Catching up on some reader mail, and also on big changes coming in airports served, meals on board, and vaguely boring partnerships.

Also in this episode:

• Tailwind’s DC switcheroo
• United/Emirates deal is just as boring as we expected, but at least it includes flyDubai
• American Airlines closing SFO flight attendant base
• Boeing looks to sell Chinese 737MAXen as white tails
• Delta meals upgrades
• More Boom engine mess
• Heart’s electric hybrid shift
• A WaPo reporter repeated the infamous Ferris Bueller day
• ZipAir launching NRT-SJC in December; ANA bringing it back in March
• Horizon pilots contract approved
• Old Doha Airport is back for a bit

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Schiphol still a mess, and the CEO resigned
• French ATC strikes, and a Ryanair flight to the wrong country as a result
• London capacity caps to extend through the winter

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Can Russia produce more than 300 commercial aircraft by the end of the decade to backfill the Boeing and Airbus frames that will be inoperable by then? And would you fly on one if they do??

Also in this episode:

• Italian govt picks an ITA suitorITA
• Aeroflot signs for 300+ Russian aircraft by the end of the decade
• IATA kicks Newark out of NYC, but not entirely
• Southwest’s Companion Pass promotion
• NFTicket from Air Europa and revenue management
• Alaska Airlines’ new digital bag tag plans
• JFK new T1 groundbreaking
• Satcoms on cell phones

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Boom is even further from an engine
• United adds more eVTOL
• Matternet FAA cert

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Summer is ending, but travel continues. And optimism remains strong, at least in some segments of the industry.

Also in this episode:

• Three tragic crashes over the weekend:

  • Biz jet failed to land in Germany as expected; eventually ran out of fuel between Latvia and Sweden (4 or 5 presumed dead)

  • DHC-3 Otter floatplane with 10 aboard off Whidbey Island, WA

  • TAP landed on a motorcycle in Conakry

  • A 29 year old stole a plane in Tupelo, MS

• An 11 cent O-ring grounded the US Army Chinook helicopter fleet
• Not even death can exempt you from TSA screening.
• China Airlines buying 787s to replace A330s
• Overflights
• Speculation over the UA/Emirates announcement next week
• Passengers keep AirDropping nudes
• Saudi Arabia reporting plans for a new $30bn airline investment
• Silver Airways retired the Saab 340 fleet; now all ATRs

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Israel to block four engine aircraft from next year
• Air Canada Aeroplan stopovers now bookable online
• Thai Airways sold 5 A340s for about $10 million, and says that’s above the appraised value

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Another airline disappears, but we’re still here. You can decide if that’s a good trade or not.

Also in this episode:

• aha! Is gone
• Regional pilots pay scale insanity
• Qantas to add AKL-JFK in June 2023
• JetBlue A321LR delays mean no hot meals for some London passengers
• Play adding Dulles in April 2023
• Denver concessions employee travel budget
• Nigeria released cash to foreign airlines, but not all of it.
• Frontier new hub/crew base at PHX
• Finnair pushing traffic via DOH starting in November with daily flights from
  ARN/CPH/HEL.

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Dublin’s got a new runway
• AS Stranding People in Barrow Due to runway construction and “radar” issues. And half runways in Alaska.
• PAE-ANC coming in November

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

So much news from American Airlines this week we might have to rebrand the show. But lots of other goodies, too.

Also in this episode:

• The future of American’s A321T interiors?
• American (theoretically) buys into the Boom hype
• American is also (really) buying Air Whiskey and bringing its 60 CRJs in-house (and away from United)
• A canceled route, terrible rebooking, and horrible service
• Ethiopian 737 pilots allegedly fell asleep during a flight
• 737 MAX wing production slowdown, on top of last week’s mention of engine swaps
• Faroe fish cargo carrier
• Singapore’s new T5 plan
• Wizz is not restarting Russia flights after all

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• SAN-LAX is back on UA
• A Hertz mini-rant
• 27000 and the Reagan library
• Emirates cabin upgrades by the numbers

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Scavenging for spare parts, profitable routes, or just good travel ideas? We’ve got it all in this week’s show.

Also in this episode:

• Europe:

  • Schiphol is set to pay out a massive amount of money in pax comp
  • Customer support backlogs are still a mess for some; Eurostar closed its phone lines for a month to clear existing cases.
  • Heathrow extending 100k pax/day cap
• Asia:

  • Sydney is the latest airport to see massive lines and understaffed check-in/security

  • Malaysia Airlines taking 20 A330neo from 2024-2028

  • Asia is still closed so Northern Pacific is going to try Mexico routes instead

  • Delta bringing HND service online from LAX, HNL
• Tailwind launching DC-ish service on a seaplane

• Russia is cannibalizing planes for spare parts

• So is Boeing, moving engines from completed but parked MAXen to new builds more likely to deliver

• Delta allowed to cut flights at LGA/JFK/DCA without losing slots; blames very high sick rates
• JetBlue moving more Mint planes to LAX (plus another TATL market), and a bunch of route suspensions/cancellations extended.

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Allegiant is not amused by the Sun Country EAS award
• AraJet (Dominican upstart) is selling tix. Seems like it is actually going to launch.
• Uber killing loyalty program
• Emirates F unlimited caviar
• Akasa founder sudden death

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Airlines raked in revenue in Q2, but not all of them reported a profit. And that raises a lot of bigger picture questions.

Also in this episode:

• This week in Europe’s aero mess

  • British Airways won’t sell short-haul seats ex-Heathrow through the first week of August in hopes of accommodating displaced passengers.

  • Schiphol caps through October

• Airbus terminates remaining Qatari A350 orders
• New proposed DOT rules on refunds for schedule changes
• The Italian government wants better bids for a stake in ITA

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• New AA Lounge design (DCA first)
• Swiss to wet lease Air Baltic A220s

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

More leisure travelers than expected, plus some gardening tips. Oh, and lots of airline news, too.

Also in this episode:

• The Spirit merger drama is over. And just beginning.
• AA300 NTSB report
• 787s return finally approved (timing unclear for actual restart of
• deliveries)
• No MAX 7 this year
• BA doesn’t expect 777X until 2026
• AirTags don’t always work
• Launch dates for Virgin Atlantic A330neo (and should Seth do it?)
• Iberia putting doors on it’s A350 biz seats late 2023

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• New routes from Delta and Air France
• KrisFlyer gives back Stephan’s miles
• Aeroplan award chart changes, and expiry of points extended again

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

Despite being one of the slowest major air shows for new order announcements in years, Farnborough 2022 offered plenty of news.

Also in this episode:

• Far too much time spent talking about LaGuardia
• Railroad tracks expanding in the heat, and runways melting, too.
• Delta Air Lines‘ 737 MAX 10 order
• EasyJet‘s A32neo order
• Porter expands E2 order
• LATAM A321s and XLRs
• Boom still doesn’t have an engine, but it needs twice as many
• Lots of eVTOL stuff
• Airbus putting an open fan engine on the 380 for testing, Hydrogen stuff, too
• AA, UA, AS earnings
• UA/AC JV happening again
• Branding via salt & pepper shakers

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Seth’s AA Transcon J trip report (and follow on to last week’s version from Michael)

• Alaska Airlines gave away billions of points

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!

We haven’t had much to say about travel to Asia in recent months. That changes this week, as we’re joined by Michael Traeger from TravelZork to share some thoughts. A lot of thoughts, really.

Also in this episode:

• Lots of talk about premium travel from the US to Southeast Asia, and luxury options while in Vietnam
• Virgin Atlantic’s new A330neo, including the Retreat Suite J+
• This week in European aero collapse:
  • Heathrow adds daily passenger caps through the end of the summer; Emirates fights back, also the slots issue is no more thanks to updated guidance that came just after we recorded.
  • Icelandair sending its own baggage handlers to Amsterdam
  • Delta ferries baggage out of Heathrow

For our Patreon subscribers we have bonus content, including:

• Both Delta and United get the Cape Town slots

• Connect Airlines is hiring 30 Captains at $250k/year

• UA cutting SFO/DEN-STS (oct 28)

And plenty more. Enjoy the show!