Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

After a trip involving six intercontinental flights, I have arrived back at Birmingham airport over an hour behind schedule. The sequence since leaving the UK two weeks ago goes: Cancelled, Late, Cancelled, Late, Late, Late.Don't put too much store by the airlines' schedules.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

On Travel Desk Tuesday, I’m talking to Annabel Grossman, global travel editor for The Independent, about Lonely Planet’s selection of alternative romantic destinations for 14 February.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In an unprecedented and coordinated attack, the airlines that use Heathrow airport – as well a prominent hotelier – are demanding lower charges and higher standards. Virgin Atlantic, British Airways’ parent IAG, the Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC) and the Arora hotel group say the current way that charges are set by the Civil Aviation Authority are not fit for purpose.Heathrow says it wants a better long-term arrangement, but that expansion – in the form of a third runway – must be paid for.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

When do airlines give upgrades, and who are the beneficiaries?Spoiler alert: it will help if you marry a captain. But I wonder if upgrades are actually worth a huge amount? My very limited experience of business class travel suggests they may be overrated.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Michael O’Leary has been chief executive of Ryanair since 1994, and over the past three decades he has taken the carrier from a small and unprofitable regional airline to the biggest in Europe in terms of passenger numbers.Today he’s talking about Heathrow’s third runway, Air Passenger Duty and his plans to base aircraft in Ukraine when the skies reopen to passenger flightsThis podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

At the very end of 2024, British Airways revealed comprehensive changes to its loyalty programme, which will mean access to its top tiers will be aligned with high spending on the airline and its holiday operation.After 43 years, the BA Executive Club is to be renamed The British Airways Club from 1 April, 2025.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Access to most areas of China is getting easier, with a new light-touch online visa and an extension of the valuable "transit without visa" option. With travel to Asia surging, I have been talking to top tour operator Wendy Wu. She says her firm, Wendy Wu Tours, can untangle the red tape.Also: why a visit to China right now will prove especially rewarding.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” is arguably the strangest nation in the world (although Turkmenistan gives it a run for its money). It has been closed to Western tourists for five years, but could it be on the point of reopening? Simon Cockerell, Koryo Tours General Manager and frequent North Korea, says nothing is certain – and meanwhile his company can offer more accessible destinations.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

January seems to have been going on forever, which has been dismal for many – but promising for travel agents. I’ve been talking to Ashley Quint, director of Hertfordshire agency Travel Time. There’s intense interest in exotic-but-safe Japan, though manage your expectations on the price.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly podcast. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.