Cranky Talk: Recent Episodes
Cranky Flier
A show about the ins and outs of aviation and travel, from interviews with industry leaders to deep dives on a range of travel topics.
We're back! DOT recently announced some new rules for airlines intended to benefit consumers. What are these rules? When are these rules? What do they mean for you? All that and more, on this episode of Cranky Talk!
Source links:
Rules regarding refunds
Rules regarding junk fees
New regulations announcement
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
Southwest has done something unique, bringing its Network Planning group -- the people who decide when and where to fly -- under the Chief Operating Officer instead of the Chief Commercial Officer. I spoke with Adam Decaire to learn more about the decision and see how it's going.
We're dusting off the podcast to talk about Boeing, the Max, and what we know about flight 1282.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
We're back! Join us for an episode all about how NDC might not quite be as ready for prime time as American wants it to be and its impact on the travel agency world. We're joined by special guests from the Cranky Concierge team, sharing their real-world stories about how difficult this has been.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
Following up three years after our June 2020 discussion, Patrick and I run through the different regions and talk about what United is seeing in terms of success in the network planning world.
In a special return episode, Brett and Dave had a chat with Wallace Beall who worked in revenue management at several airlines including American, and was in charge of yield management when Brett worked at America West. Listen in for a behind-the-scenes talk about how overbooking is decided and how much the industry has changed in the last couple of decades.
Mark and I spoke about Air Canada's plans for rolling out its implementation of NDC for travel agency bookings. The airline is taking a more thoughtful approach, and Mark has plenty to say about how other airlines are handling this move. Listen in to hear more about how Air Canada wants to roll this out.
Brett does a recap of the CNAs with Courtney Miller from Visual Approach!
Stay tuned til the end for a special announcement on the future of the podcast from Brett and Dave!
Southwest was called to the principal's office in DC to answer for the meltdown over the holidays. We break down some testimony and what could happen if a passenger's bill of rights were ever to pass.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
With Delta announcing free wifi, the differences between airlines continue to grow. Join us for a brief history of wifi on airplanes and what the future might hold.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
It's time for the annual Cranky Talk exclusive peak behind the curtain at what you can expect when you tune in to the 2023 Cranky Network Awards on February 23!
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
We return from our break a little early to pod about the Southwest meltdown over the holidays.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
Brett goes on a rant about seat pitch and why it's terrible for measuring legroom. Is there a better alternative? Listen to find out!
Photo gallery:
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
Frontier's GoWild! is live. Brett tries to see if Dave thinks it's worthwhile.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
President Biden gave a speech on junk fees recently so Brett and Dave carved up the portions specific to the travel industry and discussed what is true, what stretches the truth, and what might be junky in this less-than-amazing speech.
Transcript of the speech
Video of the speech
“Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees “
Thanks to our sponsor IDEMIA! IDEMIA is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
Listen to an interview with the CEO of Flair, Stephen Jones, on how he sees the market evolving.
On this episode, Brett and Dave are joined by Courtney Miller from Visual Approach to give listeners a sneak preview of the 2023 CNAs! Listen in to find out where the show is happening and the special plans Brett and Courtney have cooked up!
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
It's about as hard as it's ever been to run a regional airline right now, and Horizon Air President Joe Sprague took the reins in late 2019, just before the industry began to unravel. Joe sat with me to talk about the challenges Horizon has faced, and exactly how it has gone about facing them.
Will there be chaos this winter as airline operations get stretched thin again? We take a look at the data to help you find out.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
This week, we're doing a retrospective on the most traveled destinations Cranky clients went to this summer!
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
This week, we're doing a retrospective on the most traveled destinations Cranky clients went to this summer!
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
You have questions and we have the answers for you! Welcome to our first mailbag episode! Thank you to everyone who submitted questions.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
You have questions and we have the answers for you! Welcome to our first mailbag episode! Thank you to everyone who submitted questions.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
The last time we made an episode about Spirit, JetBlue had just gotten hostile...well they won and now pending federal approval, they'll get to merge with Spirit. We go over how this happened and what comes next!
Thanks to our sponsor IDEMIA! IDEMIA is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
This week, we're talking about the great mystery in the sky....fume events! Are they real? Are they overexaggerated? What is going on up there?!
LA Times: How Toxic Fumes Seep Into The Air You Breathe On Planes
NIH: Characterization of the frequency and nature of bleed air contamination events in commercial aircraft
Cabin Air Safety Act of 2022
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
This week, we're joined by Southwest’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Green to talk about the airline’s big change this week!
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
On this episode of Cranky Talk, Brett and Dave are joined by special guest Dawn Gilbertson, columnist for the Wall Street Journal to discuss her story "11 Flights, 6 Airlines, 4 Days: A Flying Test of the U.S. Travel System"
Listen in for some surprising results as Dawn recaps what it was like to do all that travel over the Fourth of July weekend.
Thank you to our sponsor, Medjet! The membership service that protects you if you get sick or injured while traveling.
Thank you again to Ezra who wrote in with a great question: Do alliances even matter anymore? Star Alliance, Sky Team, One World, the Rebel Alliance, etc. We get into that and much more!
Star Alliance
KLM/Northwest
Thanks to our sponsor IDEMIA! IDEMIA is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
Summer 2022 is shaping up to be quite wild in the world of aviation. Prices and demand are high, travel numbers are way up, and airlines...are delaying and canceling flights left and right! Brett breaks down what's going on and what to expect on your travels this summer.
Brett and Dave take on a listener question! What's the point of travel agencies these days? With a plurality of options available to consumers to book directly with airlines, what can we do that you can't on your own?
Thanks to our sponsor IDEMIA! IDEMIA is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
Brett got to nerd out on a bunch of flights over three days to prove once and for all that flying between Oakland and Southern California is BACK!
Thanks to our sponsor IDEMIA! IDEMIA is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
Seats are getting smaller and more uncomfortable all the time...or are they? Brett and Dave talk about all this and then guess what the airplane seat of the future might look like.
Thanks to our sponsor Idemia! Idemia is an authorized enrollment provider for TSA PreCheck.
double decker
cloud concept
Coffeehouse
Swivel
Skyrider 2.0
Bike seat
It's not easy being a little guy, but Denver Air Connection has come up with a pretty interesting plan to get pilots onboard, teach them how to fly, and save the industry... or something like that.
I spoke with Jon Coleman, head of business development for the airline -- and a pilot -- about what it is doing to keep its airplanes flying.
Dave flew Spirit Airlines for the first time and Brett had many questions about the experience!
In this episode, Brett and Dave recap what happened after Russia invaded Ukraine and the wide-ranging impacts on the aviation world.
Dave and Brett disagree about airplane livery. Dave thinks brands should take bold swings and get creative, Brett thinks it doesn't matter and everything should just be presentable. Things got heated during this debate, as Brett pulled down a lot of livery images and Dave reacted to them.
If you want to follow along:
AA Old
AA New
UA Saul Bass
UA New
LH
Zip
ValuJet
TWA Final
Etihad
BA Landor
Korean
Hawaiian
Figi
Air Tahiti Nui
Qantas
America West Teamwork
Southwest
Spirit and Frontier decided to merge so we abandoned our original plan for this week to talk about the news and what it could all mean!
Brett decided to create a whole award show for the airline nerds, and Dave can't believe some of these categories. Join us for a breakdown of all the nominees and get the scoop on the most exclusive industry awards show in 2022!
Here's a link to the 2021 ceremony
And here's a link to stream the 2022 ceremony
Northern Pacific will be the brand that uses 757s to connect the continental US to North Asia via Anchorage. It's a throwback in that sense... airlines haven't needed to stop in Anchorage for decades. But CEO Rob McKinney thinks he's on to something here with low fares and a decent product.
Rob and his team were down here in SoCal this week to unveil the livery on the first 757 where it was painted at San Bernardino International Airport, and I spoke with him for 15 minutes about the plans.
We kick off the new year with the topic dominating all the headlines: the Omicron variant. Brett and Dave talk about how this new strain is spreading like wildfire and causing all kinds of staffing problems for airlines.
CDC links:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/burden.html
It's the holidays! Brett and Dave look back on a very turbulent year and speculate a bit on what's ahead in 2022. Happy New Year to all our listeners! Stay tuned until the end of the episode a holiday gift from us to you: the 2021 blooper reel!
An episode all about travel and aviation in the time of COVID! Dave went to Europe, so join us for all the detailed breakdowns of exquisite lunches in the rolling hills of Tuscany, vespa tours through Italy....just kidding. This is all about what it was like to travel abroad during this moment in time, featuring the Omicron variant!
I sat down with United CEO Scott Kirby to talk about Omicron, how the airline industry is looking at operational performance all wrong, and the future of regionals.
Scott is never afraid to speak his mind, so it's always great to talk to him.
This interview was recorded at the APEX Expo in Long Beach, CA on November 30, 2021.
If you've never heard of Current Aviation, you are not alone. Current is going to be an airline that flies no airplanes... but it has a lot of partners that will. Have a listen to CEO Brad Beakley talk about the venture which just came out into public view.
Airlines are melting down all over, with three in October alone. Why is this happening? When will it stop? Listen to find out!
Flight attendant union memo
Want to sponsor the Cranky Network Awards? Send a note to cna-sponsor@crankyflier.com and we'll be in touch!
Brett and Dave speculate on what may stick from all the COVID related changes to travel. Voluntary masking? Permanent touch less airports? Biometrics? Airplane cleaning? All of these and more.
The world changed after 9/11, but this week Brett focuses in specifically on what changed for air travelers here in the US. Next time, Brett and Dave will speculate on what permanent changes may be in store for air travelers once COVID is under control.
We're talking about Jetblue and American's partnership and why DOJ is suing them!
DOT agreement
Want to sponsor the Cranky Network Awards? Email cna-sponsor@crankyflier.com
It's a different kind of interview as I sit down with Jillian Johnson, United flight attendant and Artemis Bayandor, United corporate safety employee turned translator to discuss what it was like to work the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) flights carrying Afghan evacuees to the US.
We've all seen the news stories, but there is nothing like hearing these first person accounts to really understand what was happening and just how difficult it was for the people fleeing the country.
Vaccine mandates for COVID-19 are here, and every airline has a different policy. Brett breaks down the differences here.
CDC COVID vaccines FAQ
Thanks to our sponsor Jets ETF!
There has been a lot of activity in the electric airplane sector. How viable are these? Will they ever be viable? We have opinions!
Thanks to our sponsor, Medjet!
Tecnam planes
Electric Cessna
Magix
Joby
UA Electric Planes
Aura Aero
Eviation
Every airline has different rules on how soon travelers can fly again after they've recovered from COVID. Brett ran into a few of these rules after his recent recovery.
Thanks to our sponsor Jets ETF!
CDC COVID guidelines
United guidelines
Do we need IFE? Is your phone or tablet enough? Find out, as Brett and Dave approach this from different sides...just like the airlines.
UA Executive Flights
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
The President signed an Executive Order to boost competition and it has quite a bit in it about airlines. Brett and Dave break down what it means for airlines and travelers.
Here's a link to the EO
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Europe is reopening! Sorta...Brett goes over the latest European restrictions across the continent and Dave stresses about his recently booked trip!
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
United and Boom are teaming up to bring back supersonic travel, so we go on a deep dive on why supersonic failed last time and whether Brett thinks they can be different this time around.
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Thanks to The Airchive for sponsoring this week's trivia segment!
See Brett ride the Concorde!
What if Brett started an airline? A lucky raffle winner got to pick our podcast topic this week, and he wanted to know what Brett would do if he started an airline...spoiler, he wouldn't! Thanks to our guest Nick for being a great sport and an even better co-host this week!
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Thanks to The Airchive for sponsoring this week's trivia segment!
Big airplanes are going away. Brett goes over why the jumbos came to be and why they're going away.
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Thanks to The Airchive for sponsoring this week's trivia segment!
Pop quiz: What kind of airline has dreams of being a regional operator but has no interest in actually operating airplanes? The answer: Landline.
The co-founder and CEO of the "airline," David Sunde, has a background in airline networks, and his team is building a regional feeder that won't fly a single airplane. Anything else, however, is fair game. It's all about multi-modal, and so far Landline's fleet of vehicles ranging from private cars to buses feeds Sun Country's hub in Minneapolis/St Paul and United's hub in Denver.
Hasn't this been tried before? Sure, but as you've probably heard before, this is different. This time, it really does seem to be, and the exciting stuff hasn't even happened yet.
Come join me for this episode of The Cranky Flier Interview presented by Ontario International Airport, a half hour chat with David about everything from putting an airport at Disneyland to clearing security before you even get on the bus.
New airlines will be coming to an airport nearish to you soon! Maybe! Brett breaks down three new airlines entering the market this spring and summer and Dave asks questions.
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Thanks to The Airchive for sponsoring this week's trivia segment!
American, Alaska, and JetBlue have partnered! What does it all mean? Brett has answers.
Thanks to our sponsor BetterHelp! Right now, BetterHelp is giving Cranky Talk listeners 10% off their first month! Just go to betterhelp.com/cranky and you can be up and running with a therapist within 48 hours.
Airlines are guessing where Americans are going to want to travel this summer, and Brett has the data to back it up. Brett bores Dave with all the domestic airport data he got ahold of.
I spoke with Viva Air CEO Felix Antelo about his plans to grow Viva -- which is primarily operating in Colombia and Peru -- coming out of the pandemic. There is much to come.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor, Ontario International Airport.
During the break, Brett went to Mexico...and then came back. He walks through his experience dealing with the new COVID rules and regulations.
Brett really wanted to turn back time to 2020....so we did. Brett goes over the recently released Air Travel Consumer Report for 2020.
Join me as I talk to Avianca CEO Anko van der Werff about what he's been doing since he arrived to fix the airline in 2019. Now bankrupt during the pandemic, Anko is undeterred from executing his plan.
Theme music: Far Away by INOSSI | https://soundcloud.com/inossi Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
With all the news around vaccine or COVID passports floating around, Brett breaks it all down.
Be sure to subscribe to the Cranky Daily for your daily airline industry news!
This week, Brett goes on a deep dive on how COVID has made an impact on schedule changes.
Brett recaps the MAX saga and talks about how airlines are moving forward, now that the plane is back in the air.
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast!
On this episode, Brett talks about how airlines are helping distribute the COVID vaccines all around the country.
Thanks to our sponsor, Turbulence Forecast!
1A Podcast
On this episode of Cranky Talk, Brett talks to some of the extended Cranky family about some of their own wild travel stories, and shares a couple himself!
Happy Holidays from us to you! Please rate and review wherever you can!
Thanks to our sponsor, Turbulence Forecast!
Brett breaks down how airlines are using COVID testing to get people traveling again.
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast!
You asked, we answered! Brett answers your questions on the impact of COVID across the industry.
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast
Brett went to Hawaii and Dave is very jealous. To get to Hawaii, Brett had to follow a lot of new, strict COVID protocols, so listen in to get an idea of what to expect.
If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please submit it to this form!
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast!
I sat down with Hawaiian's boss Peter Ingram to talk about the pandemic, how it unfolded, how it's been working with the State of Hawai'i, and what the future brings.
A few big studies have come out in recent weeks about how COVID spreads on planes and what the airlines are doing to keep people safe. Brett read the reports, so Dave wouldn't have to and has some observations!
Quantifying the Incredibly Unlikely Aerosol Transmission of COVID on Airplanes
University of Arizona Cleaning Study
Thanks to our sponsor, Turbulence Forecast!
Dave asks Brett a lot of questions about what happened, or didn't, after the October 1st deadline for government assistance to airlines.
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast!
Brett goes over all the new routes springing up as airlines navigate a COVID world.
Thanks to our sponsor, Turbulence Forecast!
Brett breaks down why change fees are starting to go away and what it means for the future of the airlines.
American Air Cuts Most Fares In Simplification of Rate System
Sponsored by Turbulence Forecast
Brett and Dave go over what airlines are facing as the Oct. 1 CARES Act deadline approaches, and how the industry may change.
USA Today: Thousands of American Airlines pilots, flight attendants take leave, early retirement
TSA checkpoint travel numbers
Crankyflier: The Government Stimulus is Done, Now We Wait to See the Results
Dave needs to travel, so in this episode Brett walks him through how the process has changed in the time of COVID-19
Andrew is back for his annual visit. This time we talk about the pandemic, of course, but also the MAX and more.
We're discussing the ever-shifting safety standards that the airlines are adopting. We're answering what they're doing to set themselves apart, what's for show, and what will actually keep travelers safe when they fly.
Cabin air quality
Infectious disease transmission during commercial air travel
Surface transmission
Southwest Reduces Aircraft Cleaning Between Flights
Study: Leaving Airplane Middle Seats Empty Could Cut Coronavirus Risk Almost In Half
Brett goes on a deep dive into how airlines have traditionally plotted their routes and schedules...Dave is actually interested this time!
Thanks to our sponsor Turbulence Forecast!
This week, Brett and Dave talk about how airports are funded and will taxpayers be on the hook for empty airports during the COVID crisis.
Sources:
AIP 2017 Report
Missourian: Columbia Hotel Tax
LAWA Landing Fees
Dallas Morning News: DFW Toll Road
In this episode, Brett is joined by a special guest to go over some overlooked destinations and travel recommendations as Americans gear up for a summer without international travel!
IATA Travel Centre COVID-19 Map
In this episode, Brett navigates through all the uncertainty in buying air tickets during COVID-19, from discussing the relative safety of air travel to pulling apart old ticketing myths and wondering about any potential deals to be found.
Sponsored by The Airplane Shop
In this episode, we'll guide you through what you can expect to find the next time you're in an airport in the short and medium-term. Then we go off the deep end and dive into what airports may look like in the future.
Sponsored by The Airplane Shop
In this episode, Brett offers a roadmap through the tedious refund process and goes step-by-step on how to get your money back from the airlines in the time of COVID-19
I sat down with Andrew Watterson to talk about the 737 MAX, Newark, and the new Southwest Business
I'm doing things differently this time around. There are no airline execs to be found, but instead I have a 737 Captain. I talk to Korry about his book as well as his experience flying the 737... including the MAX.
I sat with Janet Lamkin from United Airlines on February 28, 2019 after a ceremonial ground-breaking for the airline's new TechOps facility at Los Angeles International Airport.
At long last, there's a new podcast. I had a good talk with William Shaw, CEO of VivaColombia. The airline has been growing quickly and it's opening its Peru operation next month.
In part 2 of my interview with United CEO Oscar Munoz, we dig into how he went about building his new management team. We also touch on Basic Economy and the operation at the end.
I sat with United CEO Oscar Munoz last month in Los Angeles. In part 1, we talk about how he got the job, and a variety of other things.
At the Boyd conference in September, I sat down with Trey Fayard, CEO of GLO, at the hotel bar. GLO is a regional air service provider based down in Louisiana. It's flying turboprops as an independent regional. This model hasn't worked very well elsewhere (with the possible exception of Silver in Florida), but Trey says things have grown nicely in the last year and profitability is coming shortly. I have to say, it was a really interesting conversation that's well worth the listen.
When it comes to airline pricing, people often wonder why the concert ticket model won't work. Why can't you just pick a seat on the seat map, buy it, and do what you want with it? There are a bunch of reasons. I break those down this week.
Scott Mayerowitz (@GlobeTrotScott), outgoing airlines reporter for the Associated Press, and I sit down to talk about the Transatlantic market. There are many problems for the airlines there including growing capacity, shrinking revenues, and new entrants all wreaking havoc. Listen in as Scott breaks down the numbers, and I speculate about the future. What does the A320neo/737MAX mean for this market? Will Middle America see more Europe flying? And are WOW's days numbered as I believe? Listen in...
In the inaugural Cranky Flier podcast, I sit down with OneJet CEO Matt Maguire to learn how the company has changed and if things are working out.(Spoiler alert: He says they are.)