layovers ✈︎ air travel and commercial aviation

Flight 054. Alex flies Cathay First, British Airways IT chaos, we talk eye masks, Airbus wants to resell 380s to VVIPs, LATAM flies a 787 in Europe, Dutch King pilots for KLM, Alex rediscovers ORY, Paul aborts landing at LIN. And much more.

Flight 053. HackHorizon - the hackathon in a plane, the legality of United re-accommodation, what to do with disruptive passengers, the amazing Cathay Pacific, the ANA banana. And more.

Flight 052. The entitlement of United. The electronics ban. A new Star Wars ANA 787. A giant airport kebab. And more. — www.layovers.to/podcast/052-isg

Flight 051. The never happening BER airport. The new Qatar business seat. The future Lufthansa connected seat. The potential Boeing 797. Tons of airport lists. And more. — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/051-dus

Flight 050. The extraordinary story of Narita airport. Alex already loves the Cathay Pacific Beers. The US3 schizophrenia. 10 Cent Fares. A fantastic ANA 380 livery. Yet another Air France low cost carrier. Mice on board! And more.. — www.layovers.to/podcast/050-nrt

Flight 049. BA helps Alex to surprise his son. Paul wants the Breitling 777-300ER. We also discuss Lufthansa's new booking API, Polaris by United, the 787-10 rollout, nuts allergies, tasers on-board, and more — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/049-ory

Flight 048. Alex flies to Cape Town CPT with Thomas Cook. Paul goes to Madrid MAD via ZRH and FRA (!) and gets to experience the Bombardier CS100. We also like the new Air Canada livery, root for Norwegian, and assess the new international air travel situation in the US. — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/048-cpt

Flight 047. And we’re finally back! Will cost-cutting Etihad and suffering Lufthansa merge? Norwegian gets approval in the US. Is British Airways really ready to offer food on demand in business class? Boom iterates in supersonic speed for its first prototype jet. Another airline introduces fares without overhead bin access. Qatar increases the noise level on its upcoming super-business seat. Emirates is not happy at all with Rolls-Royce. How long will we wait for the third LHR runway? Alex gets delayed for 10 hours in JFK. Paul flies First on Qantas and glees over the new king of noise-cancelling headphones. — www.layovers.to/podcast/047-jfk

Flight 046. We interview Tony Tyler, the outgoing Director General and CEO of IATA (International Air Transport Association), former CEO of Cathay Pacific and gentleman of the air travel industry. — www.layovers.to/podcast/046-gva

Flight 045. Want a million frequent flyer miles? You have to be born on a Cebu Pacific flight or win the Olympic Gold for Singapore. British Airways charters a 747 to fly the athletes home, but no word if they also cut the second hot meal like on all their other routes. In the US, being a multi-medal winner won’t get you upgraded on United, but, unlike Delta, they won’t mistake New Mexico for Mexico. Airbus is going widebody for regional flights, but also planning flying taxis. Will those accept smart carry-ons and augmented reality amenity kits? — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/045-fco

Flight 044. Want to look like a fool in airports? Play Pokemon Go or ride a motorized carry-on. Asia on top, the US way behind: the Skytrax world's best airlines and world's best airports awards tell no surprise. It’s finally game over for the US4 against the ME3. Alex eats like a king and sleeps like a baby in his premium journey to Shanghai with Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon. Paul tests the sole European short haul lie-flat seat in the ex-BMI A321 and flies a brand new 777-300ER for 22 minutes. Drones will offer faster turnarounds for Airbus aircrafts, and last mile deliveries for Amazon UK. — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/044-pvg

Flight 043. The major US airlines seem to be losing the lobbying battle against the middle-eastern carriers. The EU calls for even more open skies between the two sides of the Atlantic. SWISS gets its brand new Bombardier CSeries. Boeing might well include the 747 in a deal with Iran. India leads the way in self-sufficient solar powered airport. The uncertain future of air travel in the UK after Brexit. Air Serbia launches a new US route, displaying the network power of Etihad. Emirates hires Christoph Mueller, will he become their new CEO? — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/043-sjc

Flight 042. Paul flies and compares the A350 to the 787. Alex adores the food on Alitalia. Dubai International has a drone problem whilst Gatwick has a runway hole issue. Tim Clark sees the end of the good old days of commercial aviation. Alaska keeps changing its mind about Virgin America. Horizon has been flying without sinks for 8 years! Austrian offers fixed price upgrades for its European flights. Alex gets a kick out of taking off at City Airport, fellow passengers agree. Paul falls in love with the business lounge at Hamad International. Singapore gets back in the ultra-long-haul game. United introduces a new international business class, finally catching up with the rest of the world. Boeing can’t let Airbus win Iran alone. — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/042-doh

Flight 041. A new low cost alliance shakes things up in South East Asia. Paul does his first round the world trip, in First. JetLovers goes 3D. Airbus goes A3. Alex and Bourdain share some airplane food similarities. Qantas finally introduces women pilot uniforms. Singapore Airlines and Air France wanted to get close, Lufthansa said no way. Ryanair opens a new chapter by re-shaping its route model. Hotels get the cabin feeling. New York wants to fire the TSA, whose queues are getting out of hand. — http://www.layovers.to/podcast/041-sof

Flight 040. An interview with Mark Vanhoenacker, a 747 pilot who gave up his corporate career to follow his childhood dream of flying. He is the author of SkyFaring, a favorite of both Alex and Paul. — www.layovers.to/podcast/040-lhr