Layovers - Air Travel podcast

Two tales of adventurous (and at time turbulent) travels: Paul embarks on a long train ride to Ukraine, while Alex soars above the Himalayas.One ventures into the heart of a conflict-stricken Kyiv, the other navigates the heights of Annapurna aboard a Ukrainian-built plane.A blend of sobering exhilaration and uplifting challenges that come when traveling in unique and sometimes demanding circumstances — we were both taught lessons in resilience and perspective.This could very well be our favorite episode ever. —For video, subscribe on Spotify or YouTube (or YouT...

Alex tells us all about flying to Okinawa's Naha airport (via Tokyo), Hawaii (717s being flown like NYC cab drivers), the Philippines (that loop to Clarke airport), and more. We have one more Concorde to visit (next, a Millenium Falcon), we dream of Japanese airlines on-board experience (that "Italian" food, though?), we calculate the length of DXB concourses (it can be a long walk), we ponder the future of Manila airports (they'll end up with no less than THREE massive international airports), we wonder if selling guitars in an airport yields any results (Cebu has seen a lot of...

What's next for the aviation industry? The post-pandemic rejigging of air travel with less business travel, and more leisure travelers in the front (who want, like most of you, to experience the full array of premium travel), more often off-season. Will fares keep increasing (it's the economy, stupid!), the unstoppable rise of ancillary revenues (gotta keep those nice margins), and were airlines underpricing their miles up to the pandemic (Emirates believes so)? Where is the next aircraft, it seems neither Boeing nor Airbus has anything on the drawing board (the great Embraer might not dent the mar...

Ever wondered about the life of a flight attendant (and ground crew)? This is the episode for you. Paul welcomes his good friend Vinod for an episode full of fun aviation and travel stories — a long episode, with the laughs taking quite some of that length.From Edmonton to Vancouver, via Calgary (and its keys!), the many airports he worked at (Paul still hasn't been to Canada), Martinair, British Airways, Air Berlin, or WestJet, amongst the many airlines he worked for (and in a world of crew camaraderie around the world, BA really seems like a big fa...

It's Alex and Paul, and it's another Alex (you've met her in 133!). She tells us all about BeOnd, the new all business class airlines that flies ex-EasyJet (!) 319s (!) to get you to the Maldives (did she enjoy the plane more than the beach?!). Humane versus non-humane low cost carriers: a new definition for IATA? The MAX flying challenge, or how to overcome the unhealthy relationship with a plane. Airport design and signage, another potential unhealthy relationship (it shouldn't be that hard!). Backpack travel, the way to avoid being made to check your carry-on. Make airport buses great again: do...

Paul is joined by Paolo, one his best friends, to compare notes on a big tour of Cambodia and Vietnam (Paul flew to Cambodia, Paolo flew to Vietnam and Cambodia) with many airports, and airlines along the way (not sure about the water on-board a Cambodia Angkor Air). Paul had his worst fly ever (it was no fault of Etihad, just his own!!) and circles the 380 lounge table forever like an animal, whilst Paolo has the most epic security check experience at Sihanouk International Airport (he's a giant, after all). Cambodia is building huge airports, the future Phnom Penh...

Is Emirates low key encouraging membership to the high mile club? (And how Alex and Layovers saved Paul's Emirates First upgrade. The controller goes "oh that sucks", or why Alex keeps listening to ground whilst traveling (but he always gets the last bag delivery ever). Lounge bouncers (not exactly, but lounge double dipping is a thing). Going against the jet stream when it reaches record speeds (and against an unbelievably bad customer representative at JFK). Wife or work wife, who gets lounge access? Plant-based food choices are increasing in quality, Emirates saw the trend early (and why some flight...

Qatar'd? No, that new Al Mourjan Lounge at Doha is stunning — one thing we can't say about that RAK one.Turkish'd? Not really, when a downgrade gets you full emergency exit rows — though that 333 seat made Paul act like an animal.Boeing has gone full MAX for its windows openings (ok, ok, poor one, but come on Boeing, do better!) — the new 350-1000 goes for a dimmable shade instead.The JAL 350 crash, a miracle for many (but not all), a testament to the crew, the industry, that aircraft, and Airbus.Alex and Paul agree, the best e...

Alex tells us all about his return to Hong Kong, with Cathay setting a new gold standard in IFE over Emirates (Greg flew China Southern, and, errr, well). Paul flies the all business class 321neo from La Compagnie from Orly to Newark (road traffic was key to that story, but traffic there is none to board, how crazily fast is that, kudos La Compagnie!). Choose your BA seat on Jordanian (neat trick), but it might come with a free infant for you. After 27 years, Qatar Airways replaces Al Baker (would some call him the Jeremy Clarkson of the airline...

So small, cozy, cute, a very special airport, that was Tegel, not BER: can the finally (nearly) finished Berlin Brandenburg measure up to the "poor but sexy" German capital? At least the cleverly named lounges have an even cleverer backdoor (and, hey, it's not a poor bus station like Schoenfeld).Bundling the unbundling: a (great) rant by Alex (Hunter, but Vukolova chimes in, and Paul got confused having two Alex on the show). Do the Adidas Lufthansa sneakers give you extra status (you can now buy them, unlike the staff limited editions that Paul bought off f...

Paul tries multiple Italian airports, Alex finally visits the new Istanbul (and flies Turkish for the first time!). The passport blowing border official trick (it doesn't work better than the Super NES cartridge blowing). BA will soon introduce water bottles the size of mini bar vodkas (at least it seems so). The Magical Finnish hippos, another first in a long line of firsts by Finnair. The perma-scaffolding of a rather joyful Birmingham airport. Italian really do duty free differently (from currency to cars). Alex visits what is easily the biggest third party lounge he's ever seen in his life...

Combini, tamago sando, Skyliner, vending machines, ekiben, baseball Suica cards, yes we discuss Japan, where Alex was earlier this summer. And yes we talk (err, Alex talks) about air travel too, British Airways, Southwest, Hawaiian, ANA, and, drumroll, Zipair — not in that order, and with hops at London Heathrow, San Jose, San Francisco, Tokyo Narita, Osaka Itami, and some shinkansens (and lots of Pocari Sweat, Alex is a fan, Paul isn’t), on a few 787s, a 777 (should have been a 380, but …BA), a 737, a MAX (and Alex has thoughts on that one), and a 717 (a great beat up comm...

Kyle Potter, Executive Editor at Thrifty Traveler, all-around awesome(ly smart) dude, Hello Kitty enthusiast (well, it's that EVA Air flight, you'll see!), and (very) long time Layovers listener and friend, tells us all about why MSP is the best thing ever, like everything in Minnesota — but also whether cheap travel is still possible in the current era of airfare inflation (yes!), whether passenger rights will ever be a thing in the US (maybe), whether boarding groups will ever be abandoned (forget it). We debate the wilderness where having no status means real freedom (that status, the warm blanket yo...

We flew to Geneva to record an episode of Attaché (now on YouTube, link below), so how were our flights, and what did we think of the airport (the new C-Gates are excellent, the time at immigration not always). Does too much info add unnecessary travel stress? (Aka Flighty is Paul's IFE of choice in lounges). Is Covid wear and tear a thing? Some aircraft interiors look older than they should. Dublin airport can be frustrating, but it's pretty much forgiven when you can see one of the most famous airplanes in the world next to you. The 380 is a...

Do you have a number? The saga of Alex trying to beat boarding time at Lisbon (you won't believe he, of all people, made that mistake). A completely charming SWISS cheese board on-board (and cows in the Zurich airport train). Etihad 2.0 are quietly great, a tasteful experience we appreciate (and flying over the Arabian Gulf is a sight to be seen), plus they're now about making money (err, shouldn't it have been the case since the start?). The "Etihad Lounge, The House of the Name of the House of the Lounge of Etihad and Other Airlines that are associated...

Alex gets lost at JFK T8, only to encounter crazy turbulences over the Atlantic (a future worsening trend). But how did he get there? Finally testing what Paul did in 2021, the Mint Studio — a hope for the future of long haul narrow bodies. Airfare prices are way up from 2019 (more than inflation!), is that temporary, or what prices will be, and should always have been (that's the opinion of AirAsia's founder), so, please, JetBlue, don't Norwegian it! When you call BA, you will get quoted different fees and taxes every time, just keep calling (but who calls in 2023??). Also, DO...

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. Alex has lots to say about BA and it's …not great (he's not alone to think like this). Paul calls it, the better London airport is definitively Gatwick (stop being a wannabe posh by preferring LHR). Lufthansa introduces a grand new First Class, and a super complex Tetris business class with 14+ options (Swiss introduces the same, but in bordeaux). Will Dolomiti be folded into ITA (the ever growing Lufthansa Group realm of...

The airport you think is overrated, the airport you like, the airport you love, the airport you feel yourself in, the airport you need to visit — play the airport game with us (and feel free to tweet us your answers!). The new Air France lounge at CDG T2F is beautiful, as can be CDG …when it works (you'll probably need to taxi on a country drive to get there haha). The new lounges at JFK T8, the new of BA in New York, feel like a success (and clever naming!). The end of the 747 production line tr...

Friend of the show, and very long time listener (since episode 1!), Hakan Yılmaz, aka @LAFlyr on Twitter, grew up wanting to go early at the airport to see the planes, and collect avgeek paraphernalia, and never stopped being a kid, by still going early to the airport to see the planes, and a career that led him to American Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Atlas, etc., with millions of miles under his belt, and tons of stories to share — from the admirable rise of Turkish Airlines (fascinating SAS story on the invention of the hub and spoke model), to...

Ed Parsons, the Google Maps guy, is our guest today. He's heard the Concorde prototype noise as a kid, flown on the Concorde before it got retired, explored all the Concordes in existence around the world since — a true fan — and we discuss it all, from the history to the conspiracy theories, to a certain nostalgia about a future that's now in the past.  He is also a GGL, Gold Guest List, the (almost) top tier British Airways status, which gives him access to the exclusive Concorde Rooms (yes, there's more than one), and we learn about more...