Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

What a miserable week it has been for air passengers. Monday saw Manchester airport hit by a power outage, train delays caused problems at Stansted and now today a plane stuck on the runway caused major disruption to the Gatwick airport. I take a look at what's gone wrong.This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it every Friday.

The day began with an announcement by easyJet of new flights from Edinburgh and Liverpool to City of Derry in Northern Ireland. Also this week, Delta announced a winter series from London Heathrow to Orlando. And Jet2 will offer Manchester, Leeds Bradford and Birmingham to Jerez from May 2025.In today's travel podcast, I assess these new routes.This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive every Friday.

I'm Simon Calder. Today, Aer Lingus pilots start an indefinite work-to-rule and plan a strike on June 29th. I discuss the reasons behind this action and its impact on passengers.This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive every Friday.

Can you believe it's six months until Christmas Day? Never too early to plan your 25 December travels, and so today I have enlisted the support of Lyn Hughes, founding editor of Wanderlust magazine. Listen to her surprising choice of Christmas getaways.This podcast is free, as is our weekly newsletter. Sign up here to receive every Friday. 

For many seasoned travellers, Venezuela was the first South American destination, thanks to Viasa's competitive fares from the UK to the wonder-filled continent.Currently, Venezuela is on the Foreign Office's no-go list. Despite this, travellers from other countries are flocking to the troubled republic bordering Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia.Blas Fabian from HoverTours in Caracas and Daniel Santin from Inspiring Destinations have been encouraging me to return.This podcast is free, much like our weekly travel newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.

As the summer travel season heats up, Simon Calder sits down with global travel editor Annabel Grossman and deputy travel editor Ben Parker to discuss their methods for booking train tickets in the UK. From using the Trainline app for convenience to seeking out cost-saving options, their approaches vary widely.This podcast is free, much like our weekly travel newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.

Today, I talk with Claire Bonniol of Kevin Speed about their ambitious plans to bring competitive high-speed rail services to France by 2028. We discuss their affordable pricing strategy, the inclusion of lesser-known stations, and what this means for UK travellers heading to France.This podcast is free, much like our weekly travel newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.

It's four weeks today since Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 hit severe turbulence on a journey from London to Singapore. Tragically, one passenger lost his life after suffering a heart attack, and many more were injured. My guest today, Professor Paul Williams of Reading University, says turbulence is getting worse because of climate change.This podcast is free, much like our weekly travel newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered every Friday to your inbox.