Plane and Simple Podcast

The lost debut episode is finally out of the hangar!

Recorded back in October 2024 as the very first episode of Plane and Simple, we sat down with Captain Suveer (Airbus A320 Captain) for an unfiltered look at what life behind the uniform is really like.

Though it took a little extra time to hit your feed, the truths about aviation haven't changed one bit.

Inside this episode:

• Reels vs. Reality: Debunking the Instagram "glitz &glam" of pilot life.

• The Cost of Flying: Flight school debt, stagnant salaries, and industry realities.

• A Day in the Cockpit: From 4:00 AM reporting & mandatory BA checks to 4-sector shuttles.

• Flight Delays & Fatigue: What passenger heckling misses about Flight Duty Time Limits (FDTL).

• Cockpit Talk: Airbus A320 vs. Boeing 737 and why the 747 will always be king

Ever wondered what it’s like to run an airline when you’re also its biggest fan? Join us as we talk to Sanjiv Kapoor, the executive who describes himself as an "aviation nut" first and a businessman second.

From "fanboy" moments cold-calling the legends of the industry to navigating the high-stakes days of 9/11 at Northwest Airlines, Sanjiv shares the fascinating stories that built his career.

Expect stories on:

• The Secret Design: How the Vistara retro livery and uniforms were conceived in-house to capture 60s glamour.
• The Legend: Why the Boeing 747 remains the "Queen of the Skies" and the story of its impossible three-year development
• Leadership: Why passion, reliability, and "humanising" the service industry are the true edges in business
• Window or...?: Why you should always keep your window shade open—and the struggle with dimmable windows.

If you enjoyed this episode, do share your feedback with us on [email protected]

India leads the world with the highest percentage of female pilots. But this milestone wasn't reached overnight.

In this episode, we sit down with Capt Nivedita Bhasin, an icon, a pioneer and truly a champion who has been at the forefront of Indian aviation for half a century.

Some firsts associated with Capt Nivedita Bhasin:

• youngest woman pilot in history to command a commercial jet

• first female pilot to command the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

• was the co-pilot on the first all-women crew flight on a Fokker Friendship F-27 in 1985 and the first Boeing all-women crew flight in 1989

In this episode, Capt Bhasin shares her incredible journey, starting as a determined 15-year-old at the Delhi Gliding Club to retiring as a 787 Dreamliner Captain for Air India.

We dive into:

• 50 years in aviation, from the "raw" days of flying the Fokker Friendship with primitive instruments to delivering India’s second-ever Dreamliner from the Boeing factory

• the challenges of being the first female pilot in India to navigate motherhood and maternity policy

• Fascination with the Boeing 747.. and much more.

Whether you are an aviation geek or an aspiring pilot, this conversation is a masterclass in persistence and passion.

In this special episode, we celebrate one year since the launch of Plane and Simple.

To mark the occasion, we’ve turned the tables; instead of our usual deep dives, we are joined by guest Hardeep Singh—a lawyer with aviation credentials—who helps us tell our own "reverse story"

In this episode:

• We journey back to our earliest memories, from handwritten tickets and battery-operated 747 toys to first flights on Alliance Air and Jet Airways.

• We also reveal the "origin story" of the podcast itself - how a chance meeting over bag tags led to a partnership between two entrepreneurs obsessed with the "nerdy" side of aviation.

• The Filtered & Unfiltered: Editor Sankalp joins the conversation to discuss his favourite moments from the first year, including the iconic Jet Airways episode.

• The Future of Plane and Simple: First look at the 2026 P&S Calendar and our new contributor status with FlightRadar24.

We’ve moved past saying "safe flights" and embraced "Happy Flying". Tune in to find out why.

Join hosts Jitesh and Arpit alongside Darrel Chua, who helped build KrisWorld & start the IFE revolution at Singapore Airlines.

Going back to the 1990s, Darrel takes us behind the curtains of the industry he helped define. Discover the absolute amazing and crazy things that happened during the birth of modern IFE.

Hear insider stories about:

• The creation of KrisWorld and the massive investment that it required.

• Developing the first generation of fully digital Audio Video On Demand (AVOD 1.0), requiring intense R&D and convincing a wary Hollywood about digital encryption and early window content

• Technical challenges needed to move from proprietary software (like Windows 3.1) to Linux open source.

• How a fatal Swiss Air 111 crash related to an IFE system forced massive changes in electrical power consumption and certification across the industry

From analog video tapes and x386 computers running Windows 3.1 to today’s digital streaming, this is a fascinating deep dive into the engineering, politics, and incredible innovation that changed the way we fly.

In this episode of Plane and Simple, hosts Arpit and Jitesh welcome Behramjee Ghadially, an expert with 15 years of experience in Route Network Planning and fleet planning, having worked for carriers in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

In this episode we cover:

• Business Models: We explore the difference between point-to-point and the globally more successful hub-and-spoke model (pioneered by KLM).

• Profitability & Planning: Behramjee outlines the three levels of airline profitability, from covering Operating Cash Costs to achieving Net Profit by covering fixed costs and overheads. He also contrasts how route planning is influenced by private ownership versus government ownership.

• Good vs. Bad Routes: Hear specific examples of what constitutes ill-conceived route planning (such as recent Ethiopian Airlines launches) versus successful strategy (like the Air India Bangalore-London shift to Heathrow).

• Market Deep Dive: A significant portion is dedicated to the unique characteristics of the African market (high luggage requirements, last-minute bookings) and the burgeoning Indian market (trader traffic, medical tourism, and cargo potential).

• Fleet Strategy: Learn how aircraft selection (including the A220 and E95E2 regional jets) affects route viability, and why maximizing belly cargo capacity is vital for wide-body profitability, especially on India-GCC routes.

Behramjee offers candid advice during our rapid-fire session, including strategic expansion points for Indigo in Africa and Central Asia.

Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes before your flight even leaves the gate?

We go behind the scenes with Damian Szumski, who is a licensed flight dispatcher & has worked in all aspects of data in aviation, including working at Flightradar24.

In this episode we cover:

• Damian's journey into aviation as a 9 year old to working at Flightradar24.

• the intense pre-tactical planning required for flight dispatchers

• the "secret sauce" behind location tracking of aircraft.

• the operational importance of NOTAMS (Notice to Air Missions)

• importance of Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), the standardized "books" containing crucial rules, charts, and procedures for using a country's airspace.

• why standardisation of data is lacking in the industry, often forcing airlines to use different combinations of tools

• what the future of flight planning & data would look like in the age of AI.

This episode is essential listening for anyone who uses the Flightradar24 app or is curious about the insane volume of data that powers aviation.

This week on Plane and Simple, we chat with Nitin Sarin, an aviation enthusiast whose passion became his profession as an Aviation lawyer.

• Being a true collector: If collecting were a sport, Nitin would be in line for Olympic gold. He shares more about his legendary collection including rare 1:400 scale models he used to secretly buy on eBay to unique memorabilia like Concorde fan blades and crockery from a repossessed corporate jet.

• Legend of the famous Flight Log: Nitin also reveals the origins of his famous handwritten flight log, which he has meticulously maintained for the past 19 years. What was once a source of suspicion has now become an icebreaker: he hands it to the crew upon boarding and often gets invited to the flight deck—or has the captain come out to greet him.

• "Cracking the Code" of Airliners.net: For many Avgeeks, getting a photo accepted on Airliners.net was a rite of passage. Nitin talks about the emotional rollercoaster of the process—from the elation of an acceptance to the “extreme disappointment” of a rejection after an 11-day wait. We also go deeper into the stories behind his photos, including an eerie shot of a Turkish Airlines crash in the Netherlands.

• The "Golden Age" of Plane Spotting in India: Nitin recalls vivid memories of spotting in Mumbai at the legendary Jari Mari location. He describes the thrill of seeing now-classic aircraft like the PIA 747-200/300 and the Iran Air 747SP. He even hosted the renowned aviation blogger Sam Chui, who was horrified by the spot but blown away by the views. This time, less than 20 years ago, represents a completely different and now-vanished era of Indian aviation.

• Journey into Aviation Law: Nitin talks about what led him to pursue a Master’s in Air and Space Law in the Netherlands, a choice partly motivated by his childhood love for KLM’s iconic blue livery and the proximity to Schiphol Airport.

• First-Hand Experience with Airline Repossessions: Drawing on his professional life, he provides an insider’s view of repossessing aircraft in India—describing it as the “wild, wild west.” He also details the chaos during the Go First insolvency, when parts like sidesticks—the “steering wheel of an aircraft”—were being stripped from planes, requiring him to obtain a court order to stop it.

This episode is a celebration of the obsessions we share as Avgeeks and a reminder that our passion for these stunning birds can last a lifetime.

Nitin's Airlines.net profile: https://www.airliners.net/user/deaphen/profile/photos

Ever wished you could get the business class experience without the business class ticket?

On this episode of Plain and Simple, we chat with Iñigo Merino, co-founder of Wingle, an app on a mission to make your entire travel day more comfortable. What started as a clever way to chat with fellow passengers offline has evolved into a powerful tool for every traveller.

Tune in for a deep dive into:

• The Challenge of Airlines: Why is the aviation industry so "close-knit" and difficult for newcomers to break into? Iñigo shares his early struggles and the realisation that Wingle had to be completely independent of airline support to succeed.

• Wingle Pass Explained: What if you could access airport lounges, fast-track security, and even a "Land and Laundry" service from a single app? We walk through how Wingle Pass works to aggregate the fragmented world of airport services.

• The Future of In-Flight Tech: Discover the surprising new use case for Wingle's offline technology: helping airline crews streamline in-flight service for business class passengers by sending orders directly from the seat to the galley.

• The Airport Ritual: Iñigo shares his personal obsession with optimising his airport journey, including his record time for clearing security at Madrid Airport: an incredible 25 seconds.

• Aviation Hot Takes: Is Singapore's Changi Airport overrated? Iñigo shares his unpopular opinion on why its security setup and lounge offerings (for non-Singapore Airlines flyers) don't live up to the hype.

We find out Iñigo's dream airline partnership, his favourite aircraft for nostalgic reasons, and which celebrity he'd pick as a Wingle Ambassador.

How did an 18-year-old organize a feat of global logistics during a pandemic?

Join Jitesh and Arpit on yet another episode of "Plane and Simple" as they chat with Jiajun Ma, a UCLA senior from Beijing, China, whose aviation journey will leave you spellbound!

• From Childhood Wonder to Global Sensation: Discover the roots of Jiajun's aviation "disease," starting with VIP treatment as a two-year-old unaccompanied minor and leading to a JetPhotos account with over 1.6 million views!

• The Teenager Who Chartered a Triple-Seven: Unpack the incredible story of how Jiajun and his co-founders, at just 18, managed to charter Boeing 777 flights to bring Chinese students to US colleges during the height of COVID-19. What did it take to make this happen?

• China's Skies Revealed: Dive deep into the unique characteristics of Chinese aviation, from its distinct air traffic control protocols and high-speed rail dominance to the rising influence of COMAC aircraft. What makes this market so different?

• An Aviator's Deepest Affections: From his favorite airlines and airports to the rarest aircraft he's ever spotted (a six-hour round trip just for a picture!), get a glimpse into the mind of a true aviation enthusiast, and find out his ultimate dream flight!

• The "Everything is Possible" Mindset: Explore how Jiajun's passion and determination led to an achievement that impacted countless lives and left him with a powerful lesson about turning dreams into reality.

Tune in to uncover the full story and witness the contagious enthusiasm for the world of flight!

Connect with Jiajun Ma's incredible photography: https://www.jetphotos.com/photographer/205000