Sky Lounge Podcast

Hello everyone, and welcome to The Sky Lounge Podcast!In this episode, Alex & self sit down with Tero Taskila, CEO of Beond, the airline redefining travel as the world’s first premium leisure airline.Beond is far from a traditional carrier, and this conversation explores what it really means to build an airline around luxury, leisure, and a completely different business mindset. From business model innovation to the future of premium travel, this is a wide-ranging discussion packed with fresh insights and bold ideas. And yes, they do have ROUND THE WORLD tickets, if you want to go BEOND the grind of normal travel.For more information on Tero, do check out his Linkedin profilehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/terotaskila/Recommend reading this article from Tero on Linkedin, especially if you are setting out on an entrepreneurship journey or have an innovative idea that you want to see come to life;Every New Thing Is Born Into Doubthttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/every-new-thing-born-doubt-tero-taskila-cxjqf/?trackingId=YNp6Tid5QXOeaLELC%2FOjqg%3D%3DTero’s article argues that every genuinely new idea or innovation inevitably faces a predictable cycle of resistance—starting with skepticism, then often turning into cynicism, before eventual acceptance if it proves its value. The core message is that doubt is not a signal that something is wrong, but rather a natural and necessary filter that all meaningful progress must pass through. Instead of avoiding criticism, innovators should expect it, endure it, and use it as validation that they are doing something truly new; in this sense, persistence through early doubt is what separates ideas that fade away from those that ultimately reshape industries or thinking.Tero ends the article with this "Most companies do not fail because the doubters were right. They fail because the founders and/or investors ran out of patience before the evidence arrived."Tune in & enjoy the conversation.

The final 2025 episode of The Sky Lounge Podcast – where Alexandra & David talk about the Dubai Airshow, long haul narrow body aircraft, the 777X flying at the Airshow (but when will it truly fly?);They then talk about Beond & it's US expansion, global airport growth ambitions and much more!A question for 2026 - Will fast & free onboard WIFI be a criterion for you to choose which airline to fly?Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and the very very best for the New Year! Both of us will be back in the new year, with a very new interesting format for SKY LOUNGE! Stay tuned!

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.)