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 (still in construction), and the just-opened massive Siem Reap International which we both were pretty staggered with. Are turbulences getting worse, and should the pilot give more explanation when we hit them (Paolo compares them as being rock cradled to sleep in business class!). Does landing at SGN remind you a little of Kai Tak ("dodging the washing lines across the apartments"). Paul and Paolo disagree on BKK, but, yeah, a bit of window cleaning would be good (but the Thai government agrees with Paul, it needs a refurb!). Do you really want to board a Wamos Air? 

- Cambodia Tuk Tuk driver in Siem Reap, Angkor Wat: Mr Kat, tuktukcambodia.com

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 attendants have had enough of special meals). BA is investing billions, but could they spare some to fix their Manage My Bookings on the app? No more miles or status for non-direct bookings, a new trend?

Happy flying to you all!

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 eye masks stays the Emirates F one (the previous version!).
Go around grinning? YES.

And Happy New Year to all (this was recorded on Jan 31, just in time!)

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 industry?). Can reward/award finders help you spend air miles faster than they devaluate? The biometric airport experience is upon us, and AI is rising (but robots do strike in London when they drive trains). Is British Airways' customer service seeing a renaissance after having listened to Layovers? (at least they're investing quite massively in it, hopefully in IT -capital letters- too). Will we see boarding group -2 arise (group 0 is here)? ExTime, beautiful third party lounges thanks to a je ne sais quoi (the French flair surely). The bucolic murals at that -4 walkway.

We did travel quite a lot, pardon the delay in getting this one out. We'll be back in December!

Happy flying, all.
—

Paul is on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter.
Alex is on Instagram, and Twitter.
Layovers is on Instagram, and Twitter.

 

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 from an employee a few years ago, in order to pair them with the Family Mart socks he just got). 
Condor offers you a branded beer (another Brewdog airline brew!), but also booking your …overhead bin?? (Alex tested it, and we look at everything that could go wrong). 
JetBlue and the inaugural massive dog. 
The admirable journey out of fear of flying.
Air Astana is amazing, Almaty airport not so much (the former gives you amenity kits, and slippers, in economy, for 3 hours!! The latter does not have free water in its lounge WTF).

Thanks a million to Alex Vukolova for having joined us (and for having waited FOREVER to be on our podcast).

You should follow Alex on LinkedIn (she posts great avgeek stuff!): http://linkedin.com/in/alexandravukolova

On Instagram (Paul messed up her username all this time!!): https://www.instagram.com/avixalex/

Give a listen to her aviation podcast, Sky Lounge: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/sky-lounge-podcast/id1678045129

And here's the Ladies Beyond Flying group she mentioned: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12451302

(See, there are links in our show notes for once).

Apologies for the audio quality, we had to work around a ton of glitches, and preferred recording than postponing.

See you in the next one! Happy flying!

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. Tom Cruise runs over the new Midfield Terminal at Abu Dhabi (and of course, WE ARE TOP GUN MAVERICK). When the fast track is in the lounge. Creatively naming the airline Wifi (send us your favorites). Imperial Airways lives on (on the IFE). Luton LOL. Do airlines realize people usually need to have a bag when they fly? Are Ryanair pilots of drinking age? Don’t ask Apple Maps for Bologna Airport. 

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 commuter bus!).

A new acronym for BA, Belated Airways (are they ever on time these days?). JAL used to advertise: we don’t economize in economy, so what about their long haul low cost ZipAir, the “new basic airline”, do they economize? And would you ditch your luggage completely, and rent your clothes at destination, for the duration of your trip? Jerks being jerks, but, really, do you need to complain for hours to no end (aka, the rise of disruptive passengers, Alex had one, could have been two). ANA domestic is like flying United in the 90s, golf highlights included, only announcing turbulences are coming in exactly 30 seconds. Would you rather be clocking in and out of lounges, max duration 30 minutes, or looking at nothing but the Pacific for 10 hours? The beer robot at lounges, the perfect good bye to Japan (or is it the soothing sound of Live ATC?). The two dings, the ominous two dings, they will make robots of people. 

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 you're sure you need, right?), the crazy valuations of US loyalty programs (and airlines wanted to spin them off? HOW WOULD THEY MAKE MONEY lol, it's as if they're banks that happen to own planes), the devaluation of those programs (non-travel Covid has something to do with it), the importance of alliances and joint ventures in the current air travel era. And yes, for once, we touch upon the world of air miles programs a bit more, and its nearly MLM-esque ecosystem in the USA. As Kyle is a Delta fan (and captive!), we ask him: Why are they so good (that padding!), and how is that new Delta One seat (hint: we're all aligning in saying doors aren't really something we value).
Oh, and ORD doesn't get a lot of love, LOL.  

Nearly two hours of great fun, whilst learning quite a bit (Alex and Paul learnt a lot).

You can follow Kyle on Twitter (please do):
https://twitter.com/kpottermn

His writings are on:
https://thriftytraveler.com

Of note, he wrote about the EVA Air Hello Kitty flight he took here:
https://thriftytraveler.com/reviews/flights/15-hours-eva-air-hello-kitty/

and a great guide on how to find cheap travel via Google Flights:
https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/google-flights/

Layovers will return in August (when Alex does). 

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 an absolute winner in those times of constraints, the 777X could be too (come on, when???), but its new window dimming is what we'll have to settle for now. The new security machines are awesome, unless you shoot film (yes, you know, rolls of film in cameras, the youth won't know what we're talking about), and a photographer friend has some update on that front. Some LCY & Cityflyer love, but "that stupid goddamn piece of crap building that I'm sure is really important to the operation of the airport blocks the view" (HAHAHAHAHA). We both sing in unisson: BA is improving. Undercover flight attendant CEO, whilst Starlux's saves the day (but might get a fine). Did passengers gain weight during Covid? We have the answer (for Europe at least). Apple Vision Pro, the new IFE (Vomit Pro or not?). Remembering Brian Shul.

Lots more stories, from Japan to terminal pubs (morning beer anyone?).

And whilst we always forget to link stuff in those show notes, for sure go watch Attaché with Alex and Paul:

https://youtu.be/0z4pNTXEN3U

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 with us, but not really, and we are a good lounge, Lounge" is no more, but Alex isn't sure where he was anyway. A prescient Careem driver takes Alex to the Midfield Terminal, a mirage in a Star Wars movie (will it finally open this December??), but for the moment, the 1970s airport stays your only choice (T3 was opened in 2009, but feels way older). Saudi Arabia is launching a second flag carrier, and another airline, and expansion of airports, and like wow. Floating at 40'000 feet in silence (but with Flightradar). A new A380 UK-based carrier, are they for real? A lounge within a lounge, but it's Louis Vuitton. Super Mario Bros Warp Zones in Madrid.

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 YOU KNOW WHAT AIRLINE YOU WORK FOR?

Our proposal: play musical chairs in lounges and every five minutes, you have to get up and give somebody else your seat (just keep the ceiling intact, unlike in Paul's sound studio).