First class samplings, FRA hunger games, fake meat, Air Yoshinoya. The healthiest US trays, the best global airline for your taste...
12.19.2019
102 DFW - United Jedi Force, 380 misjudgment, coffee pan pan, BA door review, mad MAD, BLLegoland
Flight 102. Paul reviews the BA Club Suite (no door was hurt in the making of this podcast). Alex and the secrets of meeting rockstars in flight (mark them down!). The A380 misunderstanding: it should live on (and don't listen...
12.07.2019
101 HAN - Emirates plans, Vietnam meat, Miles & Less, Aeromexico noise, Norwegian LHR coup
Flight 101. Everything you wanted to know about Emirates future. Vietnam Airlines has pizza, 350s, 20 million fines and some undefined (but good) meat. The 777X wings are automated. Lufthansa mulls rebranding its program Miles & Less (meaning, the new...
11.03.2019
100 LON - Thank you everyone for being such great listeners, happy 100 to you all!
Flight 100. To all of you, thank you so much for tuning in repeatedly, we couldn't have done any of this without your help, your feedback, your reviews, your comments, your corrections, your criticisms (and yes, Delta fans, we're again...
09.29.2019
099 ARN - Facial boarding, Airways board game, epic Qatar, Emperor 747, AA flagship, Betsy beer 2.0
Flight 099. Airways, the board game & softball, an avgeek game. Food galore, from the AirMos burger manual to the LHR AA chorizo hot dog, to the not-really-parisian Admirals baguette. UA Polaris confusion and AA absent service (ok, more like...
09.12.2019
098 DTW - Extraordinary HK, experiencing Delta, AA B&O, mad MAX, Gran Class, LAX Eagles Nest, e-NRT
Flight 098. Shinkansen Gran Class, Four Seasons Mexico and Popeye Chicken sandwich, are we still an aviation podcast? The Eagle's Nest at LAX. Aer Pluto Lingus. SFO goes stupid with plastic. The 777x decompressed explosively. The 737 MAX is still...
07.09.2019
097 FAO - TWA love, underwater 747, Virgin Pride, Del(icious)ta, RIP Airbus father, AA MD80, BA cats
Flight 097. The TWA hotel is everything we wanted. Long haul narrowbodies, a new old debate. USB-A versus USB-C, a new new debate (we just want good power!). Delta goes all in for good economy food, the US goes all...
06.25.2019
096 IST - Emirates rejig, airport Lambo, Skytrax porn, Sunrise 4th zone, BA bubbly, Embraer nickname
Flight 096. Emirates fleet rejigging, 787 trashing, and basic business. The airport Lambo is nicer than the new Air Force One. What's in a name, MAX or no MAX, and other Boeing decisions. IAG steals the Paris Air Show PR....
06.11.2019
095 YYZ - Jewel WOW, EVA pizza, chipped E140, Airbus 50, Kulula, Finnair whisky, De Havilland, A220+
Flight 095. EVA bakes pizza. Finnair does whisky. Airbus goes 50. Uber goes NY copter. Alex flies to South Africa, misplaces stuff (angry breakfast and angry lounge shower follow). Paul flies the Q Suite to Singapore, marvels at the Jewel...
05.27.2019
094 TLV - RIP Niki, First beer, Boeing distrust, 747 record, SWISS 77W, JetBlue treason, fly Nando's
Flight 094. Niki Lauda the legend who pushed death aside. Beers and more beers: Betsy makes a come back, BA adds a secret First Class bottled beer, and more on the Speedbird 100 (toilet clog, anyone?). From Nando's to Taco...
05.14.2019
093 INN - Speedbird beer, Superjet bounce, lavatory ratio, tricky airports, SQ farm, IFE privacy
Flight 093. Paul sounds like a robot (sorry, guys), Alex sounds authoritative (he's always right, no?). The BA Speedbird 100 beer (when need Glen to assess it!). Some on-board pop that foams too much (Alex is the worst passenger). On-board...
04.27.2019
092 KUH - United love, JAL Zipair, BA coronation chicken, shoddy Dreamliner, Star Wars 738, IFE 56F
Flight 092. Alex loves Innsbruck 3000. Paul loves running in CDG 3000. We adore the new TWA infinity edge pool 3000. We love the new United livery 3000. We love tiny airports that behave like big ones, 3000. We love...
04.13.2019
091 DEL - Virgin half door, JetBlue Europe, BA First buttons, IST Big Bang, DME cheese, Grand STN
Flight 091. Warning, doesn't contain images of any aircraft in distress. BA pizza app delivery to Lagos (so many questions!). Risk of cheese smell upon landing at Moscow DME (does that make immigration go faster?). Virgin Atlantic unveils a half...
03.31.2019
090 RIX - BA Club Suite, cockpit goals, bye WOW, Qantas cafe, bold StarLux, Sukhoi 380, 737 MAX bind
Flight 090. BA flies to the wrong destination (Ryanair mocks, but did worse) and introduces its shortest hop ever. WOW is gone, Jet Airways is close to be gone, but StarLux goes bold. AMS has a direct view on the...
03.16.2019
089 TSE - 737 MAX tragedy, A380 buyback, AirDrop WTF, skiplag fight, Air Astana joy, Southwest dress
Flight 089. The Ethiopian disaster, the 737 MAX grounding and aftermath. A dress, a baby and a stupid passenger enter aircrafts, who gets tasered? (Not the red badge!) Lufthansa fights skiplagging, on-boards doctors (amazing program!!), ditches four engines aircrafts (and...
03.07.2019
088 MEX - So long A380, identity error anxiety, AFKLM fights, ETAs everywhere, red wings, Aeromexico
Flight 088. The end of the A380. Color printing is key to enter MEX. The new world of electronic authorizations of travel. The delicate art and science of aircraft forecasting (and everybody gets it wrong). The real prices of aircrafts....
02.09.2019
087 GMP - Ethiopian love, premium business, JAL shoe shine, FRA T3, Aeroflot hijack, stupid alcohol
Flight 087. The beeping T-shirt, A Star Wars Story. Paul falls in love with Ethiopian, reviews Asiana and JAL. IAG gives up on Norwegian. WOW has no more wow. FlyBe might be saved. NRT celebrates 40, expands new signage, offers...

What's Layovers - Air Travel podcast about?

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Layovers - Air Travel podcast episodes:

136 DXB - Vegan First Class, lounge bouncers, jet stream rush, intermittent flying fasting, improper JFK

135 RAK - Epic tropical lounge, composite burn, full row downgrade, going veg, MAXed out Boeing rant

134 HKG - All business class 321neo, biometrics AI airports, Qatar 2.0, boarding group 0, IFE gold standard

133 ALA - Bundling the unbundling, Condor Brewdog, BER secret door, overhead bin booking, inaugural JetBlue, LH sneakers, with Alex Vukolova

132 BLQ - Finnair hippos, IST hugeness, fast track lounge, Super NES passport, Midfield Tom Cruise run

131 NRT - The Amazing Zipair Race from London to California to Tokyo to Osaka and back

130 MSP - Cheap travel and the hamster wheel of miles and status in the post-Covid devaluation times, with Kyle 'Hello Kitty' Potter

129 GVA - Attaché bromance, Air Force Ones, 777X windows, fly with film, Covid weight, Vomit Pro, Brian Shul

128 AUH - Etihad 2.0, Midfield mirage, Swiss cheeseboard, 40000ft silent floating, Louis Vuitton lounging

127 JFK T8 - Mint Studio wow, airfare inflation, BEY dual time, increased turbulences, why do you go to a lounge?

126 MAD - Mad dash at MADrid, skip the JAL banana, BA/LHR chagrin, Lufthansa seat Tetris, Emirates is Apple

125 CDG T2 - The 747 is forever, a London NY bridge at JFK T8, Air France lounge joie de vivre, 777 guillotine, the airport game

124 LAX — In and out LAX, the rise of Turkish Airlines, frequent flyer free agents, airline consulting, LA celebrity handling, with Hakan aka LAFlyr

123 BRR — Flying the Concorde, visiting all the Concordes, accessing the Concorde Room, a Concorde episode with GGL Ed Parsons

122 FLR — Joyful Norse, Doha Changi Gardens, in-flight 5G, A380 returns, Avios loot boxes, limitless UK liquids, nacho cheese lounge

121 JED — Flying to Saudi Arabia to see AlUla, Jeddah airport aquarium, Emirates cost cutting, desert driving, Indy travel philosophy

120 YUL — World Cup flights, Avios stash, Alaska royalty, Nein to AirTags, Upper First Class, Trudeau Dorval or Mirabel

119 KHI — Flying in and around Pakistan, Queen NOTAMs, Japan rush, United x Emirates, ticket inflation, Virgin plusgrade, Argo escape

118 LAP — Victorville overfly, 2bn Emirates refresh, Star losing Lufthansa, taxiing EWR for 9hrs, Windsor Suites, smuggling McMuffins

117 VLC - Summer of discontent, Alitalia hit-and-run, AirTag anxiety, A380 comeback, so long Comair, Vuelinggedon

116 MDE - Brace for travel chaos, turbulence forecast, Medellin missed approach, 747-200m fine, air-bus routes, cascading wet leases

115 RTW - Mark Vanhoenacker: Imagine a City, a (787) Pilot Sees the World

114 UVF — Losing Virgin(ity) from sunset to sunrise, SLU, Airbus Ecureuil, ever late 777X, who pilots Air France?

113 MLE - Seaplanes, A380s and (not) remembering DXB. A220 flying through the biweekly BA IT mess.

112 JFK T5 - JetBlue Mint Studio, SFO for 3 hours and back, powered 747 relic, non-reclining Finnair, Airpotle

111 LIH - Touring the US in the pandemic-ish era, the MAX is back, the recovery not yet

110 SIN T4 - Vaccine tourism, supersonic Boom, Mi(g)nsk detour, Covid passports, plague terminal

109 DIVERSION - Storminess reroute, Steampunk Singapore, (AL)ITA(LIA), pandemic fleets

108 WFH - We Meet Again

107 - A Golden Era of travel ends, another will rise

106 OGG - The 2020 Virus Crash, the world is shutting down, keep healthy, cheer up, we will beat this (and, guys, that Kahului final will make you smile!)

105 DCA - Covid19, 787 raffle, LHR Volunteers, business+, Ben's Chili Bowl, with Elizabeth, Dan & Ed

104 MSP - KC-10 flying gas station, cheese cubes and hummus, why Delta, alliances no more, A220+

103 DEN - Fish, Chicken, Beef, Lasagna, the flavors of the airlines …and the lizards conspiracy

102 DFW - United Jedi Force, 380 misjudgment, coffee pan pan, BA door review, mad MAD, BLLegoland

101 HAN - Emirates plans, Vietnam meat, Miles & Less, Aeromexico noise, Norwegian LHR coup

100 LON - Thank you everyone for being such great listeners, happy 100 to you all!

099 ARN - Facial boarding, Airways board game, epic Qatar, Emperor 747, AA flagship, Betsy beer 2.0

098 DTW - Extraordinary HK, experiencing Delta, AA B&O, mad MAX, Gran Class, LAX Eagles Nest, e-NRT

097 FAO - TWA love, underwater 747, Virgin Pride, Del(icious)ta, RIP Airbus father, AA MD80, BA cats

096 IST - Emirates rejig, airport Lambo, Skytrax porn, Sunrise 4th zone, BA bubbly, Embraer nickname

095 YYZ - Jewel WOW, EVA pizza, chipped E140, Airbus 50, Kulula, Finnair whisky, De Havilland, A220+

094 TLV - RIP Niki, First beer, Boeing distrust, 747 record, SWISS 77W, JetBlue treason, fly Nando's

093 INN - Speedbird beer, Superjet bounce, lavatory ratio, tricky airports, SQ farm, IFE privacy

092 KUH - United love, JAL Zipair, BA coronation chicken, shoddy Dreamliner, Star Wars 738, IFE 56F

091 DEL - Virgin half door, JetBlue Europe, BA First buttons, IST Big Bang, DME cheese, Grand STN

090 RIX - BA Club Suite, cockpit goals, bye WOW, Qantas cafe, bold StarLux, Sukhoi 380, 737 MAX bind

089 TSE - 737 MAX tragedy, A380 buyback, AirDrop WTF, skiplag fight, Air Astana joy, Southwest dress

088 MEX - So long A380, identity error anxiety, AFKLM fights, ETAs everywhere, red wings, Aeromexico

087 GMP - Ethiopian love, premium business, JAL shoe shine, FRA T3, Aeroflot hijack, stupid alcohol