The Seat 1A Podcast (Geoff Dahl and Vinod Viswalingam)
Explorez tous les épisodes de The Seat 1A Podcast
| Date | Titre | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May 2023 | Experience 072. Complicated Connections. Multiple Stops for Cheaper Fares. | 00:37:59 | |
In this experience we discuss the fact that this summer many people will be flying but the prices for direct connections are often fairly expensive. Often multiple connections are a way people find to save costs. These multi-stops remind Vinod when planes had to stop due to the lack of range. But unlike times in the past today you can see all the travel details related to your trip. As people change their ticket purchasing habits, it can mean a change in the way that they layover. Iceland was one of the first countries that promoted a free layover. Sometimes you can’t find the flight to book even though you have been able to find it on a booking site. There have been some pretty cool milk runs. Vinod shares his experience with the Hawaii Interchange, as passengers from the North American West Coast all changed in Honolulu on their way to Australia and New Zealand. Geoff shares his experience from northern Norway on Public Service Obligation flights flying along the coast. We look at double stop flights and how Dutch airlines have connected to Alberta this way. There is also the Pacific Island Hopper, which led to Vinod wondering how a United 737 made it to Tokyo. A former route that was well beloved was Cathay Pacific's flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver to New York JFK. When you see a cheap flight, pay attention to how long the connection time is. Do you have a chance to get out of the airport to see the city? Will your passport or visa allow you to do so? Will your layover get eaten up by a terminal or airport switch? Are you travelling alone or with family? When you add it all together, even if the ticket is cheaper, how much are you spending to manage through it? Are two one ways cheaper? If you’re connecting to a smaller airport is it easy to take another form of transport if things go sideways? Airlines are doing their best to figure out load factors without the last few years of data. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 024. "Into the mailbag - Part 1. Inflight meal service and free overnight accommodation." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. We also look at Europe to Asian runs, with a critical moment that did not go well. Vinod shares his family connection with it. News Items:
If you have a story about complicated connections, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 19 Jun 2022 | Experience 060. We Appreciate Your Patience. Wait Times and Customer Support. | 00:45:10 | |
As the Northern Hemisphere arrives at summer 2022, many travellers are getting things figured out. Travel is back – but it’s a madhouse. People have had long delays and wait times to rebook their plans. From 2020 to 2022 it has been a toss up of who or what is providing support to customers. Take all of these issues and multiply them "world-fold". There are many customer service issues that will arise. We ask, "What do you do to plan for customer care"? Why is there a long hold? In many cases the support can only come from the provider - which isn't always the easiest to determine. Is there enough staff to hire, have experienced staff left the industry? The situation of experienced staff leaving an industry goes far beyond just the travel industry. When you call, have the knowledge and the request with you. Vinod shares a story of getting caught up in a loop with a point upgrade credit. Aeroplan...if you're listening... Geoff shares an experience of getting stuck in a "shadow ticket" loop and it eventually getting fixed. Vinod shares a frustrating experience with a gift card and trying to utilize it for control of family seating. Geoff shares props with Lufthansa for a quick response to a call he had with them. In most cases, airline call centres are regional. Due to this regionality, there can be a disconnect between global staff and local realities. Vinod shares a story of how he used local knowledge to his advantage and building a personal connection. These days, patience is virtue. Be adult and cordial – you will likely get further. We also look at the current situations with massive queueing and lineups in person – in various cities worldwide. Since many people haven’t flown recently their attitudes are amped up. Take the time to analyze the peak periods of the airports that you are visiting. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 011. Flight delays, cancellations, diversions, and the airline's obligations. It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod and Geoff share their travel plans for the summer of 2022. Geoff with Canadian, European and Southern African journeys, while Vinod has a first trip to the UK with a baby toddler. We’re packing patience - and are making sure to have the paper copies as backup! News Items:
If you have a story about travel customer service stories, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 18 Feb 2020 | Experience 028. Behind the Scenes. The Aircraft Turnaround. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:42:17 | |
In this experience we take a look behind the scenes and share the things that are happening in the background to your plane from before it arrives and departs. We start four to six hours before the flight even arrives and what is required for the gate. What' the backup plan? Who is coming off of the plane? Are there unaccompanied minors, special assistance passengers, or groups? Are there any maintenance issues? As we get closer to the arrival, what is the minimum required turnaround time set by the airline? Has the airport been set for the flight arrival? While that is happening, passengers are checking in. Are there enough crew? Are there issues with the plane weight and balance? Are there any special passengers or groups to account for? If the flight is late, do passengers checking in have the appropriate visa documentation? How much fuel is the outbound flight going to need? Is it going to need de-icing? Is there special cargo? What are the catering requirements? Is there any notification from Customs and Immigration about a flight check? Is the equipment needed on the ramp in working order and ready? Are the groomers and caterers ready? Is the outbound crew ready with their checks and preparation of the plane? Has the pilot signed off on all documentation? How is the passenger baggage being unloaded? How is the liquid and solid waste being disposed of? Are all the meals loaded as required? What's happening with tight passenger connections? Who's at fault if the plane pushes back late? As we can see there are many moving parts and processes between your plane landing and departing – many more are discussed in this experience. News Items:
If you have a story about a plane turnaround, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 14 Nov 2020 | Experience 038. Layover with a Special Guest. An Interview with Paul Papadimitriou. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 02:37:47 | |
In this experience we are extremely fortunate to have an incredible guest and extend warm greetings to Paul Papadimitriou. Paul is a global keynote speaker, futurist and TV/Radio/Stage host based in London, UK. Avgeek podcast listeners will also know Paul from the Layovers podcast. We review our personal states and look back to the start of the year to our last flights. Do our realities mean that we need to fly at this point? Paul had very classy last flight – but is looking forward to flying again. Vinod's last flight was a short Canadian domestic flight. Geoff's last international flight was a short cross-border flight into the US. Vinod has had to postpone a flight to Tokyo for the Olympics. Paul had to cancel a number of flights including one to Barcelona. Paul shares his emotional attachment to Narita and looks at business travel these days in Japan. Everyone takes a moment to share their love for Narita. Geoff had to cancel plans for a Yukon and Alaska trek. It's been awhile since Paul's last podcast recording – don't worry folks he's coming back soon. 2019 was the end of a golden age in travel – who knows there might be more in the future. When the pandemic started, many in the aviation industry were in denial about what could happen – and unfortunately, it lasted far longer than just the short term. Did we make a mistake by calling the infections "waves"? Should we have looked at the pandemic like a series of forest fires? Geoff comments about the internal Canadian travel bubble in its Atlantic provinces. Lockdown – it means different things to different people, but Europe will be in some form of it until March 2021. Vinod shares the experience of his in-laws first facing the virus in Taiwan, and the challenges when they returned to Canada. Each country has a level of risk they want to take with quarantine. We move back to aviation and ask when Paul realized he was passionate about aviation. Paul shares information on how he met his Layovers co-host Alex Hunter and started the podcast. Geoff shares the connection he had in his youth with planes on final approaches. Vinod shares his Asian long-haul experiences from when he was an infant. Paul looks back on growing up in Geneva, with visits to the US on those LOUD PLANES! We move back to the reality of where we are today. Quite simply fix the virus, fix the economy, fix travel. And unfortunately, even if all the avgeeks flew, we wouldn't get back to 2019 levels. We're having déjà vu in Europe – it's like it's March all over. Business travellers aren't travelling and the path to recovery looks a long way off. How will city state hub airlines manage since they don’t have a domestic market? Low-cost carriers in the US and EU have a much better financial position than traditional carriers. Asia will have a different recovery. And while we are trying to recover, we'll need to make sure that we don't run short of reagents. What will happen with Tokyo's Olympics? What will happen with the need for qualifying events? How will this align with new Japanese entry requirements? What will be the order of re-opening? When will tourism travel return? What will it look like since airlines are reducing their long-range planes? What would a global framework look like? Are we going to need health visas? Is the entire world going to feel like an emerging market passport? How will recover vary between large and small countries? Are people ready to fly? Will comorbidity stop being a buzzword at some point? Will people ever learn the difference between proximal and direct causes? Repatriation – are the flights done yet? Other industries – like MICE – do events need a system to validate tests? Will we see more contactless or biometric examples at airports? What will happen to industries that are currently suffering economically? What will we do about privacy? Will distancing be baked into premium products? Maybe we can think about self-cleaning toilets? Are we simple and robust enough with UX and UI? Paul and Vinod share their experiences with Korean mobile network alerts. Sweden and COVID – it can't be taken out of context. We can't just replicate, but we can learn – and treat it like aviation does after an incident. What's going to change for aviation on the backend? We swing back to questions. What are our favourite airports? Vinod clarifies the beautiful final approaches at Vancouver. Geoff provides a quick update on LaGuardia construction. Congratulations Berlin, you're finally opening your new airport. Now for least favourite – Paul never gets the same experience twice at the so-called Hub Experts. Vinod and Geoff share an airport for least favourite. Vinod shares his love for full airport sensory experiences – complete with a squawking bird prank when he was a flight attendant. We look at changes we'll have to make. Much more planning than ever before. Will (last minute) round-the-world trips be possible? Will visa waivers and ETA programs accelerate? Paul shares his travel hacks and tips. Vinod shares the story of booking his honeymoon RTW points trip. Planning trips based on aircraft types is not going to be easy in the short term. Geoff and Vinod share aircraft bait and switch stories. Finally, we ask what our first dream flights will be. Paul shares love for a former home country. He also hates over tourism. Vinod just wants to get on a flight for as long as possible. Geoff, dreaming of an ultra-luxury experience. For those who want to listen to Paul's old episodes, you can find him at layovers.to. If you want to share a shoutout to Paul, a story about your travel experiences during the pandemic, your thoughts about where you think travel is going to evolve, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 11 Jun 2021 | Experience 045. Hot and High Takeoff in San Jose. Our Review and Analysis. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:39:21 | |
In this experience we are happy to share an interview with one of our avid listeners, Danny, about his flight from San Jose, Costa Rica to Charlotte, North Carolina to Cleveland, Ohio. Danny's flight rolled out to the runway and the engines spooled up. Then the wind died, and they cut the power. They took a second attempt, and again – the wind died, and they cut the power. Perhaps the plane was overweight. Some passengers were about to be given the option to stay an extra day in Costa Rica. We look at the hot and high reality that exists in San Jose, Costa Rica. In addition to the height, there are also mountains near the airport. Vinod shares an experience flying into Huatulco (HUX) in Mexico with limitations due to mountains. We move to the second part of the interview. The airline tried it one more time and they were airborne. However just for fun, we get thunderstorms, a runway incursion and a go-around added to the mix. Go-arounds are a common thing. Runway incursions happen for a variety of reasons. Maybe the plane in front is too slow clearing off, maybe it's not even aircraft – it could be other vehicles or wildlife or instructions from Air Traffic Control. Pilots will utilize autolanding – particularly in bad weather. Find out why landings are smoothest in wet weather. Danny has arrived at Charlotte Airport – now the race through customs happens. Will he make the connection to his Cleveland flight? Customs and Border Patrol appears to have worked with the airline and airport to help speed things along. Remember though, that at many US airports you will have to clear back through security after you clear customs. Spoiler alert - Danny reaches the flight for Cleveland...and find out why, in his words, "Clevelanders are the worst." Remember that not every airline is going to hold every flight due to delay – the conditions have to be right. Is holding the flight cost effective? Will is affect second leg connections? We look at what was a key component of Danny's story – weight and balance averages and calculations. And remember, a plane doesn’t have to be pointing at the end destination. Thank you again Danny for the wonderful story that you shared! News Items:
If you have a story about takeoff problems, customs clearance, connecting flights or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 15 Jun 2020 | Experience 034. Who's who at the zoo – part 2. Staff hierarchy onboard the plane. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:43:48 | |
In this experience we continue our look at the aviation hierarchy – who's who at the zoo? Now we move onboard the plane itself. We will look at two different types of staffing – one for traditional international flag carrier flights and one for low-cost/ultra low-cost carrier flights. Different airlines have different names for the same staff roles. And depending on where you are in the world, you could have a cabin crew or a flight attendant. But there is always one person who is running the entire cabin experience on the flight. They go by many different names - senior purser, cabin service director, cabin manager, cabin flight director, onboard director, flight manager – but the role is generally the same. We use the term "senior purser" in this podcast experience. Once the door of the plane is closed, it's their flight. The list of responsibilities of the senior purser is long – including crew performance, delay handling, passenger relations, onboard problems, timings, crew briefing and debriefing, crew rest periods and being the liaison to the flight deck for service and safety. They handle all of this while being an active cabin member. Your life is in their hands since they will lead plane evacuations. For someone with all of this responsibility, how can you tell them apart? Some have a different uniform, while some have different pins or medallions. On flights with multiple cabin classes a purser or cabin manager may be responsible for one cabin. On less complicated flights this sub-level may not exist. And then you have the cabin crew member / flight attendant. How do you know that all the doors are accounted for in case of emergency – everyone knows where to sit during landing and takeoff. The senior purser work doesn't end when the flight lands - layovers have to be coordinated, staff coordination has to happen if cabin crew gets sick. On low-cost airlines often staff will rotate through who is the lead flight attendant. When you board a flight, the flight staff are doing more than just giving you a smile and hello. If you need to escalate – the senior purser will be the one who can get things done for you. Vinod had an upgrade interaction with the senior purser when flying from London (LHR) to Nairobi (NBO). We go beyond the cockpit door – to check on the Captain and First Officer. Who is the pilot in command? How many stripes do each have? On long-haul flights you will have multiple pilots – you may even see some in the cabin or sleeping. We remember old movies and comment about the flight engineer – a role that is not very common these days. Depending on the airline, you might see a hierarchy even when they walk through the airport. And some airlines have a very distinct uniform difference. Vinod always made sure to pay it forward when flying staff standby. Sometimes the thank yous were almost non-stop. Pro tip – keep an eye on who's wearing what. News Items:
If you have a story about staff hierarchy onboard a flight, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 24 May 2021 | Experience 044. Sleeping Around. Maximizing Your Rest at Airports. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:54:28 | |
In this experience we look at those situations with travellers who end up sleeping in an airport or a train station. Sometimes we end up with awkward flight combination pairings – controlled or uncontrolled – you have a long break between flights. Do you take the time to stay at a hotel? Maybe your passport won't allow you to leave the airport on a long layover. Airport hotels realize that travellers are a captive market and with an overnight assumption. Many hotels had a day rate, however these days, that's not always a sure bet – will the hotel have the housekeeping staff to clean the room for a further night stay. Vinod shares his search for a hotel room in Dallas (DFW) – they did offer him access to the hotel gym, but was that ideal for sleeping? Some airports offer hourly rate hotels, but sometimes there just isn't a place to sleep at the airport. In those cases, how long is it going to be from the terminal until your head is on the pillow – and how much sleep are you really going to get? Are you travelling alone or with someone? Are your bags checked through? Geoff shares a travel hack from the ski slopes to help when you're sleeping with bags in a terminal. Some airports offer a left luggage facility at a very reasonable fee. Sometimes if you are able to get into the middle of the city, there might be storage lockers you could consider using. While waiting during off-hours at the airport, do not assume that the executive lounge will be open 24/7. You just might end up being stuck airside. Certain airports have swing gates (flashback to our gate assignment experience) and pay attention if you're on the domestic or international side of a terminal – domestic might close. A security guard is likely a good person to talk to about where you can rest in the airport. Maybe the better location is in another terminal. Sometimes though, the better location may not be that much better – like Vinod's experience of sleeping in a food court at New York LaGuardia (LGA). Some airports like Chicago O'Hare (ORD) have cots at the ready for mass delays. Is it feasible to maybe rent a car and sleep in it instead? Geoff shares his story of arriving at Frankfurt (FRA) in the middle of the night from Dusseldorf (DUS). Geoff also shares a story of a sketchy hotel in New Jersey after his flight from Newark (EWR) to Toronto (YYZ) was cancelled. Make sure you check the logistics and timings if the airline is providing a hotel due to recovery. Sometimes this may involve two different airports. Geoff shared an experience flying from Munich (MUC) to Toronto (YYZ), that had a mechanical delay – and changing airports in London. Vinod shared an experience of a massive delay in Calgary (YYC), the crazy amount of roasted chicken provided by the airline and why he always now brings a change of undergarments in his carryon. How easy is it to get to the city centre – Vinod shared an experience trying to find a reasonably priced hotel near Paris (CDG) with a good evening. Vinod shares a packing hack which can prove useful for unexpected layovers. Vinod was sleeping in a phone booth? Yes - it's true! Some airports make it difficult to sleep in the terminal. Wander around to see if there are better places to rest – including the arrival area. If you are at an airport hotel, are there locations that you might be able to get some uninterrupted rest? And if your airport is connected to a rail facility, check if there is anything there. Does your ticket or boarding pass allow you to get airside and maybe rest there? Seat 1A doesn't want you to be the person balled up on tile floor trying to sleep. The main thing is to keep moving forward. News Items: travelweekly.com article "Rental car shortage turning Hawaii tourists into truckers." thepointsguy.com article "United is giving airport and flight crews more flexibility to hold flights for connecting flyers." airlineweekly.com article "Why U.S. Airlines Are Redeploying Huge Widebody Jets Now for Domestic Flights" If you have a story about sleeping in airports or other transportation hubs, unplanned delay hotel stories, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 27 Sep 2021 | Experience 051. Return from Tokyo. Destination Vancouver. | 00:38:35 | |
In this experience, Vinod shares his story of his flight back from Tokyo to Vancouver after the Summer Olympics. As mentioned in previous experiences, Vinod acquires a lot of stuff when returning from the Olympics. He had a lot more luggage than when he left for Tokyo. He arrived at Narita, having to make his way back across the terminal. The first half of the terminal was empty – but then there was a mass of athletes from the US and Canada – at holiday volumes. There was a lot of studying the queues, where to go and wondering if he was in the correct queue. An interesting thing happened on the luggage scale – did Vinod's bag lose weight? The duty free shops were ram-packed full of athletes, trying to buy something to take home – since they had been restricted to the athlete accommodations. All of these bodies had to empty somewhere and since the flights were all boarding in the same area – it got hectic and busy really fast. The crowds were too large to hear the announcements over the public address system. Finally, after Vinod's plane arrived, delay information was placed on a visual display. Meanwhile, Vinod had Japanese Yen coins to spend – where better than at one of many vending machines. And why not ice cream? Vinod returned to the hold area – flights were ready to start boarding, so Vinod got to the front of the queue. What's this United Boeing 737 doing at Narita? Vinod asked Geoff to do some digging into why that plane was there – and discovered a Micronesian legacy from Continental Airlines. Vinod was on one of Air Canada's original 787s, and the meal service got processed very quickly. Compared to his flight to Tokyo, mixed drinks were available on this flight. Looking from his premium economy seat through the curtain, Vinod could see that the business class experience was elevated from when he had flown to Tokyo. Vinod arrived at Vancouver and given his unique status as a non-athlete at the Olympics it caused some confusion about testing. This process has improved and is now quite efficient. Vinod shares a tip about what you need to do if you don't want your bag to auto-connect. Vinod appreciated the distancing in Canada and was thankful he didn't need to spit in a tube after waiting six hours. News Items:
If you have a story about overseas travel during COVID-19, COVID testing on arrival, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 08 Feb 2021 | Replay Experience 038. Layover with a Special Guest. An Interview with Paul Papadimitriou. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 02:38:21 | |
Vinod and Geoff hope to have a new experience recorded and posted soon. Until then, we present a replay of our very popular experience with guest host Paul Papadimitriou - from the Layovers podcast. In the experience, Paul mentions a previous Seat 1A recording - that would have been experience 36. ------------ In this experience we are extremely fortunate to have an incredible guest and extend warm greetings to Paul Papadimitriou. Paul is a global keynote speaker, futurist and TV/Radio/Stage host based in London, UK. Avgeek podcast listeners will also know Paul from the Layovers podcast. We review our personal states and look back to the start of the year to our last flights. Do our realities mean that we need to fly at this point? Paul had very classy last flight – but is looking forward to flying again. Vinod's last flight was a short Canadian domestic flight. Geoff's last international flight was a short cross-border flight into the US. Vinod has had to postpone a flight to Tokyo for the Olympics. Paul had to cancel a number of flights including one to Barcelona. Paul shares his emotional attachment to Narita and looks at business travel these days in Japan. Everyone takes a moment to share their love for Narita. Geoff had to cancel plans for a Yukon and Alaska trek. It's been a while since Paul's last podcast recording – don't worry folks he's coming back soon. 2019 was the end of a golden age in travel – who knows there might be more in the future. When the pandemic started, many in the aviation industry were in denial about what could happen – and unfortunately, it lasted far longer than just the short term. Did we make a mistake by calling the infections "waves"? Should we have looked at the pandemic like a series of forest fires? Geoff comments about the internal Canadian travel bubble in its Atlantic provinces. Lockdown – it means different things to different people, but Europe will be in some form of it until March 2021. Vinod shares the experience of his in-laws first facing the virus in Taiwan, and the challenges when they returned to Canada. Each country has a level of risk they want to take with quarantine. We move back to aviation and ask when Paul realized he was passionate about aviation. Paul shares information on how he met his Layovers co-host Alex Hunter and started the podcast. Geoff shares the connection he had in his youth with planes on final approaches. Vinod shares his Asian long-haul experiences from when he was an infant. Paul looks back on growing up in Geneva, with visits to the US on those LOUD PLANES! We move back to the reality of where we are today. Quite simply fix the virus, fix the economy, fix travel. And unfortunately, even if all the avgeeks flew, we wouldn't get back to 2019 levels. We're having déjà vu in Europe – it's like it's March all over. Business travellers aren't travelling and the path to recovery looks a long way off. How will city state hub airlines manage since they don’t have a domestic market? Low-cost carriers in the US and EU have a much better financial position than traditional carriers. Asia will have a different recovery. And while we are trying to recover, we'll need to make sure that we don't run short of reagents. What will happen with Tokyo's Olympics? What will happen with the need for qualifying events? How will this align with new Japanese entry requirements? What will be the order of re-opening? When will tourism travel return? What will it look like since airlines are reducing their long-range planes? What would a global framework look like? Are we going to need health visas? Is the entire world going to feel like an emerging market passport? How will recover vary between large and small countries? Are people ready to fly? Will comorbidity stop being a buzzword at some point? Will people ever learn the difference between proximal and direct causes? Repatriation – are the flights done yet? Other industries – like MICE – do events need a system to validate tests? Will we see more contactless or biometric examples at airports? What will happen to industries that are currently suffering economically? What will we do about privacy? Will distancing be baked into premium products? Maybe we can think about self-cleaning toilets? Are we simple and robust enough with UX and UI? Paul and Vinod share their experiences with Korean mobile network alerts. Sweden and COVID – it can't be taken out of context. We can't just replicate, but we can learn – and treat it like aviation does after an incident. What's going to change for aviation on the backend? We swing back to questions. What are our favourite airports? Vinod clarifies the beautiful final approaches at Vancouver. Geoff provides a quick update on LaGuardia construction. Congratulations Berlin, you're finally opening your new airport. Now for least favourite – Paul never gets the same experience twice at the so-called Hub Experts. Vinod and Geoff share an airport for least favourite. Vinod shares his love for full airport sensory experiences – complete with a squawking bird prank when he was a flight attendant. We look at changes we'll have to make. Much more planning than ever before. Will (last minute) round-the-world trips be possible? Will visa waivers and ETA programs accelerate? Paul shares his travel hacks and tips. Vinod shares the story of booking his honeymoon RTW points trip. Planning trips based on aircraft types is not going to be easy in the short term. Geoff and Vinod share aircraft bait and switch stories. Finally, we ask what our first dream flights will be. Paul shares love for a former home country. He also hates over tourism. Vinod just wants to get on a flight for as long as possible. Geoff, dreaming of an ultra-luxury experience. For those who want to listen to Paul's old episodes, you can find him at layovers.to. If you want to share a shoutout to Paul, a story about your travel experiences during the pandemic, your thoughts about where you think travel is going to evolve, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 13 Apr 2022 | Experience 059. Flight Into the Closed Loop. Round-The-World via Beijing. | 01:17:52 | |
In this experience Vinod shares his experience of flying to and from Beijing in the first quarter of 2022. Due to Chinese regulations he was required to be in a closed loop separate from the general public. That included flights. In pre-pandemic times there are many flights between Vancouver, Canada, and various cities in China. Currently there are none. So...how do you get a Canadian (and others working with Vinod) into China? Due to complexity of the situation, Vinod only got his booking confirmation four days before departure. He needed to follow very specific timelines for COVID testing. The routing had three stops: Vancouver to San Francisco to Tokyo-Haneda to Beijing-Capital. All of his timings for entrance were based off the final leg of his flight. His flights took place in January 2022, while airspaces were still normal. The flight into Beijing was restricted without any general public on them. Due to China being the end destination, online check-in was not possible. As he departed Vancouver with Air Canada, the region was still under the impact of the Omicron variant and the airport was eerily quiet. When he arrived in San Francisco, it was as if there was no pandemic at all. Then Vinod boarded an ANA flight to Tokyo-Haneda. The amount of legroom was amazing on an incredibly clean plane with impeccable service. Vinod had a very early arrival into Tokyo. He had stayed at Haneda in the summer of 2021. Then he left for Beijing on Japan Airlines and was blown away by the service, an incredible premium economy seat and one of the best in-flight economy meals Vinod has had in a long time. As the plane took off, Vinod could see his hotel room from Summer 2021. The plane took a very scenic route with beautiful views of Tokyo and Mount Fuji. And then, he landed in Beijing. Terminal 3 was sequestered for Vinod and other flights coming into the closed loop. There was throat and nasal COVID tests -- Vinod has never had a worse nasal test than this one. Surface sanitizing was everywhere, the ramp crew was all wearing PPE, and all that sanitizing had aged the new terminal vey quickly with corrosion and white gunk everywhere. Plexiglass became opaque -- which made for a humorous moment at immigration. He picked up his bag and boarded a bus. As an avgeek, the experience was incredible Vinod -- riding airside at Beijing Capital. As they travelled on the highway the bus had a police escort. Two hours later Vinod ended up at his hotel and waited for his test results, at which point he was able to continue in the closed loop. 38 days later... It's time to go home. There were limited slots and passenger load factors available for Chinese flights. Based on these limitations, Vinod had a round-the-world return to Vancouver -- of about 39 hours door-to-door. Beijing to Doha, Qatar, to Toronto, to Vancouver. Upgrades were available for a reasonable price, so Vinod took the upgrade. And three days before departure, he learned that the Qatar Airlines flight had an upgraded interior. Leaving China was much easier than arriving. Yet again, the airport was empty -- with no services open, except for one solitary water fountain. They boarded early. In Vinod's words, "When I stepped on that [Qatari] aircraft, I thought I was going to cry." He had a suite with a door with incredible levels of service and quality. The bed, the food, even the lavatory -- Vinod had a pinnacle level of experience. Then he arrived in Doha for early morning transfer rush hour. Vinod had to stand aside for a few moments and let his brain recalibrate. After some duty free shopping, he boarded his very long Air Canada flight 059 to Toronto. It was February 24, 2022, and normal routing was no longer available over Ukraine. Once the flight reached the Red Sea, it made a hard left turn and then flew up through western Turkey. The flight kept going and going and going...eventually landing in Toronto. Canadians can be chosen on landing for a random COVID test...Vinod was chosen. Now what? "I have to do the test, but I have connection bags." His bags may have been a bit over the limit and his carry-ons were maxed out. Oh no, Air Canada has a sizer and scale! But he was connecting -- issue solved. After being in a zombie-like state on the last domestic Air Canada leg, Vinod finally arrived home in Vancouver. News Items:
If you have a story about travel to China during COVID-19, round-the-world trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 15 Sep 2019 | Experience 021. Screening and scanning. Getting through airport security. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:11:06 | |
In this experience we look back on that fateful day on 11 September 2001 and how it changed the world of airport security forever. | |||
| 29 Aug 2022 | Experience 064. Reviewing 2022 Summer Travel. A Look at Vinod and Geoff’s Adventures. | 00:48:55 | |
Vinod and Geoff have returned from their summer adventures, and their meetup in London Heathrow for Experience 063. After all of the concern we had for meeting up at Heathrow, it ended up being very anticlimactic. Vinod shares some interesting insights into how providing certain destination information could affect a London cab driver’s ability to take airport fares later in the day. Geoff and Vinod rave about the terrific new Elizabeth Line in London. Geoff’s flight from Toronto was quite late leaving for Copenhagen. We will do a future experience on when should you really show up when your flight is tremendously delayed. He shares his experience of the flight. Geoff shares his experience of checking in at the Priority Pass International Lounge in Toronto. Indeed sometimes it is just nicer to find a quiet gate than going to a lounge. Geoff then flew onward to London from Copenhagen. Copenhagen Airport has a practice of passengers scanning their boarding passes to enter a waiting room and then board, instead of scanning when boarding. Vinod shared his experience of flying from Vancouver to Heathrow. What a coincidence -- one of the pilots on the flight was a friend of his. For the avgeeks, it was a non-ETOPS flight, and the landing was greased in...so smooth. Geoff continued on with Eurostar from London to Brussels and then onward to Cologne with a German ICE train. The Eurostar was fine, but the ICE train was so full Geoff sat in by the door in the vestibule for 2 hours! Geoff had some experiences with the German trains not being very German. First, a fire on train line. Second, technical issues before the train even starts the journey. Third, random stops in the middle of nowhere in Bavaria. Geoff reviews his flight from Vienna to Frankfurt with neighbouring passengers not having to return their beer bottles before landing. As Geoff was checking into his flight to Johannesburg, he learned that Lufthansa only issues baggage stickers at certain desks at Frankfurt -- not all check-in machines. We give a shout out to friend of the show Paul Papadimitriou -- Geoff and Vinod both met him in person in London, and great times were had by all. Paul you’re welcome to visit Canada any time. We talk about the tight connections that are often faced in Frankfurt, knock on wood no problems for either Vinod or Geoff...yet. Geoff flew to Johannesburg in a 747-800 upstairs in business class. When Johannesburg is busy with international flights, it’s busy. Geoff continued his adventure through South Africa to Kruger National Park and onward to Mozambique. He had a super early flight from Maputo to Nampula with an onward land journey to Ilha de Moçambique. Geoff’s return to fly out of Nampula was an adventure in itself. Police checks, racing to the airport, honking horns, and arrival after check-in desks closed. Did he make it? Narrator: He did. Then Geoff continued onward from Maputo to Cape Town via some connection adventures in Johannesburg. Geoff returned from Cape Town to Frankfurt, and then homeward bound to Toronto. Toronto’s baggage situation was uneventful. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 020. "Go or no-go? When Vinny and Geoff's rail travel plans went sideways." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod’s return to Vancouver saw waves of people sent through to security at Heathrow, and people who aren’t managing the queues properly. Security made Vinod put his stroller through the baggage scanner. When he arrived in Vancouver there were no issues with the baggage, but there were no baggage carts. There was no random COVID testing openly visible for either Vinod (or Geoff in Toronto). Geoff noted that in Mozambique there were staff matching your claim sticker with the baggage tag. Geoff also had very favourable reviews of the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Frankfurt -- which, depending on your departure time, may be a better lounge option that the Lufthansa lounges.
News Items:
If you have a story about 2022 trips you’ve recently had, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 18 Jul 2020 | Experience 035. Beating the queue. Lining up strategies at the airport. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:08:23 | |
In this experience we look at the different queues and lineups that one experiences when at an airport and how to make the best of them. In this era of COVID-19, people have settled into a new normal of queuing up. It goes hand-in-hand with the airline and airport experience. Please note that we will be putting this in the context of how things were, and it will be years before the airport returns to how it was. When you arrive at the airport, are you able to go directly into the terminal, or is there curbside security for passengers? Who are the masses of people? Are they actually the passenger, or are they just well wishers? Once you're inside the airport, we approach the check-in counter. This experience has changed a lot over the last ten to fifteen years. Have you checked in online? Are you just dropping a bag? Are you going to a self-serve kiosk (and waiting to see if it will actually work?) Or are you going to the regular check-in line? Who is going to serve you? What if you need to queue up to change your ticket? And are you within the cut-off times for baggage drop-off? If you're with a group, are you all co-ordinated? If you have a cart, take it with you after checking in! Security and immigration – are there fast-track options available to you as a passenger? Don't forget that the fast-tracking starts when you check-in online. Is there a faster moving security checkpoint? Who's ahead of you in the queue? Why do security lines move so slowly in the US? Do you need to line up for an immigration exit queue? Now on to boarding – what's the system your airline is using and what's the best way to board with that system? On the plane – we'll have a future experience for onboard etiquette. You land, immigration, customs, and baggage claim at a new airport awaits you. How long should you expect to wait for immigration at some airports? Is there an arrival fast-track? Sometimes business arrival lines could be much busier than economy. How much time is the airline giving you to get processed? Are you collecting a bag, is there a tight connection? What about if you have to take an airport bus? News Items:
If you have a story about queuing at the airport, stories of your lining up and waiting for your flight, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 07 Jun 2024 | Experience 080. A Special Interview with a Six-Million-Mile Flyer | 01:07:54 | |
In this experience we are happy to bring you a special interview with senior leadership advisor Marco Villa. Over three decades Marco has flown more than 2800 flights and 6125000 miles. Geoff and Marco flew together in 2022 on internal flights in Mozambique complete with a crazy trip to Nampula (listen to experience 64 for more details). We ask Marco about his alliances and statuses. With all of these flights, Marco has almost achieved lifetime gold status on British Airways. He holds status in three different alliances along with Emirates. It all started for Marco in the mid-1990s when flying staff standby tickets with Lufthansa, which sponsored AIESEC conferences that Marco (and Geoff and Vinod) attended. We ask Marco about his business travel and his top “weird” destinations. Eritrea tops the list and Tajikistan being another exotic destination. We ask about Marco’s pet peeves – he shares his thoughts about issues on the ground, in the air and at the hotel. He also shares an interesting “worst flight on the planet”. We ask about Marco’s travel hacks and habits and learn what he never gets on a plane without. What airlines or hotels are at the top of Marco’s list? Marco wishes that customer service comes back at the major airlines at some point in the future. We ask about what airlines he feels are at the bottom of the list. It is a really populated place for both major carriers and low-cost carriers. We ask what Marco would like to see in travel for innovation. Marco also shares his emotional attachment to his paper boarding passes. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 61. "A Very Special Interview. Selling Airbus in China." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you have other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 16 Jul 2019 | Experience 019. On the RTW road with Vinny and Geoff. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:11:36 | |
In this very special experience, we join Vinny and Geoff while they both are on the road. Vinny joins the experience from the Super Lounge at Istanbul Airport (IST), while Geoff joins in from Kuala Lumpur's Sentral Station. We share some of our experiences that we have experienced while on our RTW adventures. | |||
| 23 Jun 2019 | Experience 017. Looking in the bag again. A re-visit to the theme of baggage on flights. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:01:34 | |
In this experience we build off a key component of the previous experience and re-visit the theme of baggage. We look at where your checked bag ends up in a plane and why it is there, along with how bags are loaded with narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. We look at what's happening when you see your bags being loaded. Why is there different weights used by airlines – 32 kilos, 23 kilos and more. Vinny looks back at how many times people tried checking in overweight bags at YYC with British Airways (BA). Speaking of overweight bags, Vinny and Geoff share experiences with easyJet (U2) and Ryanair (FR) at TXL, STN and LGW. If you're on a journey with multiple airlines, make sure you check the weight limits for all the airlines. If you're over your weight limit by a lot, it never hurts to ask a supervisor. What is the famous "gate check" and "sky check"? What is the science of the bag tag? | |||
| 24 Nov 2019 | Experience 025. Opening the mailbag - Part 2. Inflight meals - second service. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:52:43 | |
Well, would you look at that – it's the 25th recorded experience. We'll have a celebration soon when it's the 25th experience that both Vinny and Geoff have recorded together. We give a shoutout to the Layovers podcast for recently reaching their 100th episode – great job Paul Papadimitriou & Alex Hunter! In this experience Vinny and Geoff go back into the mailbag for a second meal service. We take a look back at when meal service really started to take off (sorry) on intercontinental flights...and then we divert to Vinny's cutlery drawer – which airlines are in there? As we fast-forward to today, we have to remember that your senses work differently in the pressure and (lack of) humidity at 30000 feet. Airlines must produce meals in massive production kitchens and try to match flavours from the ground to the air. How long ahead do they make the meals? How do airlines set up bidding with caterers? As we step onboard the flight, how are the carts and trays set up? We'll look at examples from long haul flights. The airline has to ensure that there is maximum cleanliness and hygiene of the carts, but also that they're available. How does the airline line up meals on the trays on a cart shelf? We look at an example of a 2 meals service flight. Are you the first meal off the cart – you're probably getting it quickly. Why does there seem to be a lot of hand motions and dinging during meal service with flight attendants? Vinny shares his Qantas garlic bread experience from LAX-MEL. Your meal is frozen at takeoff, how do they get it hot for you at cruising altitude? Second round of food, yes there are even more carts stored away. But where do they keep the food? What happens if there is a delay or diversion? What's that dripping from the overhead bin? (hint – it's not gravy). What was that smell that Vinny had to deal with in Cuba – and did the passengers get their meal? How does the airline keep cold food fresh? When customers handed back trays, Vinny had a very specific pet peeve. What was it? How did others get around the problem that so irked Vinny? What happens to waste after landing – especially after international arrivals? Questions from listener Alana H. Be prepared if you're on an irregular operations flight, sometimes the crew's timings may be off, or choices can go awry. Are alterations allowed for inflight meals? How long should you give advance notice for special meals? Check if your special meal is actually available. Be aware of the meal service that is being provided on your flight. What if you miss pre-ordering? What if you miss a meal? What if you fall asleep before meal service? Ice Cream – yes and wait until you hear of the service Vinny got from IAH-GIG on United (UA). And don't get too hungry after hearing about Vinny's "Book the Cook" experiences on Singapore (SQ). News Items:
If you have a meal story, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 27 Jun 2024 | Experience 081. Summer Travel Plans With a Chance of Turbulence. | 00:46:22 | |
In this experience we review some recent travel along with a overview of our summer travel plans. Severe turbulence has been in the news recently in various locations around the world. Turbulence is always there and always has been there and always will be there. Remember the words that Vinod would tell passengers concerned about turbulence "The people flying the plane have families they need to get home to tonight." If you are concerned about the wings during turbulence, there are numerous wing flex test videos for all airplane manufacturers. Here is an example from Airbus. We want to give a shoutout to the Layovers Podcast. Vinod was a guest interviewee of Paul on Episode 139. Vinod tried out a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier, Flair, for the first time from Vancouver to Calgary. He shares his thoughts about the experience. Find out why Vinod says they held to the ultra of ultra low cost. Vancouver to Calgary is often a turbulent flight as flights cross the Rocky Mountains. Turbulence can be divided into planned and unplanned turbulence. Flying into hot destinations often brings big thermals for pilots to deal with. Sometimes flights take big detours to avoid large unstable weather systems. We discuss our 2024 travel plans. Geoff has an upcoming round-the-world flight. The idea for the flight started when Vinod asked what a United 737 was doing in Tokyo. The trip starts from Toronto to Chicago to Honolulu on United. Then the Island Hopper in the Pacific, eventually ending up in Guam. Then a connection to Japan to one of the world's busiest single runway airports at Fukuoka. Geoff is looking forward to a domestic Japanese flight from Osaka to Tokyo. After enjoying Tokyo, onward to Copenhagen with 19 hours of flying via Singapore. Geoff has a couple of inter-European flights with Norwegian and Lufthansa. Geoff returns to Canada using a Singapore fifth freedom flight to JFK and finally to Toronto with Air Canada. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 74. "Summer Skies. 2023 Plans for Vinod and Geoff." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod is travelling to Paris to work on the Olympic Games. He is looking forward to his in-flight experience with Air France. Later with family there will be trips to Portugal with TAP, Dublin with Ryanair and Paris with Aer Lingus. Vinod and family will enjoy a return flight to Vancouver together. Maybe Geoff and Vinod will get a chance to meet up while on their adventures. Stay tuned. If you have trip plans or experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 06 Mar 2023 | Experience 070. Snow, cold and delays. 2022 holiday travel stress. | 01:15:19 | |
In this experience we look back at our travel experiences over the December 2022 holiday season. We got where we were meant to go, and fortunately did not incur any of the long delays that many other travellers encountered. December 2022 saw serious weather systems in North America. That was combined with large volumes; technology, crewing, and baggage issues. People thought that the labour issues from the summer of 2022 had resolved themselves, but they were still ongoing. First, Vinod planned a trip to San Diego from Vancouver. He decided to fly to Los Angeles and rent a car, which turned out to be an important factor. The Vancouver-Los Angeles route is a competitive and frequent route. In the week before Vinod's flight there was a major winter storm in Vancouver. Vancouver does not get the same amount of snow as other Canadian airports. On the day before his flight there was another massive snowstorm. Would Vinod be able to make the flight to Los Angeles? He checked the schedules of his plane and the weather of the city where it was going to be before his flight. All flights at YVR cancelled. Airport closed. All arrivals were halted. But what about flights departing? Vinod's flight was still operating. The US departure terminal at Vancouver was mayhem. Vinod learned that the passport scanning terminal could have problems with infant tickets. Flight crew also get stuck when the weather goes sideways, so there was a slight delay. It might have led to de-icing employees getting to the airport, since the capacity to de-ice was less than 50 percent on this wintery day in Vancouver. It took Vinod 3 hours to have his plane de-iced. Vinod looked out on the tarmac, various trans-Pacific flights were stuck on the tarmac, unable to deplane their passengers or get to a gate. Geoff shared a story of crews getting stuck in Ft. McMurray, Alberta from the same storm. Vinod has a love hate relationship with LAX. Right now it is on the hate dial. Vinod was very lucky to make it out that day on a critical feeder route. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 027. "Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Holiday Travel Horror Stories." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Meanwhile, Geoff was scheduled to fly from Toronto on December 24. He had been watching the storm system that affected Vinod, along with other record cold systems moving across North America. Then there was a weather warning for freezing rain and then a blizzard warning. However the morning of December 24, the flight was showing on time. The temperatures had dropped with strong winds. The airport was holiday busy, the lounge was full but seating was still available. The flight was slightly delayed due a baggage issue, but arrival was not too delayed. Geoff's return flight involved a review of food at Calgary security - what happens with solid honey? Calgary had thick heavy fog, and the inbound flight was delayed. The first officer was delayed on arriving due to the fog. The turbulence was very strong, to the point where the crew had to take their seats. Otherwise the return was uneventful, but since the flight was late priority was given to those connecting. Vinod's flight back to Vancouver was much more stressful than it normally was. It started well, with burgers and plane spotting, but went downhill starting with the car rental shuttle bus. Vinod was supposed to meet a work colleague who was connecting - but logistics prevented it from happening. Vinod needed to take apart his child's stroller and put all three parts through the x-ray machine. The stress of the day fuelled into Vinod's child for the return flight, which arrived at Vancouver at the furthest gate from Canadian Customs. Vinod got a good laugh as some American pilots were shamed to get back in the line to exit the customs hall. It is important to book the right routing during periods of travel uncertainty. If Vinod had booked the San Diego flight, there is a much stronger chance it would have been cancelled. Also in late December 2022 would have had to probably land at LAX anyway due to the aviation fuel leak limiting flight distance at San Diego. Geoff and Vinod share their love for San Diego airport. News Items:
If you have a story about flights to Los Angeles, holiday flights, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 29 Dec 2020 | Experience 040. At the movies. Hollywood and aviation films. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:24:51 | |
In this experience (congratulations to us on reaching 40!) we know that during the holiday season, people will be watching movies. We decided to take a look at a number of aviation movies. How can we make a connection to aviation films and our fortieth experience? The classic comedy Airplane! turned forty in 2020 – so that's where we made the link. "Surely you can't be serious. I am serious and don't call me Shirley." There were so many serious airplane crash and hijacking incidents that happened through the 1970s and movies that played up the terror. Airplane! decided to take it all on with a full comedic tour de force. It gave Leslie Nielsen a chance to pivot into comedy – and Police Squad and Naked Gun fans are eternally gracious. We're not analyzing the technicalities of the films that much, there are other people out there reviewing the pure technical aspects of movies and their accuracy. Cast Away – We look at this film from Tom Hanks, the crash sequence, and even how much one of the volleyballs ended selling for. Vinod shares a memory of listening in to a FedEx 777 flight conversation as he flew over Memphis. Die Hard 2 – We edited the signature line a bit to keep this podcast as family friendly as possible. We discuss the volatility of jet fuel and also the reality of fighting on a moving wing - this film takes creative license with both of these. Additionally, the film pays homage to two iconic aircraft – the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and Boeing 747. We look back nostalgically to when planes had phones in the galley or in the seat backs. The Terminal - This movie based on a true story gives us a chance to talk about the old Montreal Mirabel airport, but also the incredible work that was done to make the terminal seem as real as possible. Up in the Air – This one's for the road warriors out there. There is a scene in the film that impacted the way that Vinod pulls his carry-on luggage to this day. Sully – Another film with Tom Hanks (there seems to be a theme here?) which shows the incredible action taken during the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson caused by striking a flock of birds. We discuss how this film gets the flight deck details right – but many films (and press in general) don't get pictures to match the reality. The control takeover scene is very accurate – but safety harnesses (in this film and many others) are not that accurate. Pilots will not put them on until they absolutely have to. 7500 – The squawk code for a hijacking, this is a well written film that is based on the flight deck point of view. The film was a three-country co-production. Executive Decision – A crash, bang, boom 1990s movie, with Hollywood license taken with secret passages, cargo holds and B1 Bombers and a short field landing sequence. Catch Me If You Can – A movie that included Pan Am and filmed partly at the TWA terminal at JFK. Geoff was there in January 2020 – one day maybe we'll record an experience there. Flight – Keeping the blue side up with Denzel Washington. Saving his passengers on a crash landing, but then having to deal with his substance abuse challenges. Passenger 57 – A 1990s movie with lots of explosions and shootouts. There is an implausible scene of getting into the airplane through the landing gear. Vinod shares his experience of leaving Cuba where the police would escort the plane to prevent stowaways running to escape in the landing gear. Air Force One - Geoff has seen the real thing on the tarmac, and no, the vehicles don't travel with it. Alive – The harrowing story of the crash of a Uruguayan Rugby team flight in 1972 and subsequent battle for survival. Mountain flights for small planes in that era were often dangerous. Planes, Trains and Automobiles – A crazy journey across America with Steve Martin and John Candy. We look back at a couple of Vinod's crazy experiences that we've discussed previously. Airport – A film series of disaster movies in the 1970s, with George Kennedy playing in all four films of the series. Final Destination – It is thanks to this plane that Vinod checks to see if plane wings are greasy. Con Air – A late 1990s prisoner transport movie starring Nicolas Cage, and a Fairchild C-123 which causes us to ask why are they landing on The Strip in Las Vegas? Non-Stop – Liam Neeson puts in a good performance, but the movie misses on a number of technical issues. Flight of the Phoenix – We look briefly at the 2004 remake of the film. Air America – We look at the bush flying that is highlighted in this movie, and also wonder when planes break apart in Hollywood films, why aren't there more cables visible? Twilight Zone – We discuss the original "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" from 1963, the 1983 movie starring John Lithgow, and The Simpson's 1993 animated parody. Finally, we recommend the television series Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation; Air Emergency; or Air Disasters in various countries) for those who are interested in air crashes, near-crashes, hijackings, bombings, and other disasters. The integrity of the technical aspects varies depending on the movie - some aim for facts, while others have information that can be debunked. We share the Simple Flying story from October that an ex British Airlines 747 will be saved as a film set just outside of London. News Items:
If you have a story about your favourite aviation films, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ (Sleighbells sound FX from GowlerMusic edited and mixed with other sound FX https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | |||
| 11 Dec 2019 | Experience 026. More from the mailbag. The baggage above you - overhead bins. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:55:39 | |
In this experience we go back to the mailbag and thank Joe R for his questions about overhead bins and baggage and the struggles that go with it in modern day air travel. It's a perfect time to look at this question, with lots of extra travel for the year end holiday season. Overhead bins are a relatively new phenomenon in air travel – you just have to look at old movie footage when it used to just be a shelf. Have Vinny or Geoff ever experienced a non-bin flight before (hint – yes). A more recent change in the drive for more revenue, most airlines charge for checking in baggage – which means it ends up in the cabin. Vinny was in the heat of the action when WestJet (WS) changed their policy. You need to pay attention to what kind of airplane type you're flying with – narrow body or wide body – to know what the differences in bins you may have. Also, just because it fits on one aircraft model, doesn't mean it will fit on another. For a good idea what will fit, check what the crew is bringing on board. Are your outside bag pockets stuffed full? Do you panic when your bag doesn't fit...and then turn it 90 degrees? Are the crew helping with the overhead bin Tetris game? Are airline staff at the boarding area checking to see how many bags might be brought on board? Who has the "space bin" and what difference does it make? Do you know your bag and if it's going to fit in the bin? Has anyone ever seen a flight attendant with a bin closing stick? Vinny did flying from DFW-LHR. Passenger behaviour...we've all seen it before. Please don't plug up the centre aisle. Remember that the bin is not your personal closet space – and that bin above you is only the preferred space for you. Economy passengers dumping their bags in business class bins. Vinny sharing a crazy childhood story flying from BOM-BLR – overhead bins can make flashing lights and uniformed police show up. Are your bags fitting in the sizer? What if you know it does...will a gate check tag mysteriously disappear? Designer bags – some passengers treat them like they need a separate seat and a bin of their own. But what if you have to put your bags under the seat in front of you? Override your instinct and don't take your bag in the case of emergency! And what about kennels? News Items:
If you have an overhead bin story, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 11 Oct 2021 | Experience 052. Citius, Altius, Fortius. Flying with Teams. | 00:40:19 | |
In this experience we look at the world of teams and flights. As we learned in Experience 051, Vinod flew back to Vancouver with the Canadian Olympic Team. What a great atmosphere it was for him to enjoy. This is not the first time that he has flown with Olympic athletes or teams for that matter. On flights with teams, it's not just athletes. There are usually coaching and support staff also on the flight. As well, normally there are also supporting family or partners on board. National flag carriers will often sponsor national teams. When the athletes arrive at the airport, they come with the luggage related to their sport and the check-in process is the same as any other passenger. The teams are often processed with the group check-in to avoid any issues or problems with the non-team flying public. The teams usually sit together. On the ramp, the baggage handlers will see a large quantity of similar bags carrying similar items. On wide-body flights, often the team baggage is reserved into a few containers. There are examples of teams being boisterous and loud, but many times this happens on the return flight. Vinod remembers having to deal with teenagers on flights, the insane boarding process and not getting much help from chaperones. Geoff wonders if US college football teams have the band equipment and the team equipment on the same flight. Helpful tip – groups are usually seated at the back of the plane. We also look at what happens when teams charter flights. Some airlines have a speciality product specifically for sports charters. What does the check-in process look like? Usually teams will fly right after the game. On these team flights there is usually very good catering, and often with not too much alcohol. Geoff remembers back to when the NHL pro teams would fly commercially scheduled flights. What happens with teams flying on commercial flights – usually other passengers don't know. Vinod shares his experience working a flight with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League and Geoff shares his experience with Calgary Stampeders. We return to the ground for a moment with Vinod sharing a family experience from the Eurostar and a vey rowdy English rugby team. For the most part though, professional teams are professional. Some teams board at remote stands or with a fixed-base operator (FBO) at private terminals for technical or logistical reasons. These operations are very fast. Geoff shares a story how ramp staff always loved team planes that landed at the private terminals for the food leftovers. Sometimes bus or coach service is used for teams on shorter trips. In many cases it's not the team that are problematic, it's the fans of the teams. From large amount of alcohol orders or trying to bring their own alcohol on board, to starting brawls with other team's supporters – fans can be challenging. News Items:
If you have a story about team travel, team charter, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 08 Apr 2019 | Experience 014. Inter-European flights and what does Schengen mean to travellers. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:54:39 | |
With summer flights coming up to and from Europe, we look into the world of Schengen and non-Schengen flights. What is Schengen and what does it mean to you as a traveller? How will you have to handle security, customs and immigration? How does the physical layout of your airport affect your connection? Vinny shares a very tight timing experience flying from IBZ-MUC-YVR on Lufthansa (LH). Geoff shares experiences having to re-jig his schedules twice through MUC on LH. What do you want to do on your arrival - do you even need to clear Schengen? Do you have the proper visas to transit to get to your destination? Vinny shares stories of checking passports with British Airways (BA) at YYC. Does the country you're flying to offer short term visas? If you're travelling inter-Europe, you still might have a Schengen to non-Schengen connection. Boarding Area/Sam Chui news item about a British Airways flight ending up in the wrong city NBC news item about a Michigan mom suing Spirit Airlines, says daughter was removed from flight without her knowledge Boarding Area/Sam Chui news item about Air Belgium A340 operating for British Airways to Dubai Shoutout to listener Brenda Reeves. If you have a story, question or experience that you would like to share - including inter-European flights - please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 24 Nov 2022 | Experience 067. Gift Ideas. World of inflight essentials. | 00:59:27 | |
Vinod and Geoff have taken some long flights in 2022 and have taken various items onboard. Our take-on items have evolved over the years. As we recorded this experience the 2022 holiday season is approaching, and we wanted to share our inflight recommendations for yourself - or perhaps as a gift idea for someone. Full disclosure - these are our own recommendations, and we are not receiving any sponsorship from any of the products mentioned. We start with headphones, earphones, headsets, and earbuds. There are various products out there but be aware that there is a difference between noise cancelling and noise reduction. You may also want to look at buying a set of audio adapters - in case an airline has a unique audio plug. And if you’re travelling with a battery powered headset, don’t forget to bring a spare battery. We ask what does someone use to watch onboard? Tablets, phones, e-readers - what happens if there is no screen in the back of the seat in front of you. Vinod remembers back to when WestJet removed seatback screens. How do you watch your device properly - are you going to be able to view it while eating a meal, for example? Remember as well to have a power bank for your device, since you don’t know how easy it will be to find power to recharge when you arrive. Vinod always keeps a device plugged in during his flight. Have something with you, online or offline, for the flight. Vinod has a book that is permanently tucked into his luggage. Rest on a flight is key - we look at neck pillows, and Vinod shares a story of his unique Danish neck rest. Vinod shares his disgust of people who walk barefoot into the lavatory and has recommendations for in-flight footwear. He also shares his experiences of hotspot passengers returning to a Canadian winter wearing only flipflops. Shoes without laces can be very useful - either for passing through security, or since your feet swell during flight. When you arrive in your destination, do you have the proper power plug adapter? It is much easier these days than back when we needed a box of different plugs. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 026 "More from the mailbag. The baggage above you - overhead bins." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. We discuss baggage and bags. It may be useful for you to have a bag for the back of the seat to put your stuff in - also since seat pockets are often really unsanitary. If you have a rollerboard bag, it may be worth it to get the wheels changed with inline skate wheels. What should you wear during flight. For long haul flights, you may wish to consider some loungewear. Always bring a clean set of base layer clothes with you as carry-on, just in case there’s a baggage problem, or something happens to your clothes during flight like spills. Vinod shares a dripping lime pickle story. Packing cubes are a great suggestion for people who want structure in their bags, and also for privacy in case security or customs goes through your bag. Water bottles - if you have one you might have to wait for service to fill it. Vinod always takes a sealed bottle of water from the flight. If you use a messenger bag, we recommend getting one that fits over your luggage handle. If you bring food on board, it is usually a good idea to bring something with added protein. AirTags - after the global luggage chaos of 2022, using these can help you keep track of where your bag is. Flying with children - "keep it simple stupid". Are you going to be able to walk the aisle or get in the lavatory with your child and the bag? Connecting clips and lattices - a recommendation when you need to link your bags together. News Items:
If you have a story about your preferred inflight essentials, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 02 Nov 2021 | Experience 053. Official Protocols. Government and Royalty on Flights. | 00:43:28 | |
In this experience we look at the world of official protocols and flights. With elections and world leader gatherings, there are official protocols for flights. Different governments have their own aircraft. The most famous of the aircraft is Air Force One. Other governments have official aircraft as well – often not looking too different than planes in their air force. Other countries use existing airline's aircraft. Some countries spend a lot on aircraft, and then can't keep up the payments. And Russia uses its own domestic manufacturers. Encountering these aircraft has some unique circumstances. Geoff having an Air Force One ground stop while working as a baggage handler in Calgary. Vinod having Air Force One ground stops in Hawaii while working as flight crew. Geoff having a delay at Newark due to an Air Force One ground stop. Sometimes there will be a collection of planes in a location where they normally wouldn’t be expected. Vinod shares his experience with the G20 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2012 – and shares the level of clean and polish from the Japanese crew. Vinod and Geoff both share experiences from the 2002 G8 in Calgary. Geoff was working on the ground, Vinod was working another event in Calgary and decided one day to stop by the airport – and was greeted by a motorcade, a comical need for keys, an unexpected LOUD Russian flyby and the impressive size of a Globemaster C-17. Vinod shares his experiences with the British Royal Family flying on British Airways commercial flights. Protocols were at their highest levels. Baggage for Prince Harry was in the Boeing 777 bulk pit when it arrived in Calgary and Vinod had to escort the baggage. Vinod also had to handle the departure – and even got to hang out with Prince Harry. If you're at an airport and there are planes there that don't seem like they match with the location, maybe there's a global event going on. Remember that there's absolutely nothing you can do if you're waiting for the global leader. Check the news to make sure there isn't any global leader event happening at the airport you're visiting. News Items:
If you have a story about your experiences with leaders and flight delays at global events, royalty on flights, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 26 Jul 2021 | Experience 048. Glossary of Aviation Terminology. Kilo to Zulu. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:05:01 | |
In this experience we continue study time with Vinod and Geoff. So sharpen your pencils as we continue with the second of two experiences with aviation terminology. In this experience we're covering Kilo to Zulu. When you fly or read about aviation, often you hear or see terminology used by pilots, airline staff or you may hear about in the media. We have chosen various terms that we hope will assist you in understanding what's going on, and to allow you to communicate with Seat 1A savvy. Don't worry there is no quiz at the end, so sit back and enjoy.
News Items:
If you have a story about the terms that we've shared today, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 03 Oct 2022 | Experience 065. I Saw the Sign. Wayfinding at Airports. | 00:55:40 | |
As seen in the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2022, many travellers have returned to travelling. However, quite often passengers check in their brains and don't bring their brain into the airport. This is why wayfinding and signage is so important. Sometimes there is common signage across a country - the black and yellow UK signage, for example. Sometimes signage is difficult to read – Vinod shares an experience from a number of years ago in Salt Lake City. Often signs are unilingual, and often signs are unclear what a passenger needs to do (for example: does the sign mean straight ahead, or go up to the next floor level?) Looking through crowds to see signage can be difficult. Understandably, the signage can define the passenger experience. Many airports have a check-in zone with a big letter to show the aisle. Vinod and Geoff share their love of the departure flipboard sign in Frankfurt. Signage details starts right on your ticketing information. And if you need to deal with ticketing, it could be in multiple locations. Moving along to pre-board screening and security, are there other scanning locations that will get you through more quickly? Lavatories and eating – sometimes the signage intent is very unclear. Vinod shares a story of finding a Japanese breakfast in Tokyo. Some airports don’t announce the gate until a short period before departure, which can lead to a mass rush of passengers. At the gate itself things can go sideways with signage. Vinod shares a story of changing a gate three times in Hanoi. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 023. "Sometimes the situation just goes bad. Making the most of the experience." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Sometimes signage is a simple as something like lettering. The boarding card has to also correlate with the wayfinding. A passenger gets to Customs and Immigration – are there restrictions on which citizens use which queues? And once you leave the airport, what is the signage for your transportation?
News Items:
If you have a story about airport signage, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 12 Aug 2022 | Experience 062. Into the Chaos. Summer 2022 Travel Plans. | 00:52:29 | |
Vinod and Geoff are jumping into the travel chaos this summer – and are getting ready for the backlogs and delays that could ensue. Outside of the airport and airline backlogs, there are backlogs with passport offices around the world. Vinod had to get a new first passport for his child in Vancouver, Canada. He discusses his hellish journey through the backlogs, the processing that didn’t happen, the phone wait times, the overnight queues to get passports processed, the backup plans to drive to another city. “When do I really need to panic?” was in full effect. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 036. Epidemic Unplugged. What's happening and what does the future hold? It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Geoff shares his experience of trying to get entry visa information to Mozambique. Multiple requests to multiple locations in English and Portuguese. No answer. Vinod shares a memory of getting a visa for Vietnam. Remember – watch out for sketchy companies with visa and passport services. They may only be providing information and not getting you the physical document. Airports are crazy busy. Vinod shares a situation at Heathrow where the airline ran out of hotels for customers who had missed a connection due to a late flight. Remember even if you show up super early, some airports are doing flow control. Geoff looks back to the summer of 2020 when there were hardly any passengers in Toronto Pearson. As advised by our friends at AvTalk – “Arm yourself with everything you can in your arsenal” to help you get through airport chaos. Look at the arrival time of your flight. What else is arriving when you do? Geoff and Vinod share their travel plans. Geoff to Europe and Africa (including a 747 upgrade), while Vinod has first flight with a child to the UK. Vinod reminds us that there is a weight limit for a basinet and that children have to be on lap during turbulence. We’ll record live on location somewhere for Experience 063. If you have a story about your trips in 2022, or any other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on . Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 24 Dec 2022 | Experience 068. Listener Interview. A Saga of Lost Luggage in Lisbon. | 01:31:27 | |
In this experience we are happy to share an interview with a fan of the show, Stephanie, about her experience with a flight from Vancouver to Montreal to Lisbon. This took place during the summer 2022 travel chaos. Stephanie was travelling to Lisbon, mixing business and pleasure. When her and her mother arrived in Lisbon, their bags had not made the connection in Montreal and did not reach Lisbon. They took the time to create the tracking file and met up with others whose bags were missing. She traded information with another traveller who flew from Vancouver. Stephanie had the dilemma of buying clothes due to lost luggage "Are we trying to buy clothes that will get us through a few days, or clothes that we will love a long time?" Stephanie took the time to buy new luggage as well, bright orange. Just what is the value of the item in your bag? On the final day before her return trip to Vancouver, Stephanie got a text message from a stranger with a picture of her bag "Your bag is sitting next to carousel four. Here's a picture of it." Meanwhile the tracker stated that tracing continues. Stephanie and her mother had to leave Lisbon with double baggage, and a shout out is given to the check in staff in Lisbon. Stephanie is still trying to get the full compensation back for the replacement items - the airline would only compensate for one person. We look at key components of Stephanie’s story. An agent can check where the last bag scan happened. She treated the baggage staff with respect. She teamed up with someone to help search for baggage. She did not have much packed in carry-on for clothing in case of lost bags. Make sure you take your medication with you in carry-on. Information on the baggage tag is critical. Do you know the value of your bag’s items? Do you have extra lost baggage coverage? Are there government protections? If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 016. "South by Southw...wait what's happening with our flight and bags?" It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
News Items:
If you have a story about lost baggage, travel insurance claims, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 06 Oct 2019 | Experience 022. Why is my plane parked there? The world of gate assignments. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:47:09 | |
In this experience we look at the world of gate assignments, and why your plane is parked at a specific location.
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| 29 Aug 2023 | Experience 075. Celebrating 75 Episodes in Person. 2023 Summer Travel – The Analysis. | 01:27:44 | |
In this experience Vinod and Geoff are both in Toronto, recording in person and celebrate the milestone of 75 episodes. We proceed to do an analysis of travels in July 2023. Geoff had a trans-Atlantic adventure, with flights to Germany, Austria, and Turkey. Geoff's trip was from Toronto to Frankfurt with a premium economy ticket that had been booked early in the year but wanted to try for an upgrade. ExpertFlyer helped to figure out the load factor and Geoff tried the Air Canada bid upgrade system. Forty-eight hours in advance the upgrade was accepted. Remember that Air Canada does not have pajamas in business class as part of the amenity kit. Air Canada business class is a solid product but not top of world class. Geoff got a pointer from another passenger on how to get sleep in the airline. When Geoff arrived into Frankfurt he checked if there was shower service in the Air Canada lounge. He learned departing passengers only and Lufthansa will not accept Air Canada passengers in their arrival lounge. Fortunately Frankfurt Airport offers a paid shower directly across from that lounge. Geoff took a train into Frankfurt Main Station and onwards from there, with a scheduled return back to Frankfurt Airport the next day. Geoff proceeded on from Frankfurt to Vienna. A very simple self bag check, and Schengen zone flight. A warning for those using the A wing of Terminal 1 in Frankfurt. There are no places for you to fill a water bottle with cool water and water bottles are sold for four euros or more. The gate Geoff was at did not require a pushback. Overnight in Vienna and a train back to the airport the next day. A straightforward flight on to Düsseldorf. But when Geoff arrived, did they forget all the bags on the tarmac without delivering them to the belt? An overnight in Düsseldorf and onward to Cologne the next morning. Geoff flew with Turkish from Cologne to Istanbul and his first impressions of the massive airport in Istanbul was the very long taxiing time to the terminal. He connected for a domestic flight onward to Bodrum. He returned to Istanbul a week later taking a 777 for a one-hour flight - which managed to have a hot breakfast service. Geoff stayed up all night for a planned Istanbul to Vienna to Toronto trip. There had been issues through the entire trip since it had been booked using points. It’s a long walk through the middle of Istanbul Airport without moving sidewalks until you get to the assorted terminal wings. Geoff was told that his flight was late, and he was going to miss the connection, and was advised to stay another day. But the inbound flight connection in Vienna was late. Would he make it? After waiting an hour for takeoff clearance and arriving at a remote stand with a bus, and a sprint though Vienna Airport, the answer was no. Did Air Canada get passenger information from Turkish? Who knows. Could the Star Alliance connection work better? Absolutely. Geoff rants about the newer terminal at Vienna, the need to use stairs often at the airport and the narrow, dark atmosphere. But who was Geoff supposed to contact. Since it was booked with points, he was told to contact Air Canada. After multiple hours waiting, Geoff spoke to Mina at Air Canada, his trip saviour. He tried with Turkish to get a new routing, no chance. He was NOT going to fly back to Istanbul to start over. Air Canada covered the re-routing of his itinerary – now via Barcelona. After an unplanned short overnight in Vienna, and unanticipated excitement with a missing NEXUS card, Geoff flew via Barcelona. What a difference to Vienna with wide walkways and lots of light. A brief layover in Barcelona and a pleasant return flight to Toronto. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 9. "Our first deep dive into two different flying experiences." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod had a family trip to Toronto with a redeye flight from Vancouver which was not a pleasant experience. The inbound Air Canada flight was delayed, the passengers sat in the plane waiting for ground crews, the temperature control was uncomfortably warm at times (which is apparently an issue with the MAX), and the crew was uninterested. Vinod shares his rental car experience, and upgrades that can happen for those companies that share the same vehicle pool. Vinod was planning for his first ever flight with a transcontinental flight on Porter. How was his seat planning going? Apparently quite well. If you have a story about 2023 trips that you’ve already completed or are taking, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 18 Apr 2020 | Experience 031. A toast to this experience. Alcohol on flights. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:54:32 | |
In this experience we look at alcohol and drinking on flights. What was the experience in days gone by, versus today on intercontinental flights? Why is it when we drink on flights, we may end up feeling the effects of alcohol more strongly than when we are on the ground? Vinod shares an experience of a first-class hangover on a British Airways (BA) flight from Calgary to London-Heathrow. Some start with their alcohol even before they board, at airport lounges, bars, or restaurants. Meanwhile other ultra low-cost carriers will charge for all alcohol – which leads to passengers trying to consume their own alcohol on board. Vinod shares a crew story of "cups of ice and cans of Sprite", with some very large gridiron football players. There are times when a flight runs out of a certain type of alcohol – then what? Vinod shares an experience of needing to improvise "champagne service" on a hotspot flight. When you board the flight, it's more than just smiles and salutations from the crew. The in-flight crew is often the first real interaction between a passenger and the airline to determine state of sobriety. Vinny shares the unfortunate story of a passenger who took three days to be in a sober state to fly. A pilot has the final word and will not tolerate disrespect to the crew. Some go to great lengths to ensure that passengers respect that – as Vinod shares. A plane of thirsty workers who have just left a mining camp made for interesting Friday afternoon flights for Vinod. Some passengers unfortunately engage in more than just alcohol – Vinod shares a crazy story about a redeye flight to Varadero, Cuba. Geoff jogs Vinod's memories of a wild flight to Paris, with drunken passengers just hanging around. We're not saying that you can't enjoy your alcohol, but you have a responsibility as a passenger in case of an emergency. A crew will not be able to move your drunken body – are you posing a risk to your fellow passengers? Cheers, but make sure that you're still functional...the last thing you want to be is hungover in a customs or baggage queue. And we share a tip about what if you suspect someone is in a drunken state. Remember, at the end of it all, it's all about safety. News Item:
If you have a story about alcohol on flights, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 28 Jul 2021 | Experience 049. In the Lounge at YVR. Overseas Flight in Seat 1A. | 00:16:21 | |
In this experience we are happy to come to you from the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge at Vancouver International Airport. Vinod is returning to the air for the first time since February 2020 – making a splash with his first overseas flight since the summer of 2019. Vinod shares his experience of booking the seat and the documentation he has had to produce during these times. He's in business class...we don't have to even ask which seat he has selected. (Hint...Seat 1A). Vinod shares his experience of being back in the airport – from check-in to just sitting back and enjoying the lounge. Vinod is on a flight just under ten hours from Vancouver – where will he arrive? We will reveal it to you in Experience 50. Since there is a 10-hour flight with mask wearing the entire time, Vinod shares a travel hack to save his ears. He advises of the changes to lounge food ordering currently in effect in Vancouver. Geoff is also flying again after almost a year. He is experiencing an Airbus 220 for the first time on a Canadian domestic flight. Time to board. Bon Voyage Vinod! If you have a story about overseas travel during COVID-19, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 20 Jul 2023 | Experience 074. Summer Skies. 2023 Plans for Vinod and Geoff. | 01:13:06 | |
In this experience we take a look at our summer 2023 travel plans, and also look at trips we took in June. It’s a very different summer than that of 2022. We’re getting closer to how things were pre-pandemic with higher amounts of staffing, however now we have to really search again for cheap fares. Vinod and Geoff had travels in June in Canada. Geoff flew to Yukon and did a large road trip from there also through Alaska. Geoff flew with Air North which had a terrific Connector Fare deal to Whitehorse from Calgary. There were a few adventures on the way - including waiting on the tarmac in Toronto for technical reasons and Vancouver for connecting passengers; and a bag drop in Vancouver that still required a visit to a check-in desk. Vinod shares his memories of tarmac holds and whether the passengers should be released. Canada is very large. Toronto to Whitehorse is approximately the same distance as Toronto to Bogota, Colombia. Vinod had an early morning flight to London, Ontario. He learned about extra costs if pre-reserving an Uber. All airlines have a headstart focus for their first flights - trying to get out early for the day. Vinod had worked as crew on the exact same Frozen plane that he was flying on. Even though he had worked for years in Calgary, there were new terminal wings he had not experienced before. His arrival in London was uneventful. Vinod returned to Toronto with a rental car. There was added adventures making the baggage cutoff time and unexpected and unpleasant calls to the car rental agency due to a forgotten item. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 22. "Why is my plane parked there? The world of gate assignments." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Geoff and Vinod discuss their upcoming summer travel. Geoff has a transatlantic adventure along with inter-European flights. Geoff shares a tip on how to manage a flight on Turkish Airlines booked with other airlines’ points. Vinod has a family vacation to Toronto. Vinod is trying a new cross-country player in the Canadian air market. We share a tip on how to find the price floor for fares. News Items:
If you have a story about 2023 trips that you’ve already completed or are taking, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/. | |||
| 05 Jul 2023 | Experience 073. Flew to a Room. A Deeper Look at Airport Hotels. | 00:45:56 | |
In this experience we take a deeper look at the world of airport hotels. Sometimes hotels can be the best thing but can also be the most horrible desolate places on the planet. We’ve discussed many different types of hotels in previous experiences, from the incredible to the incredibly terrible. Big airports have the big global hotel brands. But there is another tier of just a place to sleep. There are some very neat hotels that are attached to airports – Geoff remembers his visit to the TWA hotel at JFK. There are also some hotels with very cramped and tight rooms. Vinod remembers a hotel by Orly airport in Paris. The best experience is a hotel attached to the terminal itself, and Vinod remembers a visit to Frankfurt. If you’re planning to have an airport hotel, make sure you have planned out the logistics. Is it easy to get to the location. Will you have access to your bags. What about transit visas? Will the food service be open and available? Geoff remembers an experience at London Heathrow where he was so disconnected from the rest of London. Vinod shares his experience with Toronto. Airport hotels are convenient for families who have early flights. But they can be very noisy locations since they are twenty-four hour operations. Vinod shares a story of all night entertainment playing next door when he was in Montreal. There are a large number of people passing through airport hotels. As an alternative, is there a city that is close to the airport which has good connections? If you’re not wanting to leave the airside terminal, does the airport offer pod hotel space? When you’re forced into a layover, you may or may not get a comped room. Geoff shares an experience in Ottawa where he got a comped room, and a very sketchy room in New Jersey when he didn’t. Vinod shares some insight from the airline perspective and highlights that vouchers can have some variance. There may be options for you with services like Airbnb. Vinod shares his first childhood memory of staying at a hotel in Mumbai. Geoff shares an experience in North Dakota while travelling from Amsterdam to Saskatchewan. Are there local events or weather that could affect the cost of your hotel? What is the value of putting your head down and having a shower? If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 044. "Sleeping Around. Maximizing Your Rest at Airports." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. News Items:
If you have a story about airport hotels, comped rooms, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 19 Dec 2023 | Experience 078. Swiftly Getting Through Airports. Why is This Airport so Busy Today? | 00:41:12 | |
In this experience we look into the reasons why airports may get much busier than normal. We start out the podcast with a trip review of Vinod who recently flew to London-Heathrow. It was his virgin flight on an Airbus 350. There was no free seat selection with the ticket that he purchased. When Vinod flew out of Vancouver the British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Plaza Premium lounges were all under renovation. This led to an interesting temporary lounge in Vancouver’s International departures. The flight was quiet and uneventful with a landing at Heathrow Terminal 3. It had been decades since Vinod had flown into Terminal 3. Vinod had a chance to meet up with Paul from Layovers while in London. On his return to Vancouver, Vinod had a bag that was at the weight limit. Thankfully there were friendly service staff to help him with the situation. Vinod used the Flighty app which performed very well. The flight had an empty seat beside him and was quick and efficient on the trip back to Canada. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 35. "Beating the queue. Lining up strategies at the airport." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. We dive into events that take over an airport. Taylor Swift is a current example who has caused airlines to do incredible things.
Sometimes there are things that you're aware that some airports will be busy like holidays. Other times you may not be aware of things like sporting events, large conventions, trade shows or political events. It can throw you for a loop if you don't know things that are happening at that airport. Geoff remembers flying into Cairo during Hajj and it was a connection point for flights from all over Africa. Finally, there are large international airshows with some beautiful aircraft that may or may not delay you when flying. But you could end up with a wonderful view from your window.
News Items:
If you have a story about unexpectedly busy airports, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 02 Sep 2019 | Experience 020. Go or no-go? When Vinny and Geoff's rail travel plans went sideways. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:42:39 | |
In this experience we look at two rail travel adventures from Vinny and Geoff from their recent round the world adventures. In both cases they were left with a go/no-go decision point to determine if they should go on. Vinny's took place on the North-South line in Vietnam – on a trip between Hue and Da Nang. He utilized the resources available to him with local population to help him with the issue. Geoff's took place at Frankfurt station in Germany – on a trip to Dusseldorf in the midst of weather delays and cancellations. He utilized alternate connections being available – even if they were not the ones suggested. Vinny also shares a train adventure from Spain - not from this year's round the world adventure - trying to get from Alicante to Madrid on a busy weekend. We also share our condolences for Captain Al Haynes who passed away on 25 August 2019. He became famous for his incredible leadership of United Airlines Flight 232 on 19 July 1989. If you have a story of your travel going sideways (rail or otherwise), question or experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 01 Mar 2019 | Experience 012. The magical world of upgrades and the infamous oversold flight. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:58:26 | |
When Vinny was a kid, somehow he always ended up with an upgraded seat when flying YEG-LHR. How does an airline manage fares related to yield...and what happens when the math doesn't work out for the airline? What is a GTE? How does the airline re-jig the seating of a flight? Geoff's experience with snow delays at YYZ that got him an upgrade. Involuntary and voluntary upgrades – what's the difference? How do airlines determine who to upgrade – what's the prospective checklist? What does the upgrade and standby screen mean at some airports? When the check-in for flight closes, what's happening? Sometimes an involuntary upgrade doesn't for the passenger...why? How ordering certain special meals can affect your ability to get an upgrade. Vinny shares how Iceland Air (FI) food catering affects upgrading chances...even if you want to pay to upgrade. Why standby employees may end up getting the upgrades. "Are there any upgrades available?"...how Vinny held a key economy seat from GRU-JFK that helped get an upgrade. If you're asking for an upgrade, make sure you have a reason why you should be considered. Once the doors close you learn the incredible power of the crew for upgrading. Vinny and his amazing upgrade story from LHR-NBO...wait until you learn why was he met by the flight director. Vinny had a different upgrade attempt experience on Emirates (EK). Smart upgrading – it's not always about length of flight. Flight crews never know the reason why someone got a seat in a certain class. Geoff had a standby seat flying FRA-YVR but needed to use a jump seat for landing and takeoff. How to ask gate staff about how many seats are sold on the flight. CBC News item about Air Canada accused of duping passengers about overselling Skift news item about United Airlines threat to cut Expedia access to its seats. If you have an upgrade story, question or experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 04 Nov 2019 | Experience 023. Sometimes the situation just goes bad. Making the most of the experience. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:50:11 | |
In this experience Vinny and Geoff share more of their experiences when, try as they may, the situation just went badly. First of all, we want to send a shoutout to fellow podcasters Plane Talking UK. We're lining up co-hosting in an upcoming episode of theirs. Stay tuned for more info. By popular demand, we're sharing more of our travel experiences – good, bad and ugly – and how we worked at resolving them or made the best of the situation. Shoutout to Sam Chui for his review of the Air India (AI) Dreamliner business class experience. Vinny shared a rant about the security experience at MAA in Experience 021 from his RTW trip in the summer of 2019. The rant is back in this experience with full force for his experiences with Air India (AI) – both for in-flight experiences from SIN-MAA-CMB, and one of the top three worst ever lounge experiences he ever had at MAA. You might need a cold lassi after listening to the rant. Geoff shares his multiple ground travel experiences trying to get from Penang to Kuala Lumpur in July 2019. First the train Google says he should take didn't exist, and then there was a ticket circus with the bus ride that he took instead. Vinny pulls out a story from his vault of crazy experiences – this time in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2003 hitchhiking to make a train connection to get to Helsinki. But what happens when he missed the connection? (Hint – he got to Helsinki and experienced a Tupolev Tu-134). Geoff shares his overnight ground transport experience at SIN from his summer 2019 RTW trip. Where was the shuttle that was supposed to leave every 15 minutes? Sometimes waiting ends up being worth it – thanks to a great family from Perth who shared sightseeing advice. Vinny shares a recent experience from autumn 2019 at SFO. How to get to the Caltrain station to take him into the city, with minimal signage and lack of directions from Google transit. Not only that, where and how did he have to pay for the ticket? Geoff shares a terrific airside tour experience he had in October 2019 at YYZ. Thanks to Russ, Mark and Haaz for their great work and wealth of information. News Items: Independent (UK) article "Airline passenger stuffs laptop down her jumpsuit and pretends to be pregnant to avoid excess baggage charge" Associated Press article "TSA finds gun-shaped toilet paper roller in bag at airport" If you have a story of when your situation just went bad, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 10 Oct 2023 | Experience 076. That's the Ticket. Another Look at Bookings. | 01:09:41 | |
In this experience we take a trip into the show’s archives and review tickets and booking. We start out with a review from Vinod about his flight in the summer with Porter from Toronto to Vancouver. As people are looking for good fare prices, this is a good lead-in to a discussion about ticketing. We talked about ticketing in our very early experiences and are revisiting it in this experience. The moment that you purchase the right to travel on an aircraft, you get a Passenger Name Record. Every airline has their own PNR. Make sure you don’t share pictures of your PNR online. But airline ticketing systems are not as advanced as some would think. Sometimes an e-ticket does not get associated with the PNR. Sometimes a booking ends up only being a shell. When you need to fix it, you will need a specialized ticketing representative. This is why an airline representative can't fix it...they may simply not have the access. Vinod shares a story of checking in a passenger and somehow not noticing that there was no e-ticket associated with it. One of the key aspects of any ticket booking is who is in control of the ticket. Is it the airline, the travel agent or someone else. An airline will do everything it can to keep the control of the ticket, including upgrades in certain circumstances. But sometimes things go sideways, and an airline needs to hand over control to another airline. In the days of paper tickets this Flight Interruption Manifest was almost like an I Owe You between airlines. Today, it all gets processed electronically. Things can get a bit complicated when a travel agent is involved. Vinod shares a recent experience of helping with a ticket booked with a travel agent and some of the surprises involved. We look at fare classes which are important when you have to make changes. Is your fare class available anymore when you change the ticket? What do you have to pay for cancellations and/or refunds? We look at how much ticketing has changed with it now being much more transparent than in the past. We also answer that question asked so often "when is the best time to buy a cheap ticket?" We recommend having a budget and if your ticket is in that budget then book it and don't look back! How much talking are airlines doing with each other? Vinod shares a story when he had two tickets flying from Toronto to London to Madrid. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 1. "Maiden Flight." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. When your Passenger Name Record is created, be very careful with entering the name and passport information because it could be very difficult to change the information.
News Items:
If you have a story about ticketing, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 28 Jan 2022 | Experience 056. In-flight entertainment. Sit Back and Pass the Time. | 00:54:06 | |
In this experience we look at in-flight entertainment (IFE). What is its history, how has it evolved, and we share our experiences. People board a flight with the intent of being entertained while in flight. Vinod remembers back to his youth and seeing the projector as he boarded the plane – he knew there probably was a movie on a long flight. Geoff remembers watching in-flight edited movies as a kid. As they grew older, they would both look in the in-flight magazine to see what was playing. Airlines put a lot of investment into their IFE as a key factor to retain passengers. We go back to 1921(!) to learn about the first ever in-flight movie. Vinod and Geoff remember the stethoscope looking headsets. Vinod shares a memory of flying into Tampa where the flight ended before the movie (which was not a happy situation for one passenger in particular). The evolution of the IFE continued – monitors attached to the panel above and then LCD monitors that came down from the panel above. Vinod remembers the logistics of running the LCD system and keeping passengers from using certain overhead bins where everything was running. There was a shift into TV-on-demand with certain airlines. In certain cases it required that you put your credit card into the seat back to pay for extra movies or special channels. Vinod shares his memories of working at WestJet when they were switching from inflight TV to Wi-Fi and were renting tablets. Today many systems are Wi-Fi based. A common situation that Vinod encountered as flight crew was people coming on-board unprepared and completely dependent on the IFE. Pro-tip – make sure that you travel with some sort of offline tech. Vinod shares the "fun" he had when certain seats had IFE that didn't work. Remember when flying ultra low-cost carriers, there is a very good chance that you won't be getting any IFE, and sometimes you may be a captive audience to a performing in-flight crew. The amount of power and wiring for an IFE system famously led to a tragedy with Swissair 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The 787 also saw runaway batteries when it first launched. Content is regionalized, with cultural sensitivities. Th quality of both video and audio entertainment has come a long way. There are also many different camera views that are now available on many aircraft. Video games are also an option in the IFE – with some airlines offering the controllers. Remember: Always bring something with you - because you never know when the system is not going to work. News Items:
If you have a story about in-flight entertainment, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/. | |||
| 11 Jul 2022 | Experience 061. A Very Special Interview. Selling Airbus in China. | 00:53:40 | |
In this experience we are happy to bring you an interview with a wonderful guest Dee Leon. Dee met Vinod while working at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. When he told Vinod that he had sold Airbus in China, Vinod knew an interview was a Seat 1A priority. Dee worked for Airbus in the 1990s as the aviation market in China was just waiting to evolve with exponential growth in the local market. It was not an easy start for Dee as Boeing had a very strong presence in the Chinese market. This had started back when Nixon had visited China in his Boeing 707. Chinese aviation had copied Boeing through the 1970s and 80s. The selling of confidence for Airbus at the very beginning was more important than selling product. We ask Dee what the selling factors were, if Airbus sent other items with the aircraft (e.g. simulators) and what was the first success. China was previously not a hub and spoke system. And in the 1990s, the domestic bullet train was not yet a competitor. We ask what the environment was like in neighbouring countries at the time. What exactly did "do a demonstration" entail? And what was the leasing market like in China at the time? How was Dee's travel life like? How did physical aircraft get presented? And what did Dee do when a translator was not available for a seminar -- an incredible amount of reading followed! We ask about Dee's love for aviation as a child. Did he think that Airbus in China would be as successful as it is now? Dee has an interesting take on favourite airports along with personal travel recommendations. His favourite Airbus product may surprise you. Seat 1A appreciates the wonderful and candid interview with Dee. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 038. Layover with a Special Guest. An Interview with Paul Papadimitriou. It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. News Items:
If you want to share a shoutout to Dee, have a story about aviation industry sales, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 03 May 2021 | Experience 043. The Kids (and Parents) are Alright. Flying with Children. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:09:44 | |
In this experience we look at flying with children and the unique situations that this causes for parents and crew. Over the last 4 decades, that world of air travel has changed for children. No longer can a child look forward to the excitement of going up to the flight deck and seeing all the lights, indicators, and controls. At the same time, we usually don't see children dressing up to go on a flight anymore. Now it's like "sit down, shut up, strap in" and that's the end of it. Full disclaimer – this experience is not about us providing parenting advice. Vinod has seen much as inflight crew and is of the belief that children should travel as soon as possible. Some parents are not of the same view. We start by looking at pregnant flyers. Why is there a cut-off when they cannot fly? What sort of checks happen to ensure that they are safe to fly? Next, we break down the type of parent passengers into three types:
When you book your seat, pick it with the child in mind. Remember that children under two can fly for free, but they don't get a seat for free. An infant on a lap of a parent (particularly without a chance to trade off) can be very stressful. Don't be scared to ask the crew if there's an extra seat – but if the flight is full your chances will be slim. Often premium economy seating is used to entice other passengers to give up their seats. What is the location of the seat you're booking? We discuss the logistics and practicalities of bulkheads and bassinets. As a parent, a bassinet can be a great place to hold your stuff. As a non-parent who's trying to get legroom in a bulkhead seat, you just might wind up with a baby beside you. Additionally, remember that the bulkhead is at the back of the lavatory, so you may end up with extra people looking at your baby. Plus there won't be a lot of extra room if you use a bassinet. But, if there's turbulence, you need to take the baby out of the bassinet. If you have the means, do you book a business or first-class cabin to travel with your child? You have to respect the noise level in the premium cabin, and it is possible that, "you'll get more support and empathy in economy class next time." Vinod shares his stroller stories. If you have to check in the stroller, ask for the thick plastic bag to put it into if you don't have a carrying case. If you take your stroller to boarding, make sure you know how to fold it up. If you're travelling as two adults with children, a tag-team approach often works the best when boarding the flight. One of the reasons is that aisles are getting narrower, so the less you have to carry the easier it is to get to your seat. When you get to your row, get in! Then figure things out. We understand that children will melt down at any point and it's unpredictable. Some parents will lighten the atmosphere with earplugs or small snacks for their neighbouring passengers. We interject a story with Spirit Airlines who kicked a family off a flight since their child wasn't wearing a mask. There will continue to be challenges with parents trying to keep their children masked during the pandemic. Vinod shares passenger requests of the crew – one of the biggest was warming up milk...and flight crews' trick to make it work. Another is heating up food – galley ovens are going to melt any plastic container your child's food is in. Remember that a lap seat does not entitle you to a complimentary meal. When flights have buy on board, there may not be something for your child, and often food runs out. Make sure you let the crew know to save a certain food for your child, or if your child is not on the same schedule as the meal service. Pro tip – if there's a food your child enjoys, pre-package it with you. Your crew can help you, but you need to let them know that you need to be helped. Note that different countries have different rules for seat belts and babies. Crews are aware, that some children do not want to be belted in for the flight – remember that they just need to see the child belted in. Sometimes children run around when the plane is taxiing. That's going to cause a full stop until the child is back in their seat. Some parents bring car seats on board with them. The car seat has to be in the window seat. Practice belting the seat before bringing it on board. During flight children crawl around, make sure you have a blanket for them. And diaper changing at the seat...sometimes necessity causes it to happen, but crew tend to frown on it. If you need to step away from your child, sometimes a crew member can briefly sit with your child. During quieter moments of the flight, you can often bring your child to the back galley. Vinod shares his gross experiences of diapers being passed to him during garbage collection. There are specific policies airlines have to follow for bodily waste. Sometimes diapers end up in the lavatory waste and sometimes – they (yuck) end up in seat pockets. Vinod shares a trick using two cups that was used with children with hurting ears on descent. Be a good passenger and let the crew know if your child vomited – there's nothing quite like finding a full unattended air sickness bag. Keeping your kid occupied during flight, some airlines offer in-flight children's games. Many parents just plug their child into electronic devices or rely on the inflight entertainment. Sometimes the inflight entertainment goes down and Vinod shares memories of "you should not be relying on the IFE as your sole source of entertaining your child for this five-hour flight." Sometimes children crayon all over the airplane. On disembarking have everything ready to disembark, or just wait until the end – then you'll get the crew helping you out. Remember that if you're landing on a remote stand, you might get your stroller until you're inside the terminal after riding the bus. Vinod shares his hacks. News Items:
If you have a story about children (and their parents) on a flight, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 11 Dec 2021 | Experience 055. Do you fancy anything from Duty Free? | 01:03:22 | |
In this experience we look at the world of Duty Free. What exactly is duty free, and what is it not? As we picture a classic duty free shop, there's a reason why so many of them look so similar – there are a small number of operators handling most of the duty free business. Vinod remembers his childhood and the mystique of the cart rolling down the aisle of a widebody plane. In many airports, duty free is an experience that comes immediately after clearing security. Some airports save the duty free for arriving passengers. And remember, not all shops after security are duty free – some are just selling at a lower price than the high street. Where you get your duty free item is dependent on the layout of the airport. If you're in a mixed zone (e.g. domestic/international), you'll get it the gate. If you're in the same zone as other passengers, you'll get it at the shop. We look at scenarios that Vinod faced as a groundside agent – like what happens if a passenger is denied boarding? Vinod was amazed how many passengers forget their duty free at the gate – and shares a crazy VARIG story. What happens if flights get cancelled? And just what did Air France crews do to cause a change in the duty free in Cancun, Mexico? We look at the reason for those red sealed bags at the duty free. Vinod shares the absolute insane day he had when the liquids restrictions came into effect. Geoff shares his experience with a bottle of duty free at Buffalo Airport, while Vinod and Geoff share stories of people who were not able to get their duty free through security upon arriving. You need to know where you're connecting to and from. We leave the airport for a few moments and talk about the crazy amount of duty free bought on European ferries. Duty free offers many products or sizes that aren't available anywhere else – but this has evolved with pre-purchase. What are the cheapest duty free locations that Vinod has encountered? On board a flight, how does duty free work? Some airlines have incentives for duty free sales – some by crew and some by individual. There was a time when cash was paid for duty free – but which currency? Meanwhile, crews have to watch for people consuming their own alcohol on planes. Vinod shares a vintage memory of a flight to Paris – with people hanging from the overhead bins. The experience in the shop is becoming more multisensory. And if you're on the plane, remember to have your payment method ready for when the cart passes by. News Items:
If you have a story about duty free shops, duty free service in the air, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/. | |||
| 06 Dec 2020 | Experience 039. Crew Life Between Flights. Crew Layovers. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:34:55 | |
In this experience we explore what happens to crews between their flights when on a layover. There is the glamour of a layover that we see in movies. The reality is usually quite different. It's a good tip to know and appreciate what happens with your crew in destinations. For a number of years, the layover was Vinod's second home – and he can't imagine how many hotels, hotel rooms and ground transport shuttles he has been in. There are different types of layovers. There are short in-transit layovers but stereotypically there is an overnight stay involved. The layover clock starts as soon as the airplane is chocked. Does a crew get backed up clearing immigration? Does a crew have to wait for baggage? How is the crew going to be transported from the airport? Has their airline put out a tender for ground transportation, or do crew need to use airport shuttles? Or maybe the airline is paying for taxis. Sometimes crew members will be familiar enough with a city to just do things as if they were a local. Where does the airline pick the hotel location – is it by the airport or is it in the city centre? What kind of hotel experience does the airline want for their crews? Is the hotel an international chain or a local hotel? The reality of the layover dictates where the layover hotel is at. Sometimes it's a long drive from the airport to the hotel or resort – Vinod had to mitigate an hour-long drive in Cuba. Coming back to the airport is more pressure-filled to be on time, and sometimes the crew gets stuck while trying to get to the airport. Sometimes taxi or minivan service is shoddy, or unique forms of transport are provided – like Vinod and his stretch limousine experience. Hotels – do crew qualify for points? Officially no, but Vinod has a crazy story where he collected points for a while and got a nice upgrade. Crews learn which rooms they like and no, crew members DO NOT share rooms. The hotel is a crew members' solace – a home away from home. Geoff shares a story of a sketchy former hotel in downtown Toronto that was a layover hotel for at least one airline. Sometimes the layover is very short, so a layover at a hotel is barely enough to even get few hours of rest. A key point in all of this, is that crew members are not getting paid while they are on layover. They have ways to make money on the layover through effective management of their per diems and eating their own food. There is also a strategy of which layover to select. Sometimes airlines own the destination resort and put the crews up all-inclusive. Some airlines paid their per diems in cash. Sometimes there are long layovers – up to a week in length. Vinod remembers Canada 3000's multi-leg cross-Pacific milk-runs. Geoff remembers loading Canadian domestic milk-run baggage. We have seen a number of milk-runs during the COVID 19 pandemic. We will likely see that milk-run trend continue. Of course, there are the parties, but as a crew you have to be responsible since you're still representing the company. Vinod shares an experience he had seeing an Emirates crew on layover in Colombo – that almost felt out of Hollywood. Vinod shares how a crew member was wild and extremely intimate and ended up no longer working for the airline. There are strict rules against flying under the influence of alcohol. Crew are legal to fly but could still be in rough shape. Crews do different things when they are on layover. Many crew members are mothers, using the time to get some silence. Many crew members use fitness facilities at hotels. Shopping and local cuisine are also something crews participate in. Vinod shares stories of lobsters in Halifax, Nova Scotia and drives in Hawaii. During the COVID 19 pandemic crews that are working are doing an incredible job – and crew end up working on holidays like Christmas. For crew members who are single, crew mates become family. If things go wrong due crews need to let their airline know to ensure that the flight can still fly. Flying redeye flights lead to crews needing to make sure they get proper naps and rest. But weather plays a key factor and can send things sideways in a hurry. Vinod shares a story of Christmas season in St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador – where blizzard cancellations led to a big party. Crews have to be careful who they party with – particularly at resorts – they may be serving that person the next day. We touch briefly on crews on reserve, standby and ready reserve. What's in your bag is determined by your layover. Sometimes crews get forced into a layover due to mechanical issues. Sometimes it's a struggle to have enough clean clothes. You never know as a passenger what's going on with your crew before they were dealing with your flight. Ask your crew member if they had a nice layover. News Items:
If you have a story about layovers as crew, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 28 Oct 2022 | Experience 066. Connecting at the curbside. Airport options with your flight. | 00:54:26 | |
As we continue on from Experience 065, the wayfinding and signage often leads us to the curbside. Vinod and Geoff think back to their childhoods and how much the curbside has changed. Even with all the changes, people can still get all twisted around at the curb in their own backyard. Geoff shares an experience from Regina, Saskatchewan of a wrong-way driver. There are various options that one can encounter when you get to the curb after your flight. The curbside experience can be impacted by something as simple as the airport geographic layout. We look at trains, which can be a lot of different things in different countries. Connecting to the train can be confusing as well. Vinod shares an experience from San Francisco connecting to a train by bus. Continuing with buses, Vinod shares his amazement at the number of buses at US airports. There are “Rocket” buses in Toronto connecting to the airport. And make sure you have an ability to pay for your transit since some places still require coin change. Vinod shares his memories of crew buses. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 015. "Railway to Runway - your train and the plane." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Geoff and Vinod discuss rail to rail transport which exists in numerous cities. Ride share is an evolving method used at various airports. Vinod shares his experience in Brazil of an Uber lounge while waiting for his ride. We save taxis for the end. Vinod shares his experience of using airport taxis in Russia to avoid the dodgy drivers. Geoff shares his experience of haggling over fare in Mozambique. Vinod shares his “not quite a real taxi” experience in Spain. Vinod also shares an experience from years ago with taxi queues. Geoff and Vinod share memories of Cairo taxis. Remember that there are curbside minders who will make you move along or you will be ticketed. Vinod shares the unique car rental return situation in Calgary. Vinod and Geoff remember the parking shuttle scene from “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”. News Items:
If you have a story about curbside experiences, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 07 Apr 2023 | Experience 071. Silver Wings. Flying with Seniors. | 00:51:19 | |
In this experience we look at the realities of flying with seniors. Vinod and Geoff realize that soon enough they will be in this demographic. As populations age, airlines will have older populations on flights and the challenges that go with it. Since some of today’s seniors lived through the golden age of flying with certain levels of service, there is generational gap. Often elderly parents are put on flights around the world - which Vinod saw in his role as a station manager. The system is not there for everyone to embrace every individual. Airports are larger, seats are closer, and there are language challenges faced while transiting through certain airports. Some people attempt to get around this situation by booking assistance, which often means a wheelchair. The option does get abused. Vinod shares stories of trying to get large numbers of wheelchairs for certain flights, and the "miracles" of people being able to walk. There is a lesser used assistance code "meet and assist". Travelling over multiple days can take a lot out of people. It helps to have a game plan ready in case something goes wrong, particularly if you are not travelling with the people flying. Seniors are different than an unaccompanied minor. Vinod shares a story of his aunt visiting him as a child in northern Canada and the efforts to get her wheelchair off the plane in the snow and cold without a jet bridge. Vinod shares a story of a shocking flight to Prince Edward Island, "Mid-flight something happened to a lav." People unfortunately pass away on flights. There is one trans-Pacific route that is fairly well know. Amidst all the challenges, there are magical moments and conversations that happen in flight. Vinod shares the experience of a black and white photo. Be tolerant and understanding, know what kind of assistance is being provided by the airline and airport and build in extra time for connections. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 042. "Is There a Doctor on Board? Medical Emergencies in Flight." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Remember that sometimes long flights may not have meal service. News Items:
If you have a story about travelling with seniors, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 29 Mar 2020 | Experience 030. Dirty Thirty. COVID-19 and Cleanliness on Airlines. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:52:11 | |
We wanted to extend our best wishes to all those in the industry during these incredibly challenging times for the aviation industry. The entire COVID-19 situation has brought about some strange occurrences. During this time of global self-isolation, we invite out listeners to go back to our previous experiences – since eventually, planes will start flying again. We had planned to talk about airline cleanliness in an episode – this has provided us the perfect opportunity. Remember everyone that an airline is a public space, but that we do expect it to be comfortably clean when we board. How do different airlines groom their planes – outsourced to third parties, or does the crew groom the plane? When a crew groom the plane what happens? What gets cleaned? What was Vinod's bone of contention that he got so often on flights? Deep cleaning is supposed to happen on a certain cycle. First flights out of the day from Canada to the US lead to interesting discoveries. What about premium cabins? How about carpeting on the plane? Geoff and Vinod review a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news investigation about the dirtiest surfaces in an airplane. The filthiest location may surprise you and we review the five most filthy locations. It's not all dirty though. There are airlines that consistently get recognition for their cleanliness. Airlines do need to deal with different cultural practices where individuals may not be aware of airplane etiquette. And as always - passengers do silly, gross things on flights no matter where in the world. Remember that a plane may be a bit dirtier due to their turnaround time business model. We share some tips on how to try to stay as clean and sanitary as possible on a flight. There is no need to be paranoid – once again remember it's a public space. If you have a story about how you are dealing with COVID-19 as a passenger or flight staff, a question, or other experience about airplane cleanliness that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 20 Jul 2021 | Experience 047. Glossary of Aviation Terminology. Alfa to Juliett. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:55:35 | |
In this experience it's study time with Vinod and Geoff. So sharpen your pencils as we start with the first of two experiences with aviation terminology. In this experience we're covering Alfa to Juliett. When you fly or read about aviation, often you hear or see terminology used by pilots, airline staff or you may hear about in the media. We have chosen various terms that we hope will assist you in understanding what's going on, and to allow you to communicate with Seat 1A savvy. Don't worry there is no quiz at the end, so sit back and enjoy.
News Items:
If you have a story about the terms that we've shared today, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 30 Sep 2020 | Experience 036. Epidemic Unplugged. What's happening and what does the future hold? The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:50:07 | |
In this special edition we look at the current status of aviation and travel. Our travel habits that we grew so accustomed to have either entered a state of hibernation or a world of surrealness. We look to when we last flew in 2020 and Vinod shares nostalgia of seeing 747s and L-1011s out the airport window and boarding from the tarmac. Pandemic restrictions have seen new flight routings that did not exist before, and regrettably we have seen airlines struggle and go under but not at this scope. Vinod shares a story of how airline bankruptcy affected earlier job prospects just after university. To everyone in the industry, we wish you nothing but the best through all of this. The effects are felt across all sorts of industries – including rental cars. Airlines will take a number of years to return – Vinod shares the story when Singapore left Vancouver. Geoff shares his 2019 experiences of airport expansions that may not be filled for years – this has been repeated through history. Vinod comments on recent cancelled capital projects at Vancouver – what's next? If and when the airlines return, their fleets will look different as many planes are being retired. And with those retiring planes, many staff have more than just a job loss – it's a lifestyle change. We at Seat 1A will evolve as well given the current situation and the unknown future. What new innovations are going to come from this current situation? What will happen as travellers discover their own countries again? If you are travelling enjoy the shorter lines, and cleaner aircraft while the industry comes back. This epidemic will lead to changes in travel policies including with credit cards and insurance. How can you best play the game during periods of uncertainty? We're going to try to stay on top of the changes for you. Other means of travel have seen a renaissance – including night trains in Europe and subscription travel. Meanwhile, we'll see how the travel guidebook evolves after all of this. Will travellers want a more experiential travel experience in the future? Do destinations get a chance to breathe and reset? We're looking forward to interesting content in the future. If you have a story about your travel experiences during the pandemic, your thoughts about where you think travel is going to evolve, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 04 Nov 2023 | Experience 077. Can anyone help me? Issues with customer service. | 00:48:42 | |
In this experience we look into the world of customer service and examples when the experience goes sideways. We review the situation of the passengers who were flying from Paris to Singapore with a farting and drooling dog in premium economy. Singapore airlines finally got the issue resolved and credited them for their experience. In days gone by, your travel agent would have been your point of contact. Now you’re mostly on your own. Over the last four years, airlines lost many individuals who were extremely proficient in high-touch customer experience. Even more than ever, airline agents are working from home. Things that can be done virtually can be much different than in person. A key is knowing how to be efficient and work with the people on the other side of the desk. Geoff shares a story of a cancelled Porter Airlines flight to Newark, and the quick actions of a check-in agent to get him on another flight quicker than originally scheduled. Vinod shares a story of remotely assisting a family member with a Cathay Pacific and WestJet check-in. He was even able to resolve some of it while sitting on his sofa! Geoff shares a story of a flight with online information about waiving fees being much different than fees that needed to be paid in person. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 60. "We Appreciate Your Patience. Wait Times and Customer Support." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod shares a story of helping a family re-locate to Ireland. The online system would not allow a check-in without paying but did the passenger need to pay? Vinod also discusses a YVR vacuum cleaner retrieval request. What happens online versus offline doesn’t always line up. If you are able to do things in person, you may have a better chance. News Items:
If you have a story about airline customer service, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 19 May 2019 | Experience 016. South by Southw...wait what's happening with our flight and bags? The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:43:47 | |
In this experience we are doing something a little bit different. Fan of the show, Debbie shares her nightmare travel experience from YVR to AUS. She shares the nineteen-hour saga – complete with one cancellation, one delay, one changed flight, three airlines, three changed connecting cities, dead checked bags in the bowels of YVR, and the determination of her and her husband to get to Austin along with their bags. Vinny and Geoff analyze what happened, and review how they handled the multiple traveller challenges that were experienced. | |||
| 02 Nov 2020 | Experience 037. Sharing Love for the Crew. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:09:34 | |
In this experience we recognize incredible crew and in-flight experiences we've had. We start the news articles. Since the situation is still not too good these days, we get the bad news out of the way first. News Items: Dallas Morning News article (via Omaha World-Herald) "Southwest Airlines' flight attendants could soon be selling credit cards on flights to stem pandemic losses" CBC article "Hundreds of protesting airline workers aim anger at transport minister" (20 October 2020) We know that a lot of crew members are doing what they can these days to get by – and the day that the layoff comes to an end is a long way off. Sometimes it's not one crew member, but rather the entire team – and you as a passenger know that the entire team is just in the zone. On some flights the crew doesn't work that well together - it may a case of staff being thrown together to cover a flight, or in some cases is might be that there were two different airline cultures merged together and the remnants of various seniority. Sometimes the crew doesn’t mesh well with third-party ground handlers, but usually they try to work together. As a third-party ground handler, Vinod had particularly good interactions with British Airways crews. The favour was returned, in spades, when he was on a flight from London to Nairobi. When Vinod first became an airline staff member, he learned about airline cooperative agreements and booking staff standby flights. His colleagues reiterated that he needed to bring a care package for the crew of the flight he was flying on. On a Vancouver to Amsterdam flight he had an incredible KLM flight deck experience on takeoff and landing, while also enjoying business class. During the same trip on a separate Air France flight from Paris to Casablanca, he was offered top quality wine from the front of the plane while in the very last row of economy. Geoff has had great crew experiences. His neighbouring passengers on an ANA flight from Narita to Singapore had extremely sweet post honeymoon best wishes from the crew. His flight from Oslo to JFK was one where the crew was just in the zone and seamless. He also has had a few Lufthansa transatlantic flights where the crew kept passengers consistently hydrated – always in the aisle with juice and water. Speaking of food and water, Vinod had the most awkward airplane meal of his life on a LAN flight from Cuzco to Lima. A late Cathay Pacific overnight flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong ended up with a seat change in the dark for Vinod...now what's behind the business class curtain? Vinod had a tiny business class experience from Paris to Dublin on an Air France BAe 146 mini jumbo. We share Vinod's previously shared experience with his Emirates flight from Beijing to Dubai that had almost too much crew love. Sometimes it was informal like on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to St. Petersburg – Vinod take your pick of alcohol. Vinod had tried to fly from JFK to Paris with Air France in his airline uniform. That wasn't successful - however he wound up with an early morning fight deck landing surprise in a 380. Seat 1A tip – take the time to say thank you to your crew. We realize these days how many incredible crew experiences we've had. In our next experience, we've got a special guest joining us – we look forward to you joining us. If you have a story about amazing crew experiences, or other stories that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 03 Feb 2019 | Experience 011. Flight delays, cancellations, diversions, and the airline's obligations. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:51:52 | |
In this episode big thank yous for your likes & support of our social media launch! We share a story from one of our followers about her cancelled JFK flight. We look at delays versus cancellations and diversions, and discuss the airline's obligations. Listener Isabel lets us know about her story about her cancelled late-night flight at JFK with American Airlines (AA) along with her husband and toddler. The journey to the closest available hotel and time for her next flight was extremely difficult for her – particularly with a toddler. She made sure to follow-up in writing with American Airlines after her experience – with a supporting photo! American to their credit responded quite well. We clarify the difference between delay and cancellation and what happens on the back end the moment an airline is notified – the race is on to find blocks of rooms. Sometimes it's a race against other airlines. You need to determine if it's worth it to take the airline's offer. Are your meal vouchers going to be accepted or do you have the time to use them to eat? Are you able to coordinate children or other travelers flying with you as well? The moral of the story – make sure you follow up with the airline after a cancellation – but make sure you ride the fine line of reasonability. Will you be reimbursed for a room if the airline has already offered one? Be ready to take what you get, but if you have a special situation (e.g. young children) you need to bring it to the airline's attention. Vinny shares a great delay story with a delayed package tour passenger at YEG. We look at some other delays – including delayed WestJet (WS) passengers that were delivered to a hotel in CUN but were told that the hotel wasn't expecting them and requested payment up front. This highlights the relationship between the airline and the ground handler – these are two different things. Many airlines use a third-party ground handler. Does the ground handler have relationships with local hotels? We review a diversion that happened at Goose Bay, Labrador (YYR) with United Airlines (UA), which then had a mechanical problem and was delayed for 17 hours. There are many things that happen after a plane is diverted – including ground handling, baggage, fuel issues and possibly customs. Will there be other mechanical issues or will the crew time out – preventing the plane from continuing on? Is the ground handler able to handle the logistics of putting people up and feeding them? There are numerous logistics to get a recovery aircraft to remote locations including replacement crew, plane types & flight planning. Vinny shares a diversion story with Sunwing Airlines (WG) when a CUN-YVR flight had to divert to DEN. The European Union has a long-standing set of passenger rights & compensation. Canada has recently started a similar set of rights. There was case in January 2019 of a UK family who were asked to sit on the floor of their charter flight. Don't expect magic with cancellations, delays and diversions, be as realistic as you can, but ensure that the airline is doing as much as they can with the situation. Vinny shares a story about an American Airlines (AA) flight diverted from YYC to YEG where the crew was not able to continue, and the plane had to park due to a crew issue. What happens to the inside of the plane when that happens? Diversions might also have passenger issues with customs which means that the flight can't be handled or won't be handled. If you have a irregular operations story, question or experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 19 Nov 2021 | Experience 054. Lighting Up. History of Smoking on Flights. | 00:48:37 | |
In this experience we look at the history of smoking on flights. Geoff and Vinod remember smoking on flights, the ashtrays in the seats, and the turning off of the no smoking sign. A question that Vinod was (and still is) asked is, "Are the smoke detectors in the lavatory real?" Absolutely. The purpose is all about putting out the live flame. But if smoking is not allowed on flights, why are there still ashtrays in lavatories? While Vinod never caught anyone in the act of smoking on the flight, he had numerous cases where passengers had been smoking just prior to his interaction. If passengers are caught smoking, it's a chargeable offense. Vinod shares a story of a Mountie that had to fly to Mexico for a day, due to supervise a passenger who had been caught smoking on charter flight. We open the history books on smoking on flights. When and where did it end? (Hint, much more recently than you may think.) We take a look at a few plane crashes. Firstly, how smoking played a role in the investigation of a 1985 Japan Airlines crash. Next, we look at the 1973 Varig flight that showed the need for early detection of fires in the lav. We finally look at the 1983 Air Canada flight which showed the need for smoke detectors and fire suppressants in the lav. Fire on board is a scary, scary, thing. Vinod shares his story of a random Portuguese charter in Edmonton. In general, private carriers do a lot of what they want. Smoking lounges still exist in various countries – Geoff shares his experience from Frankfurt and Vinod shares his experience from Tokyo. We look briefly at a US Supreme Court case where onboard smoking was one of the key reasons for the trial. Pro tip – if you see or smell smoke, let your flight attendant know. There were attempts in the US to start a smoker's airline, however it never was able to get in the air. These days the only place you'll see cigarettes in an airplane is in duty free. News Items:
If you have a story about smoking on board, fire on board, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 02 Apr 2019 | Experience 013. My airline has gone bankrupt. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:49:39 | |
Condolences from Seat 1A to family and friends of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 along with those in the industry. We were all ready to go with a new experience and then WOW, it went bankrupt. What was WOW's business model...ask Valentine about a free ticket? Vinny shares his story of showing up at work in YEG and finding out Jetsgo (SG) was bankrupt...and then having to tell the pilots they were out of a job and deal with the craziness of spring break travellers. Once wasn't enough though for Vinny...he was at work at YYC and had to tell the Zoom Airlines (Z4) pilot that the ground handling would not service the plane due to bankruptcy. Wait to hear what YYC did after the grounded plane was parked. If you're stuck with a bankrupt airline, what do you do? What were underlying causes of WOW's demise? What is the basic underlying support of your airline? Is your airline selling cheap tickets to meet their short-term cash flow needs? Sometimes there is a predicted process for the wind-down of an airline. SKYTRAX news item about 2018 World’s Best Airline Cabin Cleanliness award If you have an airline bankruptcy story, question or experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 27 Dec 2019 | Experience 027. Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Holiday Travel Horror Stories. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:27:56 | |
In this experience we celebrate the 2019 holiday season with a look at some of our crazy and (somewhat) horrific holiday travel stories. But first, Vinny and Geoff celebrate a milestone in this experience. This is the 25th show that they have done in tandem. Here's to the next 25 being just as fun of a ride. Vinny shares his incredible journey from CPH-LHR-AMS-JFK-YHM-YYC-YVR during a massive New Year's storm in YYZ. How many things can go wrong for Vinny on this flight? So many that we interject a couple of stories from Geoff along the way. Although Vinny's story is related to a standby experience, remember that you too could be affected by weather and become a standby passenger. Vinny starts his journey in CPH – it was just after New Year's – and world weather seemed normal, for now. He connects rather uneventfully to LHR and then AMS (little does he know what's coming). Flying standby on KLM he notices his flight options across Canada are quickly disappearing as there are no seats available. All US options were disappearing as well, except for JFK. So off to New York for Vinny. Geoff shares his experience when he caught the flu just before having to fly from VIE-DUS (don't worry we're just sharing the travel experience). He makes it to VIE and manages to catch his flight – but when he arrives in a delirious state to DUS, just how many times can he catch the wrong train? The next day he catches the correct train to FRA for a connection to YYC with Air Canada...all the while missing the massive 2013 Ice Storm that hit Toronto. He arrives in YYC - only to be subject to a medical check first implemented after the SARS epidemic. We return to Vinny who is now at JFK – but his bag isn't. The storm is brewing, and Vinny knows to get priority he needs to get to LGA. He learns about the "passenger rest area" at LGA – even with official blankets. He wakes up to find that LGA-YYZ flights are getting cancelled all over. But wait, there is a WestJet crew – maybe there's a chance? Disappointment awaits – how did the sand get in the engine? What hope is there left? Not much by air, the open road was the only thing left and there was some good fortune with rental costs. Just in time to drive through Manhattan at rush hour! Geoff shares another winter holiday travel delay experience yet again caused by a blizzard at YYZ. Conditions meant that the YUL-YOW-YEG ticket became a standby ticket, but only the YUL-YOW segment could be confirmed. Some t-shirts were traded for hotel and meal vouchers since he wasn't flying further that day. Eventually he got back to YEG with an upgrade to business class. The key lesson in the adventure is to be nice to front line staff...honey will get your further than vinegar – but make sure you know your cancellation or delay rights. We return to Vinny, in a rental car, in Manhattan at rush hour. No storm visible yet the sun is still shining. But as night falls the storm unleashes its fury. The storm is so terrible that it closes the Interstate. Vinny pushes on, blasting through the blizzard in Upstate New York on country roads – all the while having no proper winter clothing. Finally, he reaches the Canadian border in the wee hours of the morning – with snow caked on the back of his car – and the severity of the storm becomes fully known. Vinny has to get to another southern Ontario airport – YHM it is. But how to return the car – since it's not at YYZ and there is no return desk? Vinny leaves multiple notes and voicemails and parks the car hoping for the best as he boards the flight to connect at YYC. How does it turn out? Four hours after landing, where was Vinny? Back on a flight as crew! Lessons from the experience: 1) Keep moving forward; 2) figure out what your biggest block of problem could be; 3) Be prepared that it might cost a bit of money to get out of a jam; 4) Look for telltale signs of things that are happening; 5) Make sure you have all of your alerts set up...and check the weather. Oh, and by the way...what happened to Vinny's WS travel buddy? News Items:
Vinny and Geoff give big kudos to crews and staff working over Christmas. Here's to another great 25 experiences together. If you have a holiday travel horror story, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ (Sleighbells sound FX from GowlerMusic edited and mixed with other sound FX https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) | |||
| 17 Nov 2019 | Experience 024. Into the mailbag - Part 1. Inflight meal service and free overnight accommodation. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:57:53 | |
In this experience Vinny and Geoff go into the mailbag and review a bunch of different questions and feedback. We look at what is the logic and order of the meal and beverage service that takes place during a flight? We also look at free hotel stops – are they still provided by an airline? Why do some passengers get served first? how do the cabin crew decide to serve passengers? How does the airline decide how many crew members to have? Who's in charge of the cabin crew? Why is one cabin crew always in the galley? Vinny shares his experience of working as inflight crew on multiple airlines. How does the service flow and order work in first, business and economy classes? How does the length of flight change the timings and flow? What are all these different meals that are available for flights? The serving of your beverages, there are different methods that crew use. Which row does the crew start their service at? What happens when passengers have to get up? Why do special meals have to get served first? How does the crew have to adapt to buy on board options? Here comes the turbulence – how does the crew handle the baggage carts in bumpy conditions? Just how much beef or chicken meals are there? Is your flight being catered independently or from a centralized kitchen? Geoff shares an experience at ORD where the special meal didn't match up where he was flying to. And what about the crew – what are they eating? Geoff shares a story of a travel agent who got a bland surprise. Sitting at the back, might not be bad for service – it all depends on the airline. Vinny remembers his favourite lamb pastry flying to Canada from LHR on Air Canada. There are shared memories of getting leftovers as ground crew – both above and below the wing. Airlines that provide free overnight hotel stops – Vinny shares a childhood memory of a flight from YYZ-KUL via HKG with an included stay at the Kimberly Hotel. We share a story from Evelyn W who got a complimentary stay at a hotel in DEL while flying from SYD-FRA. But alas it is a rare thing nowadays. Some airlines though offer a stopover option without an additional fee. News Items:
If you have a meal or free included hotel story, a question or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 09 Mar 2020 | Experience 029. Four questions for the CEO. An interview with David Neeleman. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:10:37 | |
In this experience we are very grateful to be joined by a serial airline entrepreneur – David Neeleman. If you don't know who David is, you likely know at least some of the airlines that he has founded, co-founded or co-owns. JetBlue (founded); Azul (founded); Morris Air (co-founded and sold to Southwest); WestJet (co-founded); TAP Air Portugal (co-owns). David has recently founded Breeze Airways (officially named in February 2020). The Seat 1A team pose four questions to David and he shares his candid feedback. Geoff enquires when David realized he was passionate about aviation? Vinny notes David's global and multicultural leadership, and searches for that key factor that David believes has linked his successes together. Geoff asks about the unique offering from David's airlines that provide a front of cabin experience. Finally, Vinny uncovers what David's personal tip or hack is for every flight. If you have a story about flying one of David's airlines, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 13 Feb 2022 | Experience 057. Staff Accessing the Airport. Security at Checkpoints. | 00:49:16 | |
In this experience we look at airline and airport staff security. What do they go through to keep you safe? When you walk around an airport, you see all sorts of different coloured passes. What do they mean? Generally, getting an airport security pass is not a small thing. There are high levels of security checks that are done before as pass is issued. There are different levels of security pass that are also issued, and biometric data is recorded when issuing these passes. A passenger could experience similar levels of clearance if they are applying for a frequent traveller program. Geoff and Vinod share eye scanning stories. At most checkpoints there is some sort of screening component. At some airports, there isn't the volume of traffic or infrastructure, so rudimentary security checks are done instead – including crossmatching to lists. Sometimes security clearance has to be completed upon landing and transfer. Some country's crews had to clear security a second time. If you're flying at a home base for an airline, you may not even see the crew at the gate – they'll clear at their crew centre and then are transported to the plane. Suppliers have to go through the same check, as do their vehicles. In remote locations (such as the Canadian Arctic) sometimes security check ins aren't needed for certain destinations. A similar situation could apply for private planes with a fixed-base operator (FBO). However things can go very wrong with security. Drug smuggling, money and diamond heists – some of the situations even end up as famous movie scripts. There are some airports that have interesting approaches to security – like alligators in Orlando, Florida. In the days of ID cards, there were many places attempting to fake the ID. Vinod shares his experience of a famous location in Bangkok...they even had a catalogue! Depending on the country, some airports will permit crews to use the crew line, even if they're not in uniform. Vinod shares a story of crew liquids exemptions in Dublin and having to unpack his bags at security. Just remember, all the staff you see will have been through a check – maybe even an hour ago. News Items:
If you have a story about crew security, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 26 Jun 2019 | Experience 018. Around the world we go! Vinny and Geoff's separate RTW adventures. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:46:36 | |
In this experience we look at Vinny and Geoff's separate round the world (RTW) adventures - Vinny's will already be underway when this experience is posted. We look at the world of booking an RTW with points travel, with stopover and mileage rules, but also how to maximize your layovers between stopovers. Vinny shares his geeking out with reviews and videos to ensure he maximizes his in-flight and lounge experiences. Just because you have an RTW ticket doesn't mean you can't supplement it with some separate point-to-point tickets. Make sure you catch the great story about how Vinny's wife got upgraded to Seat 1A. | |||
| 25 Feb 2021 | Experience 041. What are you Shipping? The Complex World of Air Cargo. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:54:07 | |
In this experience we look at the complex world of air cargo. Though there are not a lot of passenger flights happening so far in 2021, the need for air cargo continues. Large planes are still landing at airports around the world as airlines need the high revenues from cargo. If airlines still had combi freighters, now would be a good time to use them. Vinod shares experiences of flying with combi freighters in northern Canada. We explain what's going on underneath the plane – Geoff shares how the plane baggage holds are laid out. He also shares stories of what sometimes happens to skis when the load is really large. The space is not forgiving and in narrow body planes the bags are often hand loaded like a three-dimensional game of Tetris. Wide body planes utilize specialized containers. Vinod shares a story of how his bags were checked through, but he wasn't, and how ground teams in Amsterdam had to go deep into the plane to find them. Vinod shares the experience he had with sports teams – particularly wheelchair basketball and the challenges they caused with cargo loading. We discuss other unique cargo items – like coffins, human ashes, or firearms. The pilot needs to know what's in the aircraft – especially if it is hazardous. IATA has classified nine different categories for Dangerous Goods. Vinod shares his experience of tourists who were camping and who couldn't fly back with their stoves. Lithium-ion batteries are a huge risk when packed as cargo. Vinod shares his experience seeing a very famous Formula 1 car as cargo in Barbados. In addition, there are numerous living things that are shipped as cargo. Crickets, chicks (Geoff shares a story of chicks escaping the cargo hold in Calgary), and pets. Some pets fly really well, others unfortunately not. Vinod shares his logistics experience of shipping rescue dogs to Canada from Taiwan. Meanwhile, Vinod shares a story of dealing with horses as cargo. We look at the current situation for vaccine shipping – and the unique challenges of cold temperatures and physics of dry ice. Remember that the majority of cargo planes are older, and some may need to be retrofitted with current technology. Hats off to all in the industry at this critical time. News Items:
If you have a story about transporting air cargo, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 11 May 2020 | Experience 032. Sit back and relax. Aircraft seating configurations. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:04:47 | |
In this experience we look at seating configuration on aircraft in economy or coach class. These days, with the COVID-19 pandemic, people are wondering about seating and what it might look like in the future. We will still need to pick our seats. Vinod has great stress when he picks a seat – particularly on long-haul flights – checking all angles of what his seat experience will be. Seat comfort has come a long way – increasing seat comfort used to mean adding more padding. Geoff shares his experience sitting in an aircraft seat from a Lockheed Constellation...my how far we've come. Even though airplane manufacturers have a row plan dictating how seats are set out, the actual number of seats, seat pitch and cabin layout is up to the airline. Can low cost carriers add additional rows – Vinod shares a memory of going through this. What is seat pitch? What do you need to research when selecting a seat? Remember that even if the plane type is the same at an airline, it may not be configured the same way. What happens if the airline reduces the amount of premium cabin? Remember that if an airline is charging a premium for a seat selection, it might not be the best seat. We're not telling you what the best seat is, since we all have our own reasons. What's the most stable seat? Where's the galley...the lavatory? How narrow is your seat? Is your airline using festival-style seating? What are some strategies for festival-style seating airlines? What should you watch out for? Vinod shares a story how old-school thick foam padding protected him on a flight to London Heathrow. Vinod shares a story of getting moved a seat that would only recline on the way to AMS. Vinod shares a standby experience when he got a special seat. There is a tip on what to ask about if your flight is oversold or cancelled. Vinod shares another crazy story – this time with festival seating on a 777 from GRU to JFK. But sometimes flights are wide open – Geoff shares an experience from LHR to YYC where he had four seats to himself. News Items:
If you have a story about seating configuration on flights, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 12 Mar 2022 | Experience 058. Arm doors and cross check. Inflight safety checks. | 01:00:27 | |
In this experience we look into what happens during inflight checks. We hear those announcements "the crew are doing their checks." What does this mean? And what about "arm doors and cross check"? Before passengers are even allowed to board the flight a crew has to do preflight checks - the previous crew has left the plane and has not checked items when they left. The minimum equipment list has to be met. One thing the staff is checking is safety equipment - like batteries, fire extinguishers and flashlights. Things have to be replaced that passengers may have taken. Coordination occurs with mechanic teams and groomers. The emergency slide has to be checked. If there are life vests, each seat has to be checked. The on-board medical equipment is another item that needs to be checked. In some cases there's a life raft which can take a bit of work to check. It's easy to replenish an aircraft at an airline's home base. Downline at a remote station is another story. What happens if certain branded equipment or food may not be available? First flight of the day US safety checks have their own challenges. Vinod had to once complete an entire 737 by himself. What if a crew times out, or hands over? Has the plane been left unattended? What happens with inoperable seats? What's happening in the flight deck for checks? How are the catering and service levels? How is the lavatory? And if a plane is turning back the same day from a remote station, is there enough food for the return? Vinod shares an experience with checks in Cuba. It's not just the plane being checked - it's also staff. Is everyone in good flying condition and in proper uniform? Does everyone have their appropriate manuals with them? Vinod reviews what arm doors and cross check means and shares a story of a flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. News Items:
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| 08 Aug 2021 | Experience 050. Konnichiwa. A Golden Milestone in Tokyo. | 00:32:17 | |
Seat 1A reaches a milestone of fifty experiences. In this experience, Vinod joins us from Tokyo! That's why he had been waiting in the lounge at Vancouver. One of Vinod's side gigs is working for the Olympic Games. He received a special exception to travel to Tokyo. Getting on a flight to fly across the ocean was very exciting. Vinod flew Air Canada's Signature Class – but the regular business class experience has been changed since the last time Vinod enjoyed it due to COVID. Vinod had to deal with a number of physical items being at his seat due to airlines lowering their amount of contact. There was no pre-flight drink. He received a very nice Olympic themed gift bag since Air Canada is a sponsor of Team Canada. The meal is not delivered in courses, rather in a rather large tray set like economy. Drink service was limited – no mixed drinks. The menu listed the first food experience, did not state any further meal info. Japan tests for COVID on arrival and Vinod knew it would be a long multi-hour process. The airline sorted passengers and after he made his way into the terminal, the long sit and waiting for processing started. After more than 2 hours Vinod was able to complete his test – just how much spit do they need? Then the waiting for test results in a repurposed ANA lounge since the entire flight had to be tested. Another 2.5 hours went by. Finally everyone was cleared, and Vinod was able to enter the country. All in all, from when the aircraft door opened to catching his ground transportation, it took Vinod just under 6.5 hours! Vinod is staying at an airport hotel at Haneda Airport Terminal 2 due to proximity to his venue. How perfect for an avgeek. Terminal 2 is the ANA domestic terminal and even with a pandemic it is busy. Vinod has access to amazing food options, and there is even an observation deck. The windows are very thick and there is next to no noise in his room. Vinod's work is right under the Haneda approach flight path and on the other side is the departure. This leads to some incredible plane spotting. Geoff also flew recently. He was on an Air Canada Airbus 220 for a Canadian domestic flight. Vinod flies back to Vancouver in premium economy. Seat 1A tip: If you're flying into a country that does on arrival COVID testing, bring food and water. We couldn't meet up with Paul from the Layovers podcast for sake and karaage chicken. But someday we'll cross paths. Vinod noted that there wasn't a lot of distancing happening at the terminal, mostly relying on masking and hand sanitizer. News Items:
If you have a story about overseas travel during COVID-19, COVID testing on arrival, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 21 May 2024 | Experience 079. Furry Fliers. Flying with Pets and Animals. | 01:01:41 | |
We’re happy to be back after a few months of hiatus. In this experience we examine pets and other furry fliers, and Vinod shares a couple of trip reports. We have talked about animals as cargo in previous experiences. Airlines should know that there is an animal in the plane. Vinod remembers a dog that escaped out of the plane in Edmonton and went missing for weeks. Geoff remembers a poor dog that made a mess of itself in the kennel. Vinod remembers a massive dog that took up a row of seats with a passenger flying from St. John’s to Toronto. Animal kennels on board need to be able to fit under the seat under the seat in front of you. Prior to COVID in the US, there was a large number of unique support animals brought onboard. We saw Dexter the emotional support peacock, Daniel the emotional support duck, Fred the miniature service horse, an emotional support pig, Gizmo the emotional support marmoset and a turkey at security. Eventually in 2020 a new rule was implemented differentiating between trained support animals and emotional support animals. Vinod shares a story that his father would share about a passenger feeding a miniature monkey in his jacket. Vinod shares his experience of rescue dogs flying from Taiwan to Canada. We wonder what happens with irregular operations and delays with pets. Vinod shares his memory of rats and mice in aircraft. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 41. "What are you Shipping? The Complex World of Air Cargo." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. Vinod shares a couple of trip reports. The first was a flight from Toronto to Vancouver that was delayed by more than three hours. There was extra drama with passengers and a crying baby. The second was a family vacation to Costa Rica. Vinod’s son had wonderful interaction with a Delta pilot in Atlanta. The return flight via Los Angeles, caused Vinod’s loathing and hatred of the airport to go up a notch.
If you have a story about pets and animals on flights, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 07 May 2019 | Experience 015. Railway to Runway - your train and the plane. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 00:48:57 | |
In this experience, we look at railway to runway, using train services - that are often tied into the booking of your flight - to get to and from your airport. How does it work? How does it affect your baggage? Are you able to check in your bags at other airports besides the airport? What happens if your plane or train is late? Make sure you're catching the train at the right station. Vinny shares his city check-in experience at HKG. Does anyone still do curbside check-in? Shoutout to train travel writer extraordinaire Mark Smith – aka "The Man in Seat Sixty-One". If you're in a tough spot while, a train may be an option to get you to your short to mid-length destination. The railway to runway option is not limited to Europe...Taiwan has the option to book discounts on the high-speed rail system. Vinny shares his experience train travelling in Hungary and missed his station stop – in the days before smartphones...and how a phone call to Geoff helped him get back on track. Geoff shares a plane to train experience – complete with Nietzsche. And you never know what you're experience you're going to have...even a train car singalong in Germany. Jet Airways (9W) suspending operations. Skift news item about credit card companies holding back ticket revenue from Norwegian (DY). Will Geoff run into problems when he flies them from OSL-JFK in a few months? FlightGlobal news item about Firefly (FY) resuming flights from SZB to XSP. Vinny shares an experience from HKG-ZRH where he had to circle above the city to avoid a typhoon and an airspace restriction. Business Traveller news item on Boeing 737 Max grounding leading to Air Canada (AC) cancellations and schedule amendments. What happens when an airline swaps aircraft to a larger plane? If you have a story, question or experience that you would like to share (including train travel stories), please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 06 Jul 2021 | Experience 046. Eating Around. Airport Food Strategies. | 00:48:47 | |
In this experience we take a look at the need to eat when you're at the airport. Food and flying has changed so much in 40 years – it used to be that you would get a full meal on the plane included with your ticket. These days...not so much. When most people think of airport food they get a sour taste in their mouth – and that’s not just from the "special" that has been sitting under heat lamps all day. Many airports have their catering handled by large corporate conglomerates – so you will see the same shops in various airports across the country. You will also see similar offerings since some food just doesn't fly well, and the security required is more easily handled through one company. Vinod remembers back to early one morning when the Golden Arches at Frankfurt Airport caused him to lose his passport. We understand that it's expensive in the terminal, or that the menu selection is very limited compared to outside the airport. And once you're past security, you're a captive audience. For those of you who decide to not eat at the airport, airlines are trying hard to entice buyers - often by partnering up with chains. The inexperienced traveller may not be aware about how much the odor of their food travels through the cabin during the flight. Remember – crew members can tell you to close up your food if it smells too much. Vinod shares a dripping story of an unfortunate passenger with lime pickle escaping from the baggage hold. Some airports had old-school cafeterias, while others continue to have wannabe diners. Vinod shares his hiking tour at Paris CDG with his wife looking for a Big Mac. When in certain countries there are other options available. Grocery stores in European airports are an option. In some countries, if you are able to clear customs and immigration easily, you might want to look at going into the city – particularly if you have a long layover. Vinod shares his experience of a hidden gem near Toronto Terminal 3, and Geoff discusses the options that might exist near the airport along service roads. Sometimes airports have next to nothing for food – Vinod shares his experience from Varadero, Cuba. But sometimes great food just appears out of nowhere – Vinod shares a mouth watering experience in Brazil as a grill fired up just before his flight. Worse comes to worst, just follow your nose. Bon Appétit! Remember that it may be difficult to find local cuisine at the airport – Geoff shares a previous experience at Cancun. But sometimes, you might be able to find reasonably priced food at a bar. News Items:
If you have a story about food at the airport, other food option strategies or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 02 Jun 2020 | Experience 033. Who's who at the zoo - part 1. Staff hierarchy at the airport. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:13:12 | |
In this experience we look at the different roles of people that normally work at an airport – who's who at the zoo? In most cases the airline is either at a home base or it is at an outstation. When at the outstation the airline is either with its own staff or outsourced. We move our way from the curbside outside the airport into the terminal – what staff do we encounter until we reach the check-in counter? At the counter we have the check-in agent, the bag drop agent and the ticketing agent. The ticketing agent is someone who can make magic happen in times of crisis. To whom should you bark if you need to bark? And remember if you're in an outstation, the people working for the airline might not be on the airline's payroll. And they may not have a specific airline uniform. Remember things can – and do – happen at the counter. There's a right way and a wrong way to go about things. What happens if it gets above a supervisor? May we introduce the station or duty manager. Vinod made sure when he was in New Delhi (DEL) that he searched for the right supervisor to help him with his baggage issue. On the other side of the globe, he found the supervisor at Heathrow (LHR) to help with Olympic quantities of baggage. Remember everyone, the representative generally wants to get to an amicable solution as much as you do. When you're at security, the provider depends on what airport you are at – sometimes it's even the army. Many of those shops are also governed by one company. We take a quick look at the ramp operations and some cases where the airport's duty manager may need to get involved. What happens at the gate? And is this the best spot to look for an upgrade? Vinod shares a crazy story getting from New York (JFK) to Edmonton (YEG) – with a strategic ballpoint pen. We'll save the crew hierarchy for a later experience. News Items:
If you have a story about airport staff hierarchy, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 15 Aug 2022 | Experience 063. A quick one. Live from Heathrow | 00:04:41 | |
Vinod and Geoff met up and recorded this special experience live from London Heathrow Terminal 2. Heathrow on a Friday afternoon was much calmer than Vinod and Geoff had expected. Vinod has never been through immigration at Heathrow faster, and Geoff was quickly through the e-gates. Vinod’s bags were delivered quickly. Geoff’s took a bit longer but still fairly quickly. Geoff and Vinod were meeting up with our guest interviewee from Experience 038 - Paul Papadimitriou. It is great to be back travelling again. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 019. On the RTW road with Vinny and Geoff. It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you have a story about your trips in 2022, or any other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||
| 26 Mar 2021 | Experience 042. Is There a Doctor on Board? Medical Emergencies in Flight. The Seat 1A Podcast. | 01:00:27 | |
In this experience we look at what happens when there is a medical emergency in flight. The incident that will often cause the classic announcement over the public address system: "Ladies and gentlemen, if there are any qualified medical personnel on board please indicate by hitting your flight attendant call button." It's just for doctors who assist with medical emergencies. Nurses and paramedics are other examples of professions that assist with medical emergencies. And it's not always the dire situations like you see in TV and movies. Usually it starts with someone stating they don't feel well, a travel partner or a fellow traveller noticing that a passenger does not appear to be well. Flight attendants look for signs of illness – in some cases it might be something as simple as dehydration. Of course the flight attendant has no idea what the passenger's day was like before the flight, how many flights a passenger may have done in the day, or what the passenger's medical history is. It could be an acute issue, but sometimes it could escalate. The goal of the crew is to make the passenger comfortable and determine what's going on. A crew member will not be doing any of this alone, someone always be assisting the first crew member who responded. And if it gets to be a big enough situation, the captain has to know. At that point you'll hear the ding. Who gets involved? Sometimes there are cultural or liability concerns in some countries which may cause some people to avoid assisting. Crews deal with medical support on the ground by calling with a satellite phone or through the flight deck. This ground-based medical support maintains control and decision making. Airlines have a well stocked medical kit – even doctors usually don't know the specific contents of an airline's kit – they're not able to open it without guidance from the ground. Crews are not allowed to administer medication. A crew member is involved with the note taking and paperwork along with the medical responder. What do crew do with the passenger who had the medical emergency? It may also be a case of a passenger needing oxygen. Vinod shares a memory of an unintended handful when providing oxygen on the way to Maui. Remember, not all medical cases are physical. They could also be emotional. Meanwhile...the crew cannot forget about the rest of the service on the flight. What happens when the plane is flying over isolated locations without medical facilities or runway service? Vinod shares a story of a British Airways Los Angeles to Heathrow diversion that arrived at Calgary. Often it also means an affected passenger's bags will have to be pulled off the flight. We share Vinod's classic experience in Denver once again. Vinod shares a story of an intense CPR experience when he opened the door of a Martinair 767 flight. Sometimes the airplane will have stretchers built right in. And sometimes it's a challenge for paramedics to get to the back of plane – like Vinod saw in Manchester, UK. Not all passengers involved in a medical incident survive. Vinod shares a particular route that this happens very frequently. What do crew do when it happens? How does crew handle bystanders? If you're called upon to change your seat, please oblige the crew. There may be compensation available to passengers and to medical personnel who respond. Geoff takes a quick look at Lufthansa's "Doctor on Board" program. What happens if the crew get sick, or there is a quarantine situation inside a plane? Vinod shares a story of a returning flight he was waiting for on the ground – and oh did that airplane smell. Finally, there are cases where external police may need to get involved – and Vinod shares a story from before he was working in aviation. The crews go through a lot of training and requalification, and recently many airlines are adding a Chief Medical Officer to their staff. If you're not feeling well, it's okay to ring the bell and let the crew know. News Items:
If you have a story about a medical incident inflight as a passenger or medical responder, a question, or other experience that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/. | |||
| 07 Feb 2023 | Experience 069. That Club. Miles High in the Sky. | 01:00:45 | |
In this experience we discuss that infamous club a mile high. We look back to the golden age of travel with beautiful flight attendants and pilots and exotic locations. Now add that to four- and five-star hotels, and crews from around the world it can lead to romance and attraction. Don’t screw the crew...well at least not yours. The captain and crew manager would keep an eye on their crew during layovers, otherwise there was the risk of people making bad decisions. Cancun was a location where crazy stuff would happen complete crews from multiple countries, beaches and alcohol. Sometimes crews would hook up with hotel staff, sometimes there would be action at the beach bar. And sometimes it just went too far...and people ended up getting fired. Crews need to be aware at all-inclusive resorts if they are interacting with their passengers. At some airport hotels, there are party rooms for crews. Vinod shares his experiences at LGA and LAX. Vinod thinks back to a pool in Colombo with an Emirates crew and thinking "one day". There is a serious side to the glamourous interactions. Accusations of assault and misconduct exist, and some airlines have pilots and flight attendants sleep at different hotels. Crew and passengers connect -- Vinod shares a couple of experiences where the individuals ended up getting married. Working for an airline expands the possibilities of international relationships. Vinod shares a story of how he outsmarted Tinder. If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 039. "Crew Life Between Flights. Crew Layovers." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. We look at passenger activity in the cabin and remember back to when people were shocked that amorous airline advertising led to amorous activity...who knew?! Vinod shares a memory of his first flight and learning that sometimes you just ignore the oblivious, but sometimes you can have some fun. Are you kidding me? On a Nanaimo flight? In the middle of the day? Oh it was time for fun for Vinod and the crew and a couple of passengers who were passionate in the lavatory. Technically amorous activities in the lav are illegal due to air law - in the event of loss of cabin pressure, there is only one oxygen mask. Often Vinod would discover the evidence after the fact like wrappers and blister packs of pills on the floor. Vinod shares a memory of when the call bell was ringing multiple times but not from the cabin...and the pilot advised there was banging coming through the wall to the flightdeck. The Mile High Club is probably a bucket list thing for some people. And we haven't even discussed private aircraft. However, in 2023, many things have changed. News Items:
If you have a story about aviation relations a mile up or on the ground, upcoming trips, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/ | |||