Dots, Lines & Destinations » Podcast

It is important to be comfortable while flying. But maybe getting naked it taking things a bit too far. Fights in the terminal and a nation collapsing are also on this week's agenda. Stories in this week's episode include: * Spirit Passenger gets naked * Venezuela aviation is falling apart (n.b. since the recording Iberia appears to have halted flights as well) * Paris catering issues * Flight delay leads to fisticuffs * Lessons in ETOPS

More LCCs across the Pond and A321neos to Hawaii. Some airplanes cannot count and some airlines cannot get enough pilots. Plus lots more! Stories discussed in this show: * Why are TATL LCCs skipping Amsterdam? * Hawaiian announced its first A321 Routes * Air France is adding another, less expected, Atlanta route * A350s can't count * Scooting to Hawaii * St. Helena is switching to E190s now * Horizon Air cannot grow because it cannot hire and keep enough pilots This week's episode is sponsored by 23andme.com/. Enter to win a trip now through August third. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal U.S. residents, 18 or older. Ends August third. Must complete the 23andMe Service. Visit 23andme.com/rules for free entry.

All sorts of excitement in this week's episode, including: * San Francisco was almost the site of a major aviation disaster. It wasn't, fortunately, and we still are missing some details on the incident, but it was definitely spooky. * Delta's stock took a hit after its quarterly earnings came up a little short. * JetBlue is matching to its Mosaic status level and has a challenge to keep it for longer if you're in to that sort of thing. * American is (finally) breaking up with Qatar Airways and Etihad. A little bit. * United might start processing bumps a few days before travel rather than at the gate. * Tragedy struck St. Maarten's Maho Beach when an AvGeek was killed after falling while fence surfing. Also, guess the header image location and maybe win a free Gogo pass! This week's episode is sponsored by 23andme.com/. Enter to win a trip now through August third. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal U.S. residents, 18 or older. Ends August third. Must complete the 23andMe Service. Visit 23andme.com/rules for free entry.

A(nother) loyalty partnership is dying and IATA admits it is slightly less relevant in one area. But plenty of new stuff coming to keep us interested. * Alaska Airlines' MileagePlan and American Airlines' AAdvantage programs are breaking up. Not nearly as acrimonious as the Alaska/Delta split, but still annoying for customers. * Why are YY fares dying? And what are they anyways? * Boston is getting new service from Delta that may or may not be dartboard-related. * Edelweiss is coming to Denver * Norwegian is going everywhere, including new London flights that take on legacies * Budapest is getting service to the USA again, and the operator might surprise you This week's episode is sponsored by 23andme.com/DLD. Enter to win a trip now through August third.  NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal U.S. residents, 18 or older. Ends August third. Must complete the 23andMe Service. Visit 23andme.com/rules for free entry.

We had a listener ask us about what it takes to get an airport to deliver a decent experience. We tend to think that competition helps raise levels of service but does that apply for airports? Other topics include: * United made some award chart changes, but at least it still has award charts. Also, not all of the changes are awful, though lots of rates went up, particularly for premium cabin awards. * Norwegian took delayed delivery of its first two 737MAX aircraft. * Iran to get 10 new airlines within six months * China Airlines may be dropping JFK-TPE service claiming it is massively money losing Also, the unplanned discussion of the million dollar/pound door at Heathrow  

Reporting on the Paris Air Show: * Is the A380Plus for real? Probably not. (MAS A380 story mentioned in the show) * Is the 737MAX10 a game-changer? Probably not, though a decent number of orders rolled in during the Paris Air Show 2017. * Is Boom going to be successful with supersonic commercial flight? Probably not. But at least it was scorching hot in Paris to lift our spirits in these discussions. Also: * Antwerp is awesome! * Will Air Canada and United restart transborder Joint Venture talks? * The US is looking to screw consumers by caving to airline pressure about fare display. * SCOTUS is letting parts of the Trump Travel ban take effect. * And new security rules for travel to the USA are coming, but we didn't have much detail as we recorded.    

Seth is enjoying the Paris Air Show during this episode, so it's just Stephan and Fozz bringing you the latest round of aviation and travel news. * New Cuba travel policies are coming. We don't know all the details or even when the changes will happen, but they're coming. * United will soon serve deep dish "pizza" in economy. I'm no deep dish lover, but it's an interesting change. The real question is, will they stock enough. * Delta is now selling their Delta One Suites and the Delta Premium Select products, but is it going to cause confusion? * Phoenix is hot. And water is wet. Cancellations due to heat are making a mess of things in the southwest.  

Sorry we're late this week. At least y'all didn't mount a massive hate campaign on social media like some airlines face. * Qatar's got problems. They're political, humanitarian and aeronautical. * United is launching LAX-SIN and cutting the HKG-SIN route; Pacific 5th freedoms continue to die for US carriers * Basic Economy is confusing, even with the warnings. * An emotional support animal attacked a Delta passenger. Our response is probably not what you'd expect. * * Seth was at the IATA AGM in Cancun last week and sat in on the Richard Quest session that was pretty interesting with respect to airlines responding to social media viral stories Also, thanks to some of our podcast sponsors via Patreon: * Travis M. * Jonathan H. * Daelan D. * Charles H. * Peter M. * Eoin K. * Ralph L. * Reid F. * Mr. Fritz Join them in helping support the show!

Loyalty isn't just about hotels and airlines. Casinos run some of the largest and must lucrative programs out there. And, not surprisingly, there are people who like to play that game just like those who play the travel game. We recently sat down in London with Michael Trager of TravelZork to talk about some of those programs and how they differ from the travel stuff we're more familiar with. Also in the show, most of the usual nonsense conversations that we typically go through, like seats, which routing is best and other such idiocy.

The crew was in London last weekend, primed with a few pints of ale and an inaugural flight experience to share. Also in the episode: * Discussion of the Delta One product on the 767 related to the inaugural PDX-LHR flight * Tight lavs suck, and some are tighter than ever * Delta mostly fixed its middle seat upgrade problem * Premium economy is strange on many airlines that don't offer it on the full fleet * Stephan posits on possible award routings * A couple cool AvGeek stories like flying below sea level and flight computers going haywire https://twitter.com/ssegraves/status/867402667970244609 http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/the-untold-story-of-qf72-what-happens-when-psycho-automation-leaves-pilots-powerless-20170510-gw26ae.html

Singapore Airlines is returning four A380s to the lessor and the future of those specific aircraft is uncertain, as is the future of the line in general. https://twitter.com/winglets747/status/865183635472646148 https://www.avbuyer.com/aircraft/private-jets/airbus/A380/350143 We talk Boeing's MOM/NMA options, too, trying to make some sense of the market and what's next. Oh, and 787s, too, while we're at it. The -10 is now flying test operations and there are some interesting rules associated with it. https://twitter.com/NYCAviation/status/864935843512766464 Tracking the A320neo and 737MAX families is possible as IATA and ICAO designators are now known. https://blog.flightradar24.com/blog/easily-track-the-airbus-a320neo-family-and-boeing-737-max/ Why delays in expansion at Dubai World Center airport south of town? Partly money, partly that no one wants to move there even though it really is necessary. http://www.arabnews.com/node/1101216/business-economy

There is something incredible about watching a rocket lift off headed towards space. Seth was in Cape Canaveral to see the most recent SpaceX launch and is joined by special guest Howard Slutsken to talk about the experience. In this case it was a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Inmarsat I-5 F4 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. That matters because the satellite is massive (likely the heaviest SpaceX has ever launched) and it needed all the fuel to get into orbit meaning no landing attempt this time. Still, an incredible experience. Inmarsat paid hotel and airfare for Seth and Howard to cover the event for Runway Girl Network and the APEX Association, respectively. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynMYE64IEKs Header image gratuitously lifted from the webcast.

Spirit Airlines pissed off pilots so much there was a work slowdown and a court injunction. Added bonus: Passenger riots in Fort Lauderdale when flights got cancelled. SonAir will let the general public buy in on its charter flights between Houston and Luanda, Angola. A crazy line that comes at quite a price. United is expanding domestic operations at SFO even more than previously expected, mostly in a response to Alaska Airlines' growth in the market. Is the Electronics Ban spreading to the rest of Europe? We don't know and it would suck if it does, so we talk about that a bit. Gogo has a private 737-500 named Jimmy Ray. Seth was on board to put the newest 2Ku in-flight internet service through its paces. Added bonus: Gogo gave us a bunch of free passes to give to all of you! Air Force 1 had a contamination problem in the oxygen systems on board. Boeing is paying the $4mm+ repair costs there. Support the Show!

Lots of topics this week but no title for the show…hopefully you're willing to listen anyways. * UA cutting interline agreements * Consolidation at JFK for Alaska Airlines, Virgin America * OTG is winning awards * Qantas adjusting London routes * United is keeping its p.s. 757-200s a bit longer than previously expected: * Yellow Fever vaccines are running out in the United States.

United made a mistake at JFK, American makes mistAAkes in ticket changes and Bangkok made a "miSteak" when it comes to street food. Plenty of other idiocy, too. * Emirates is cutting flights to the United States * United made a mistake in leaving JFK according to new company President Scott Kirby * American Airlines had its turn with a disgruntled passenger scene caught on camera * Street food might be back in Bangkok * Amtrak might not run long-haul anymore * St. Helena is still working on getting air service, well after the new runway opened (Yes, we talk about this far too often) * AA also seems unable to figure out how to re-price tickets, and why do the automated systems not read fare rules correctly?