Sky Lounge Podcast

This episode had more that it's fair share of focus on low cost airlines. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has packed up and left, Spirit has filed for bankruptcy… again, and we share a few stories from our own recent trips on budget carriers. Of course, you can’t talk low-cost without mentioning their favorite workhorses—the Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s and woo hoo, we may have a new market #1 soon!Alex also tells us about her not-so-smooth experience trying to use the United Airlines app from outside the U.S., and David comes back buzzing with passion and connections from the ICAO NGAP conference in Durban.To round it all off, we chat about airlines, brand value, and why airlines rank so low in global brand rankings!Here's a quick quizzer for you - I made a factual mistake in the PODCAST. Can you point out what it is?

Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have lost family and friends in the recent Air India AI171 accident in India.In this episode, Alex and David had plenty to catch up on—especially with David just back from his U.S. travels. He was absolutely raving about the United Airlines app, calling it “H-appy” with good reason! Meanwhile, Alex couldn’t get over Air France and their delicious ground-based food experiment. They also dove into the latest Boeing and Airbus forecasts—yes, there are lots of planes on the horizon. Plus, the recent IATA conference delivered some fascinating insights and statistics.https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2025-speeches/2025-06-02-01/ Enjoy the episode!

In this episode, Alexandra shares her recent trip to the U.S. aboard Air France—complete with a whole row to herself and a glass of champagne! Meanwhile, David is gearing up for his own long journey—fingers crossed for some empty rows on his flight too.We also dive into the retro charm of the TWA Hotel, the complexities of airport security, and more. Tune in and enjoy the journey!

We talk about Alex’s “almost” India experience and why she had to go to Indigo’s Plan B! David’s trip to Kazakhstan just seemed to “Wizz” by ! Oh, and we touched on Alex’s current airline crush!This airline for this episode was “F” – one of the world’s oldest airlines – and they do have a unique seat (hint). We also had a quick shout out to the world’s most profitable airline – you guessed it right.David was excited about Disney coming to Abu Dhabi – and planes in Disney livery! But he will need to wait! We ended with Lounges – that’s what the Sky Lounge podcast is all about! Nice relaxing discussions in a relaxed comfy lounge! What would Ian Kay say about that?

Travel demand remains strong, but could tariffs be the turbulence ahead for aviation growth? Let’s not dwell too long on that—because we’re also celebrating a terrific birthday for the airline that starts with “E”! Can you guess which one? Tune in to the episode to find out!In this week’s episode, Alexandra and David dive into a mix of quirky and serious aviation updates:·From Finnair’s non-reclining business class AirLounge seat (yes, really!),To reimagining Eurowings catering carts with built-in coffee machines as… champagne & wine fountains?And of course, April 1st wouldn’t be complete without a few clever fake headlines and light-hearted fun.On the topic of tariff turbulence, we also explore Roger Hall’s insights on turbulence of the airline kind. Check out the article here:https://www.xflashsystems.com/alerting-monitoring/turbulence-det-route-plus/Plus, a sweet cargo story! Mangoes & Apples! Andrew Tan reported on Air India Cargo’s fruity endeavor with over 3,000 varieties of mangoes, along with the airline’s recent integration of Apple AirTags for baggage tracking (and maybe mango tracking too?)

Alexandra got the opportunity to try out some first-class luxury without even leaving the ground! While David got to relive old memories with a trip to Amsterdam – and the weather was just perfect! They then jumped into various topics from loyalty to Aviation & AI – ending with the airline of the episode – “D”. Guess the airline name – It’s a big one!  Nope, we know what you are thinking – it’s not Delta!  You have 3 guesses! (Hint: They have more than 300 dedicated aircraft & serve over 500 airports globally.)