The Bag Tag Travel Podcast

Few highways in America carry the same mythology as the “Mother Road.” Stretching more than 2,400 miles from Chicago to California, U.S. Route 66 became more than pavement and painted lines…it became a symbol of freedom, reinvention, road trips, diners, neon signs, and the ever-present promise that adventure might be waiting just around the next curve. And while every state along Route 66 has its own personality, Oklahoma may be one of the most soulful stretches of them all. From vintage motels and weathered trading posts to lively downtown districts and roadside attractions that feel frozen in time, Oklahoma captures the spirit of Route 66 in a way that feels both nostalgic and alive.One city helping lead that preservation effort is Tulsa, a place where the history of Route 66 isn’t tucked away in a museum somewhere, but woven directly into the culture of the city itself. During our interview, we sat down with Rhys Martin, President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, 2026 Tulsan of the Year, and author of The Lost Restaurants of Tulsa. From the moment the conversation began, it was clear that Route 66 is much more than a highway… it’s a living storybook of communities, memories, and American identity. Rhys spoke passionately about Tulsa’s deep connection to the road, the importance of preserving historic landmarks, and how the people who live along Route 66 are just as important as the attractions themselves.

🤳 The Travel Discourse Trio (01:22)There’s a lot of fun travel tidbits that have been making their rounds online. Today we’re discussing the latest travel privacy innovation in My Cocoon, a heartwarming statue built in Kazakhstan, and JetBlue’s top-secret booking hack.👶 How Many Miles Should the Baby Get? (10:19)For this week’s seat pocket, we’re debating if a baby born mid-flight should be eligible for the full flight’s miles or just the miles they were there for. Seriously, this really happened.✈️ How Would a Government-Owned Spirit Airlines Work? (14:48)This episode is all about the hottest topic in travel news: the U.S. government’s interest in buying Spirit Airlines outright. Not a subsidization, not a bailout, a full-on ownership. How did we get here, what would this mean for the airline industry as a whole, and has this happened before? We unpack it all for you!🚌 Transportation Costs of The World Cup (40:43)If you’re planning to attend a World Cup match at MetLife Stadium, in addition to flights and lodging, you’ll need to factor in public transportation to your overall budget! New Jersey has made it clear that if FIFA won’t help cover the transportation costs their cities will be taking on, then they’re pushing that burden onto the fans. And that burden is pricey!🚢 Tiny Voyage: What in our everyday life brought us the same joy as travel this week (47:57)

🐱 Pilots Meowing + Fetty Wap References = Weird Air (01:25)It was a weird week in the air to say the least… Pilots were meowing, barking, and making Fetty Wap references to the ATCs. We run through all the latest news, if it qualifies as news, from the air in the past week.✈️ How Do You Count Flights? (12:58)Every trip is a flight but not every flight is a trip…or is it? We debate how you count the total number of flights you’ve been on and the difference between flights vs trips. According to Chantel, this is not a matter of opinion but a matter of facts. Do you agree?🛎️ The Death (and Rebirth) of the Hotel Lobby (21:50)What was once considered a path on the way to or from your room has since become a destination in and of itself. We dive into the history of the hotel lobby, how the boom of hotel chain expansion turned lobbies blah, and what they did to successfully reinstate themselves as a designated “third place” in today’s society.🛏️ We See Your SkyCouch and Raise You a SkyNest (43:49)Air New Zealand has done it again–they’re reinventing sleep in the sky! Long-time Taggies will remember when we covered their innovative SkyCouch, which has since been copied by United’s Relax Row, and now they’re bringing us bigger and better sleep options with their latest SkyNest. Set to debut later this year, SkyNest could completely change the way passengers rest while seated in economy.🚢 Tiny Voyage of the Week (53:46)

🏅2028 Summer Olympics (01:21)It’s official, The Bag Tag will be the unofficial travel podcast of the LA 28 Summer Olympics. We were lucky enough to snag tickets in one of the early ticket drops and already counting down the days to the games. Plus we discuss the misdesign of airplane seat maps🧛Team Jacob or Team Edward (08:43)The debate that will never die, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob. The podcast is split as we discuss if this was all just a marketing stunt by the movie studios for Twilight 🌲Visiting Forks, Washington (13:21)While, yes, the main point of the trip is to relive Chantel’s High School days as an obsessed teen reading the Twilight book, we dive into all things Forks besides just Twilight. Although, most of it is Twilight as we’re headed off to visit🐠 Sydney’s New Fish Market (34:27)Sydney, Australia is opened the largest fish market in the southern hemisphere and it’s truly not getting close to enough of the attention that it deserves. Not only is it reshaping Black Waddle Bay’s fish scene, but the new water front walkway will give even more of a reason for locals and tourists to make it a must visit. 

🫨 Seating Chart Icons, Baggage Fees, and Disney Animatronics…Oh my! (01:30)There’s a lot going on in the world of travel, so we had to start today’s episode with some of the lighter, but still important, things we’ve been seeing in the news lately.🌕 What Would the Moon’s Bag Tag Code Be? (11:00)For today’s seat pocket, we debate what we think the “spaceport” bag tag code (hypothetical, of course) on the moon should be!🚀 Airport Chaos (13:40) & Artemis II Space Tourism (23:10)We’re discussing the history behind the airport chaos, because even though this seems like a recent issue, it actually goes back decades! Then we take off with everything you need to know about Artemis II!🧔🏽‍♂️ What in the World is Going on With Beards? (34:00)Believe it or not, there’s a reason why most airplane pilots you have will be clean shaven. We dive into the reasons behind this and question if it’s really just because of safety…🚢 This Week’s Tiny Voyages (40:23)

👣 King Charles III, the path not the person + 100th Episode!!! (01:23) There’s a new King Charles III in town but this one is a path, not a person! That’s right, there’s a newly opened walking path that takes you around the entire country of England. And, today is our 100th episode of The Bag Tag!🚴 Would You Ever Walk or Bike Across the Country? (09:09)Today’s seat pocket is inspired by, you guessed it, the King Charles III pathway. We debate if we would ever walk or bike across the entire United States, or maybe even drive.🗺️ Why Do Humans Feel the Urge to Explore? (15:28)Exploring isn’t just a hobby or an aspiration, there’s so much more to it than that! Exploring is in our blood, seriously. It’s genetic. And today we talk all about how humans evolved specifically to explore. Do you have the travel gene?😴 United’s New Way to Travel in Relaxation (30:16)There’s a new seat style, not the first of its kind but the first of its kind on a U.S. carrier! United Airlines is introducing their new Relax Row, which may change the way we travel for long-haul flights.🛳️ Bringing Back the Tiny Voyage (42:06)We close the show sharing our tiny voyages for the week!

🚗 TSA Wait Times, Rain Falls in Hawaii, and Buying vs Renting When TravelingWhy rent a car on vacation when you can…buy one? That’s right, there’s people out there who may have finally cracked the code when it comes to rental cars on vacation. Plus, we chat about what’s happening with TSA wait times and the awful storms hitting the Hawaiian Islands right now.🌺 What’s Your Favorite Flower?We’ve talked about our favorite destinations, favorite food and drinks from trips, now it’s time we finally tell you all which flowers are our favorite.🌷 How Flower Tourism Became a Global Travel PhenomenonPeople travel for all sorts of reasons: visiting friends & family, national monuments, The Seven Wonders, food, hiking, concerts, but today we’re talking about people traveling just for flowers! That’s right Flower Tourism is real and, some might even say, it’s blooming. If you plan it just right, that is. We unpack it all, where and when flower tourism started and why it matters so much to travelers across the world.☠️ Death Valley Isn’t Dead!Despite what the name leads you to believe, there is in fact life in Death Valley. And that life is doing something extraordinary that hasn’t happened in 10 years! Don’t worry, we’ve got everything you need to know about this once-in-a-lifetime event.

🔥 Heated Rivalry, Chicago River, and Headphone Enforcement (01:27)It’s St. Patrick’s Day and we didn’t skimp out on the travel news this week! There’s lots going on in the world, from new set-jetting opportunities for all you HR loons, the juicy deets on turning Chicago’s river green, and United’s latest rules on headphones.👙 What’s Your Favorite Spring Break Destination? (09:40)For this week’s seat pocket, we’re discussing our favorite spring break trip we’ve ever gone on…if we’ve gone on a spring break trip! Let us know what your favorite spring break spot has been, or if you have any exciting destinations coming up.✈️ How Did Spring Break Become a Travel Tradition? (18:02)Before Spring Break became an iconic travel tradition for college students and, let’s be real, everyone else, it started off as just…a break! Find out how this pre-summer respite evolved into one of the most desired travel weeks in modern times!🌧️ Weather Apps Might Get Sued (41:57)There’s drama with the weather apps and local attractions as they claim misleading icons and summaries for daily weather are encouraging people to reschedule their plans or cancel altogether, even if the weather is mostly nice! We get to the bottom of the latest tea on weather, or should we say “forecast”?