Cranky Talk

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 members...

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. 

JetBlue wants Spirit bad and is willing to go hostile to get it!    

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...

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 pain...

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...