British Airways Crew Drugged by Passenger

0:00 [SPEAKER_03]: I'm Dan and I'm Alex and welcome back to on-air please to have you joining us for more of you are in the world. [SPEAKER_03]: Hi Dan how are things? [SPEAKER_03]: I am good things are good how are you? [SPEAKER_03]: All is good thank you lots going on globally lots that we want to jump into and also you see the mix of the the different kind of cultures and religious traditions [SPEAKER_03]: that are everywhere.

0:24 [SPEAKER_03]: We have Chinese Lunar New Year. [SPEAKER_03]: It's a really easy time for travel out of China. [SPEAKER_03]: As the Chinese begin New Year and I've been looking at the flows and especially via the Middle East. [SPEAKER_03]: Those flights are really busy. [SPEAKER_03]: X China, all the Chinese carriers popping up everywhere.

0:41 [SPEAKER_03]: A lot of your travel to Europe and the cities, I think, as is normal this time of year because it's not really. [SPEAKER_03]: It's not as warm in most northern hemisphere. [SPEAKER_03]: Climb it, you have a Ramadan that's just started, of course, as well, so that's a quiet travel period for the Arab world, at least in terms of travel, but a Ramadan, of course, being observed in so many different places.

1:05 [SPEAKER_03]: all around the world, and interesting to see. [SPEAKER_03]: Sweden always gets its moment, doesn't it there? [SPEAKER_03]: Because it's the longest or one of the longest days in terms of fasting, right? [SPEAKER_03]: So it always pops out now. [SPEAKER_00]: Now that Ramadan is getting earlier and earlier, it will actually be pretty short.

1:24 [SPEAKER_00]: So you know, it's still one end of a life hack to... Yeah, I'm sorry. [SPEAKER_03]: And Sweden. [SPEAKER_03]: In some it always goes viral, doesn't it? [SPEAKER_03]: About when Ramadan used to occurrence [SPEAKER_03]: Of course, also UK, it's Pancake Day, which is, yeah, the show of Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and so on.

1:46 [SPEAKER_03]: It's not specifically a holiday in terms of it being a day off, but it is a religious holiday in Christianity. [SPEAKER_03]: and also coinciding with the half-term in the UK. [SPEAKER_03]: So again, a busy travel period there. [SPEAKER_03]: So it's just funny how, you know, again, aviation is so kind of intertwined into into the calendar globally.

2:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Do you want to know what day it was yesterday in Sweden? [SPEAKER_03]: What was the day yesterday in Sweden? [SPEAKER_00]: the first day of Ramadan yesterday in Sweden was fatty day, which is a day when everyone indulges in this special pastry called a similar which is like a a bun with a bunch of whipped cream and almond paste in the middle so it's very fatty and indulgent so we call it fatty day which I thought was an ironic contrast to the first day of Ramadan.

2:41 [SPEAKER_03]: Well, the first day of Ramadan is today Wednesday. [SPEAKER_03]: So, the first day of fasting, but started last night, yes, so it does mean that, well, again, Sweden, hopefully many people enjoyed that. [SPEAKER_03]: Pastry, you just described, was it a pastry or a pastry? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it is, bigger than that.

2:56 [SPEAKER_00]: It's, I mean, it doesn't really look like a traditional pastry, but it's delicious. [SPEAKER_00]: I wish I could have had one. [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, well, around the world, it's also, it's Gambia independence day today, so happy independence day. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Pluto Day, which honors the discovery of Palutone February 18th 1930, Pluto, the poor kid that was a planet in Arda when we were in school.

3:19 [SPEAKER_03]: I was taught the solar system with Pluto and then it got kind of declassified. [SPEAKER_03]: Layed it online, do you remember that? [SPEAKER_03]: I know, what a bad thing to do to a planet, right? [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, just like yet, you're no longer part of the club. [SPEAKER_03]: You're not in the club.

3:35 [SPEAKER_03]: It's National Battery Day. [SPEAKER_03]: Today we'll say which recognizes Alessandro Volta's birthday and the invention of the battery of which we're incredibly grateful because it's how we're able to connect with each other today. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: These are not so official, but they are widely celebrated today.

3:52 [SPEAKER_03]: It's not really normal. [SPEAKER_03]: It's ice cream for breakfast day, okay? [SPEAKER_03]: It's thumbs up appreciation day, okay? [SPEAKER_03]: It's [SPEAKER_03]: crap stuffed flounder day and yeah I mean I keep keep going on and on but I'm starting to get scabs because through whether or not these are real days or so we'll move on but we'll stick to the theme of gifting and you know and and food and kind of cultural tidbits and whatnot which brings us to our first story.

4:27 [SPEAKER_03]: where you may have seen this, a British airways crew were gifted something by a passenger on a flight which will dive into shortly which is becoming increasingly common. [SPEAKER_03]: And as a result of accepting that gift, they ended up hospitalized, what happened Daniel? [SPEAKER_00]: Oh wow, the full name.

4:48 [SPEAKER_00]: So just to give some context here, you have heard us talk about giving gift to crew. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure as a sign of appreciation. [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people do it so crew are pretty used to receiving some sort of gift I would say. [SPEAKER_00]: So, in this case, there was a BA flight, of course, from London to Los Angeles, and a passenger very kindly gave the crew some sweeps.

5:12 [SPEAKER_00]: So they were happy to indulge in those, but it wasn't until a little while after that, several of the crew members reported feeling a bit unwell, so unwell that they ended up going into the hospital where they discovered [SPEAKER_00]: that these were not just any candies, these were THC gummies.

5:31 [SPEAKER_00]: In other words, weed gummies that made the crew high. [SPEAKER_00]: Thankfully, did nothing really happen until after landing, they didn't start feeling severely unwell until after landing, but these kind of things are very strong. [SPEAKER_00]: So I imagine they ate several, and it's very, very serious.

5:49 [SPEAKER_00]: In my opinion, that someone did this to the crew, so I hope they find who did it. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, this was, this was war. [SPEAKER_03]: So they were, they were gifted gummy bears, but, but, similarly they had, we assumed that they had assumed they were just merely accepting. [SPEAKER_03]: some sweets from a kind passenger.

6:09 [SPEAKER_03]: And as you said, they started to not feel very well. [SPEAKER_03]: These edibles, as they're known, three of the crew members had reportedly consumed most of them and started to feel what they described as out of control becoming panicked. [SPEAKER_03]: feeling fearful, scared, worried, and then that symptoms becoming worse than they were taken to hospital.

6:32 [SPEAKER_03]: The crew did not work the flight that was due to return back to Heathrow the same day, so the layover in Los Angeles on this flight is one night, instead they were positioned back to the UK as passengers. [SPEAKER_03]: And now, British Airways is supposedly searching for the passenger who [SPEAKER_03]: quite gifted these, these addibles, these gummies to the crew.

6:56 [SPEAKER_03]: Because it, ultimately, he was, he was dragging them, right? [SPEAKER_03]: And, and, and so, be a confirmed, of course, in a statement, the Allies said that a small number of our crew reporters feeding on well the hotel in a sense recovered and that they had sent a replacement crew to operate the return of light with no impact.

7:13 [SPEAKER_03]: but this really sparked curiosity for both of us because okay on one side it just is insane so a passenger was successfully able to drug his crew through what looked like a some kind of random act of kindness right and then on the other side it's this whole thing of we brought up and told never to accept sweets from strangers okay right and yet [SPEAKER_03]: especially, I mean, it's all over the social media, the idea of gifting something to crew is something that people are being encouraged to do.

7:50 [SPEAKER_03]: It's perceived to be really kind. [SPEAKER_03]: We know crew are overworked and tired and jet lagged and doing that best and they're there for all scenarios, well, beyond just serving a three-course meal and so on. [SPEAKER_03]: And so you've seen the same as me right, all over kind of Instagram and I'm sure you've seen it on TikTok.

8:12 [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so like, do you see the guy that it always appears for me? [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know who to profile is, but the guy who's wearing the Rayman Meta glasses and he boards and says to the crew member at the first door, how many are you today? [SPEAKER_03]: And he or she will say, oh, we're eight.

8:27 [SPEAKER_03]: So then they get handed eight chocolate bars or eight packs of sweets as own. [SPEAKER_03]: Have you seen that? [SPEAKER_03]: I've seen it. [SPEAKER_03]: What do you think about that type of account specifically? [SPEAKER_03]: Well, so firstly the reaction is always overwhelmingly positive by the crew member receiving it and that account tends to show footage from later in the flight where the passenger is being really fast over where the by the crew where the different members of the crew have come to say thank you where they're bringing drinks and meals first to him, where they're really saying how he made that day, like it is genuinely a real kind of overload of warmth and affection.

9:07 [SPEAKER_03]: which itself goes viral and therefore inadvertently kind of encourages others to maybe follow the lead do the same. [SPEAKER_03]: The other side to it is [SPEAKER_03]: I hate this idea that people are filming with their glasses because I don't know if any consent was taken and I had a conversation with someone last week and he was wearing them.

9:28 [SPEAKER_03]: And the only thing I could think of the entire conversation was to wonder if the entire conversation was being filmed. [SPEAKER_00]: Why was it? [SPEAKER_00]: Why would you wear them when you're just talking to someone? [SPEAKER_00]: I don't like that, but yeah, the thing about that account you're talking about specifically, I don't know the name of it, but I've seen the videos too.

9:46 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, what's the deal with if if you're going to do something nice, you feel like you have to film it and put it on social media, then to me that negates the whole act of doing something good. [SPEAKER_00]: You can be nice to people and make nice gestures without posting for encouragement from people or for followers, you know, [SPEAKER_03]: So if you're 100%, do you remember that I'm sure there are many, many fans of the TV series, friends, who in this course right now.

10:16 [SPEAKER_03]: Okay, do you remember the episode where Joey explains to Phoebe how there was no such thing as a selfless kind of good news, how good that selfish. [SPEAKER_03]: Because of how she gets off on the reaction, right? [SPEAKER_03]: So then she's like, no, it's not. [SPEAKER_03]: She's trying her best.

10:33 [SPEAKER_03]: to say I'll give you an example. [SPEAKER_03]: I'll do this for this person. [SPEAKER_03]: I'll do that for that person. [SPEAKER_03]: But she feels so satisfied after that Chinese like this is selfish. [SPEAKER_03]: You're doing it for your own good, great feeling. [SPEAKER_03]: That links with what you just said about social media.

10:49 [SPEAKER_03]: It's like God forbid someone be able to do something nice without us now capturing it in this. [SPEAKER_03]: They're very, very intimately personal way, because it doesn't even involve an iPhone being held up to document it anymore. [SPEAKER_03]: Right, we're seeing it from the point of view of someone's eyes.

11:06 [SPEAKER_03]: So, that I don't like, I don't like the fact that you can't just do anything without, you know, it wasn't on your Instagram story, so it never happened, yeah, that whole sentiment. [SPEAKER_03]: I really, you went away, you can't have, you didn't share anything online about it. [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, I mean, you know, [SPEAKER_03]: And then, of course, I wonder if this incident, which is a very serious incident, I wonder if airlines will now respond to this, because as we've explained extensively since beginning the podcast, airlines are often playing whack-a-mole with anything that pops up and an introducing policy based on specific incidents or things that just come out of nowhere, because these things do pop up when you are literally carrying the world's

11:51 [SPEAKER_03]: public, you know, the members of the public of the world and from different cultures, backgrounds, different intentions and so on. [SPEAKER_03]: I wonder if BA will introduce a policy banning crew from accepting gifts in light of this incident? [SPEAKER_03]: What do you think? [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, any time I give gift to the crew, I always think, if I were them, maybe I wouldn't even eat it.

12:19 [SPEAKER_00]: And I try to keep that in mind when I buy it to make sure I buy like individually wrapped candy. [SPEAKER_00]: Things are very easy to share and very clearly not tempered with. [SPEAKER_00]: So brand them people know they know what the packaging should look like if it's been disturbed. [SPEAKER_00]: But [SPEAKER_00]: that ultimately still requires some sort of judgment or evaluation on the part of the crew.

12:41 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's just, you know, if you're giving candy or chocolate, how exciting is that at the end of the day? [SPEAKER_00]: It's a nice gesture, but I think it's crew, and anyone can live without it. [SPEAKER_00]: So perhaps I've also seen people give gift cards and those things. [SPEAKER_00]: So maybe that's where this is going, but I just feel like that's a bit out of control.

13:04 [SPEAKER_00]: I agree I agree like why so I need to buy Starbucks gift cards Then how many do I need to get? [SPEAKER_03]: How much am I putting on that make it's really weird and complicated much so yeah It's a bit much the the my concern also with this kind of story is this giving the idea to the wrong individuals to To realize that they could God forbid wipe out a whole set of crew you know just with you know how made muffins from grandma You know and it's not always Nothing homemade [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, but then you know can easily be wrapped up to look like it's not homemade, but I mean this is where where does it end here when they realize that the crew are there for the, you know, to ensure what if they had shared this with the pilots what have pilots that I will have one, you know, that's yeah, again, the pilot didn't exercise better judgment there, you know, seemed to it was innocent.

13:49 [SPEAKER_03]: The last time I gifted crew was at the beginning of the year, January, new year. [SPEAKER_03]: So as a kind of happy new year thing, I popped by the world's most expensive and unnecessary Apple store, WH Smith, on the terminal at Heathrow and paid about £300,000 for one box of lintore chocolates with 15 lint balls in it and anyway, but the funny part is [SPEAKER_03]: It did cross my mind, but only because we are so hyper-aware to this kind of thing like, I'm, you know, at the moment before I have it, I'm quite OCD, so to accept from, you know, the unknowns from anyone I've always been a bit skeptical about.

14:32 [SPEAKER_03]: But so it gently crossed my mind, but not enough to stop me from from buying the chocolate box to give them. [SPEAKER_03]: But what I did do, because I thought, [SPEAKER_03]: It just couldn't hurt, is I remember specifically leaving it not only in the bag of Smith's red purchase from, but I left the receipt in there too.

14:51 [SPEAKER_03]: And it was the only thing I had purchased. [SPEAKER_03]: So, they received verified that that day at that time, this box was purchased from this door in terminal blah blah blah at the show. [SPEAKER_03]: I just thought, you know, usually when you buy something and you're gifting the first thing you do is remove the receipt.

15:07 [SPEAKER_03]: I remember making a conscious [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So, if I was Maryland CEO, I would probably just say that my crew is not allowed to receive gifts anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: Even though it's a sad thing, I would just say make that a policy explained to passengers that you're so grateful, but it's a company policy for safety reasons that you're not allowed to accept it.

15:32 [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that that's fine, and we always want to err on the side of caution. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I agree. [SPEAKER_03]: I think that especially now this has happened and there is a documented incident. [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sure this has happened elsewhere, but hasn't been documented or hasn't made it into the public domain.

15:48 [SPEAKER_03]: But now that we have this, I think it's just more sensible to protect the health and wellbeing of the crude solar, you know, help yourself to the crude catering cart, right? [SPEAKER_03]: But let's not rely on what passengers are going to bring you because, you know, [SPEAKER_03]: one of the rare ones is it's not going to walk outside well if they have bad intentions.

16:08 [SPEAKER_03]: So I think it's a safe move. [SPEAKER_00]: The even crazier thing is that in some countries they could have been arrested. [SPEAKER_00]: If they had gone to the hospital, the crew for being high, they could have been arrested and face serious charges even though they had nothing to do with it just because some countries are so strict.

16:26 [SPEAKER_00]: So he could have literally affected their lives forever and caused a huge [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, issue. [SPEAKER_03]: So yeah, and from what I understand, this particular set of crew, the ones that were a handed these companies, were drug tested and of course they had shown up that they had drugs in their system.

16:43 [SPEAKER_03]: But the crew, my BA source informs is that they're fine, obviously there's no action being taken against them, because they're very well aware that it was [SPEAKER_03]: an honest mistake, but BA is actively trying to find who this passenger was, knowing that they have the full manifest and the details of every single person on board, this aircraft from London to LA, apparently there was some confusion as to exactly who was the passenger on that manifest list.

17:13 [SPEAKER_03]: It was one that had given out the drugs, basically, so an interesting [SPEAKER_03]: And the other part is that with airlines working in the same way, but most of them not communicating with each other because it's very, very insular, very independent. [SPEAKER_03]: You'll be surprised how not you damn, but maybe as a whole, the listeners will be surprised how [SPEAKER_03]: how little airlines communicate to each other despite the similarities, and especially if there is no link with an alliance or a code share partnership, you can have two airlines flying the same route, the same markets showing the same passengers and they will have never communicated with each other on anything, and so it's helpful that something like this actually ends up in the public domain, because what we have now is airlines all around the world,

18:01 [SPEAKER_03]: Thinking about this maybe for the first time of thinking huh, and yeah, a little a little concerned for us to add to the other growing list of concerns for our clients 100% We'll see how this develops and what comes of it [SPEAKER_00]: Some more exciting news as A350 lovers is that Air Canada who has for quite a while been heavily into Boeing for long-haul flying besides some very old A330s has announced an order for 15 Airbus A351000.

18:36 [SPEAKER_00]: So [SPEAKER_00]: Not a ton in the grain scheme of things, but still exciting news because, in our opinion, this is probably the most comfortable, currently manufactured white body jet, isn't it? [SPEAKER_03]: Absolutely. [SPEAKER_03]: I was delighted with this news. [SPEAKER_03]: The 350-1000 is going to be great for our Canada because I think it's really going to help them.

18:59 [SPEAKER_03]: unlock or optimise their ultra-long haul network and kind of days of course benefits from its position geographically but also has as an airline Air Canada has a better cost structure than US carriers. [SPEAKER_03]: So I am happy to see that this was because basically [SPEAKER_03]: In the order book in November, we could see that an airline had had selected and purchased up to 16, 8, or 50, 1000s, but they had not disclosed who the customer was and that's normal for it sometimes for different reasons.

19:38 [SPEAKER_03]: The airline makes it into the Airbus order book but it goes down as an undisclosed customer and then it will reveal itself later perhaps for its own reasons, [SPEAKER_03]: maybe they need to brief or have a leadership board consultation and kind of get to groups with the plan for the network and things before they announce to the public.

19:58 [SPEAKER_03]: So this is that order from November and deliveries are going to start in 2030, so just four years away. [SPEAKER_03]: which is pretty good because if you were not, I mean if you really went to the back of the queue now to get an A350 from Airbus is longer than four years as close to about six or seven years, so they really have that strong backlog.

20:18 [SPEAKER_03]: And the reason I also like this is because the 350, as you say, the 350, 1000 specifically, probably the best from a passenger experience perspective, long haul chat available to us today. [SPEAKER_03]: Of course, we are massive fans of the A380, but they don't manufacture that anymore.

20:35 [SPEAKER_03]: So when we're looking at what is actually possible for an airline to take today, it's amazing news for the 350, 1000. [SPEAKER_03]: And look, I don't think this is [SPEAKER_03]: the massive shift to Europe as some of the commentary has been. [SPEAKER_03]: So people were saying, oh, this is, you know, this Marks Air Canada's huge switch from Boeing to Airbus.

20:56 [SPEAKER_03]: That's not the case. [SPEAKER_03]: But it is a gentle shift in just ensuring not all the eggs are in one basket helping unlock ultra long haul, which the 350-1000 is able to provide for them. [SPEAKER_03]: but also just giving them a bit more kind of market stability with some of the fleet, right?

21:15 [SPEAKER_03]: So the U.S. is an incredibly volatile market in terms of trade and that volatility is not great for airline planning. [SPEAKER_03]: So just kind of... [SPEAKER_03]: securing an order in an environment that is a little more politically stable when it comes to trade. [SPEAKER_03]: In a measured way, without up to 16 or 351,000, I think is sound.

21:40 [SPEAKER_03]: It's a sound decision. [SPEAKER_03]: Eight options and delivery is beginning in the second half. [SPEAKER_03]: of 2030. [SPEAKER_03]: This is overall, I think, good news. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Trump has signaled his willing to use almost any avenue he can to pressure countries into doing what he wants.

21:57 [SPEAKER_00]: So as an airline, I would also assume that that extends to telling Boeing no, you can't deliver these planes to a foreign carrier if we don't want you to. [SPEAKER_00]: So, [SPEAKER_00]: From that sense, I feel like it's also reasonable to be like, okay, we actually really want these planes.

22:14 [SPEAKER_00]: We want to make sure we get them. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's stick to Europe. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the US still has leveraged a lot of leverage over Airbus. [SPEAKER_00]: And a lot of their parts are manufactured in the US, but it's probably a bit better than buying from Boeing directly in that perspective.

22:29 [SPEAKER_03]: Now, absolutely. [SPEAKER_03]: And we'll say there are all kinds of kind of wild. [SPEAKER_03]: posts and tweets from Trump about trade and Canada and tariffs and whatnot that this is as I say not the massive shift over to Europe but it is just nicely not keeping all your eggs in one basket and how could you in the cycles that aviation [SPEAKER_03]: kind of moves through over the years.

22:54 [SPEAKER_03]: We have a stronger Airbus and a slightly weaker Boeing, then we have a stronger Boeing and a slightly weaker Airbus for different reasons because of their suppliers, their supply chains and so on. [SPEAKER_03]: So again, being able to split between both, being able to have that as an option, you are better able to serve your customers and plan rather than come to them in a few years and say, you know, that plane and cabin we promise to, yeah, it's not happening now for a few years in this political uncertainty and blah, blah, [SPEAKER_03]: and all this.

23:19 [SPEAKER_03]: So it was a decent one. [SPEAKER_03]: Also, it's, I mean, the 787-9 is a nice product with a Canada. [SPEAKER_03]: I just one day, if there's a 350-1000, there's another chance to take that even further. [SPEAKER_03]: Do you think it's a new habit? [SPEAKER_00]: Come on. [SPEAKER_00]: We need to see something a bit more exciting from [SPEAKER_00]: It's painful, whatever I like trying to review our Canada, sometimes I've been checking to do it this year again and I check a word space, but then if I'm restricted with dates, I've checked price, I just cashed tickets a few times and they are just so expensive, above most of the competition.

24:05 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's just like you're paying extra for something subpar. [SPEAKER_03]: So that's just a subpar as well, isn't it? [SPEAKER_03]: We've spoken about that before about that. [SPEAKER_03]: You can just can't justify this ticket prices with the kind of the rushed service or the lack of you know, I mean [SPEAKER_03]: I mean now every time I fly I kind of am looking around I'm looking around the cabin thinking you guys hungry because that's been ours and then crew nowhere to be seeing the gossiping at the back and so on so that would be a welcome chance for them to upgrade the server settlement and the past experience from what I understand though that it is going to be the 7879 seat that debuted on the 350 1000.

24:49 [SPEAKER_03]: Are you serious? [SPEAKER_03]: That's that's [SPEAKER_03]: What I understand at the moment, whether or not that is going to change by then, you know, four years quite a while, then perhaps, but it does seem at least in the commentary as well from from Air Canada themselves, they've said that they're, quote, next generation cabin design and standard including enhanced environments and an connectivity will feature on the 350,000.

25:12 [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, depends how you read into that. [SPEAKER_03]: We'll, I'll try and get further clarity on, on, on, on what that means for product. [SPEAKER_03]: Another interesting little tidbit here, Air Canada now becoming [SPEAKER_03]: only the second airline in North America, in history, to order the 3501,000 of the Delta, and the 53,000,000,000,000 so popular everywhere else, just not there.

25:32 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think United did order it, right? [SPEAKER_00]: But that order has kind of been left. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, that's the sense to be coming into, yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, the, the, in terms of a far [SPEAKER_03]: is Dota and now I kind of see lots of war messaging from Air Canada's officials on the 350 in describing as a stroke of the state of the art aircraft and highly capable providing flexibility for our diversified future at route network, playing a role in the Air Canada's next era connecting customers our hubs and our country to the world which is funny because that kind of sentiment that last bit about connecting Canada to the world and the world with Canada [SPEAKER_03]: We typically, that's really popular with really small countries or small states because it's kind of rhetoric that it lifts them out on onto the, I always remember it being really effective with a source airlines in the Azores about bringing the world to the Azores and taking Azores to the world because there's literally no other way to do that if it wasn't for air travel, so it's funny that

26:39 [SPEAKER_03]: Canada, which says, oh, no, it's not anymore, is it? [SPEAKER_03]: It's Canada, right? [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, [SPEAKER_00]: precisely.

26:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, just a small tangent. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if you saw that air trains at is completely cutting their US network. [SPEAKER_00]: Not that it was big, but they're pulling out of the US and clearly the geopolitical tension between Canada and the US makes Canada feel more isolated from the world since they [SPEAKER_00]: really only share a border with the US so on there's tension there.

27:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Global connectivity is more important than ever and I'm sure tourists will be choosing to go to other places, even Mexico, but certainly more further a field than the US going forward. [SPEAKER_03]: There has been a significant softening in demand to the US, not simply from Canada but from from everywhere and many of the [SPEAKER_03]: they are reducing frequencies to US cities and destinations because of that softening in demand and redeploying elsewhere.

27:55 [SPEAKER_03]: This is something that was definitely an overall sentiment for last year for 2025 especially for Europeans just choosing not to go to America. [SPEAKER_03]: That can't be read into [SPEAKER_03]: Just oh, it's because it's people that disagree with Trump for example, they disagree with the current going away So they're not going that's not bad.

28:14 [SPEAKER_03]: It's it's a feeling people feel that it's either not the right times go It's not attractive enough and also the situation with the dollar [SPEAKER_03]: the market volatility and people are simply exploring other options, and so it's easy if people to dismiss it as always. [SPEAKER_03]: People of a certain political opinion are avoiding the US because of certain political policies, whatever, but it's not that.

28:40 [SPEAKER_03]: Just zoom out and remove politics for the time being. [SPEAKER_03]: It is the environment that has been created in terms of trade and currency and spend that has devalued the US as a destination right now, which of course the US will be hoping comes flooding back in just a matter of months when they host the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is the hosting [SPEAKER_03]: of airlines throwing capacity at the U.S. ready to cater for this surge in demand with the with the World Cup.

29:21 [SPEAKER_03]: That's not there at the moment. [SPEAKER_03]: And so we're just going to see if that does [SPEAKER_03]: stop popping up into the, into, into the global systems. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, with coming months. [SPEAKER_00]: It's that and also just that the U.S. is so outrageously expensive. [SPEAKER_00]: That is part of why Trump was seemingly elected to try to deal with that, which of course he hasn't whatsoever, but [SPEAKER_00]: That traveling to the U.S. is just painfully expensive.

29:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Every meal, the hotels, you pay double the price of most other places for a quarter of the quality. [SPEAKER_00]: It's all just I don't see a reason if you're not going to [SPEAKER_00]: a certain select number of cities on a very generous budget. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't really see a reason to go there when there's so many other amazing places in the world.

30:11 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a hundred and ninety-seven countries to go to, so there's loads of inspiration out there. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, yeah, so like that song isn't it what a wonderful world there go so just trees the green sky's a blue you know It's outside the US too Let's let's move over to Germany to our friends luftans that start alliance where the [SPEAKER_00]: 787 has his business class seats and let Chris finally certified hooray what's happening why does this matter well This matters because I can't actually remember if we spoke about this, but we don't say I can't actually remember why it matters No, I know why it matters because we of course extensively discussed the absolute mass of the lifetons that like Chris roll out we don't need to dwell on that

31:04 [SPEAKER_00]: But a huge part of this mess has been that each aircraft has a seat from a different manufacturer. [SPEAKER_00]: So although the seat looks the same, it's experienced the same by passengers for some reason. [SPEAKER_00]: Lifetons literally went, [SPEAKER_00]: I want the A350C to be from you.

31:23 [SPEAKER_00]: I want the 787C to be from you and they want shopping or around the world to different companies to manufacture these and what happens then is that there's a whole load of additional certification that's required not only because there's new manufacturer but also just for each aircraft type and love tons has decided to go.

31:42 [SPEAKER_00]: a bit wider than they typically have by ordering this 787, 8350, and the triple 7x, and installing this on existing aircraft as well. [SPEAKER_00]: So, a part of that was that they haven't been able to get the seat certified on the 787, and that was, you know, coming out of COVID, it was like okay, [SPEAKER_00]: Things are really ramping up here, but now, by 2025, they had a bunch of 707's ready with the legacy, and they had launched a legress on the A350, so they were saying, okay, it's time to get started, but they couldn't get these seeds certified, so what they did, because they have all these aging A340s that burn through fuel like crazy.

32:26 [SPEAKER_00]: They said we're just gonna take these aircraft but fly them with four business-class seats for sale Which was only the first row the only row that could get certified and all the other remaining 20 something seats were Uncellable and unusable, which is so painful from an environmental perspective from a profit perspective of course [SPEAKER_00]: and from a seat availability perspective for passengers because they were flying these aircraft to cities like Toronto, which have a lot of demand, but they weren't able to deliver that.

33:02 [SPEAKER_00]: So now, what has happened, Alex, that is good news? [SPEAKER_03]: So, lifternset has been able to obtain the certification for 25 of the 28 business class seats in the cabin. [SPEAKER_03]: So, 25 of 28 can soon be occupied, and as Dan said, in these aircraft have been flying since 2025.

33:25 [SPEAKER_03]: In October, but only for it would be occupied. [SPEAKER_03]: So, as of April, Lyftanza has now put on 29, 25 of 28 leg risk businesses will be available. [SPEAKER_03]: It means that the four that haven't been able to be certified, but they hope that will come soon. [SPEAKER_03]: are able to, we'll have to stay vacant.

33:48 [SPEAKER_03]: It's interesting how Lufthansa are positioning this because they're saying, after further important milestones in the certification process, nothing now stands in the way for the approval of the [SPEAKER_03]: Firstly, this is a usual because you're taking the passengers along with you on this journey of certification.

34:08 [SPEAKER_03]: So it's not how you used to get the seat certified, then you used to introduce it. [SPEAKER_03]: And then the passengers would board and book the seat. [SPEAKER_03]: Instead, they're like, when are ready to welcome you? [SPEAKER_03]: Not you, not you for, not you, not you guys. [SPEAKER_03]: We have the certification isn't there yet.

34:26 [SPEAKER_03]: The CEO says, quote, I guess love, allegorous, more than one million passengers have traveled and the new cabin, since summer 2024, all you're doing is reminding us that it's been here forever and it's still trying to roll out. [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, no. [SPEAKER_03]: We're delighted to be able to offer significantly more passengers, this significantly more 25 more parakex, right?

34:47 [SPEAKER_03]: Thank you. [SPEAKER_03]: There's the top of the range product for bookings from Frankfurt's starting today. [SPEAKER_03]: Allekaris is an experience in all classes, the approval of the majority of seats on the 787-9 is an important milestone for Lufthansa and great news for our customers.

35:03 [SPEAKER_03]: So that position, this is we really are, but there's [SPEAKER_03]: come home from a long day, sit the family down for dinner and say, hey guys, 25 of 28 and now, uh, proved as part of the lockdowns of certification process and the family say, hooray, come on, it's a bit rosy isn't it? [SPEAKER_03]: It's a bit too, it's a bit noble, bit rosy, the [SPEAKER_03]: This this roller has been so messy because you know that's an understatement not only you know that the Elan had to fly the through fifties with that empty space of the bus cars coming and then yeah and then and then parking the 787 was for months because the seats were not certified you know Swiss they have the same seat and they're now having to install

35:48 [SPEAKER_03]: A 1.5 ton weight in the back of the 330s because the front is now too heavy with this seat It's a bit like we're really trying to make a leg race happen Yeah, stop trying to make a leg race happen Yeah, no one stopped you no one even asked for this exactly, but um, but they really do think it's [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if I, I mean they want to get the message out that the 787's will now have a leg race that you can be put.

36:24 [SPEAKER_03]: I get that, but it's just weird, you know, to have a lot of something to try to take us on this certification process that our passengers are really excited about. [UNKNOWN]: Are they? [SPEAKER_00]: Well, well, we're excited. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the thing is, of course, passengers are excited and not to have to fly.

36:43 [SPEAKER_00]: They're all too, too, too business anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: But it's like, they, they're also plenty of solutions to that. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, as you said, it's been more than a year and a half of a leg race. [SPEAKER_00]: So why have they not installed it on more aircraft yet? [SPEAKER_00]: We have a whole bunch of A350s with the old business where it's already certified.

37:03 [SPEAKER_00]: A whole bunch more people could experience a leg race if they just installed it there, but they are taking their sweet time. [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, understand them. [SPEAKER_03]: Well, let's leave them to work on getting the remaining four certified and quickly jump back over to now South America where American Airlines has announced a little vague, but it has announced that it will become the first airline they think to resume flights to Venezuela, but they haven't said when.

37:33 [SPEAKER_03]: There is an update in that they've filed and these documents are in the public domain to the Department of Transportation in the US to request [SPEAKER_03]: to resume services. [SPEAKER_03]: So we have some knowledge, but interestingly the Venezuelan service will initially be operated by envoy air, which is the 100% owned regional subsidiary operating on behalf of American Eagle.

37:56 [SPEAKER_03]: So flights basically are going to be on an in-brainer and they intend to launch the route [SPEAKER_03]: Venezuela kind of market itself is hugely popular with the VFR sector, right? [SPEAKER_03]: So the visiting friends and relatives and it's a guarantee for airlines who are looking for service there.

38:29 [SPEAKER_03]: the complexity of what's happened geopolitically and everything with the environment there means that we have no details on when airlines will make their return. [SPEAKER_03]: I just wonder if this was a bit too [SPEAKER_03]: let's just announce that we're going to be the first even if we're not.

38:46 [SPEAKER_03]: It just it felt a little rushed. [SPEAKER_00]: What is it? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, American is the airline of Latin America. [SPEAKER_00]: I would say they have a huge string third given their hub in Miami. [SPEAKER_00]: So [SPEAKER_00]: It makes sense for them to say that, maybe they're also trying to score some points with the administration by showing that we support this move, we're going to be there to help Americans get to and from Venezuela if they need to, but let's remember that Venezuela has been extremely poorly connected due to sanctions, due to political disagreements, so it's been difficult to get to the U.S., a lot of people have had to go through Panama to get to and from the U.S., which

39:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Has, of course, been great fun. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not an airline. [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, but remember, this is what we're, this is what inspired by the halftime show. [SPEAKER_03]: We have a new way of pronouncing these countries and it's great. [SPEAKER_00]: Precisely. [SPEAKER_00]: And then in April, we have tap and Iberia coming back to Catacas and oh, Turkish is even coming back in March, but they've been flying there all along.

39:47 [SPEAKER_00]: Because for years, there's been this fascinating international, long-haul network from Catacas, which is very, [SPEAKER_00]: Unconventional, let's say, because you've had direct flights to, of course, Moscow to Tehran, to Istanbul, so it's a different political axis, let's say, but they have had a long-haul network.

40:11 [SPEAKER_00]: The question is now, if we'll see a completely different type of network. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll see the European carriers return eventually. [SPEAKER_00]: and will this open up their aviation market, which will of course be good for consumers because not only will they have more choice, but they will also have far safer aircraft, because kind of like with Iran, they have been a whole bunch of very old aircraft taking people to and from Venezuela for the most part.

40:37 [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, this is what happens when you have, you know, the sanctions that are also targeting quote US technology means that countries like Venezuela and Iran have suffered for decades with the oldest kind of most tired aging broken. [SPEAKER_03]: aircraft across the fleet of the state aircraft, airlines and so on and so really means that some of these boats are so rare and making such long journeys it's fascinating for aviation lovers like you and I but we of course will keep an eye on the developments there and it will be interesting to see who kind of [SPEAKER_03]: Follows, I wonder if we'll get any kind of braver moves from, as you say, the European, potentially even the Middle East carriers, assessing Venezuela flights.

41:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember that Qatar was going to launch Caracas flights, weren't they? [SPEAKER_03]: Yep, so that is still going ahead. [SPEAKER_03]: Again, it's just very similar to this scenario where it's a question of when, and they were tagging. [SPEAKER_03]: But when has Las Vegas been launched? [SPEAKER_03]: yet say the people won't last week as i had a text about this a week ago i don't know if she was just a fake on i'm just a joke because remember that al-bacca announced last week yes you do not like 10 years ago that's true that's true but um... let's see if it caracca's happens i feel like i mean we tagged with bogata and i i'm right you know that is [SPEAKER_03]: Obviously, these are massively complex decisions that also involve airlines are not simply assessing whether or not their route is viable from a commercial perspective, but they're looking at security, safety, they're looking at insurance, insurance of the aircraft, insurance of the crew and pilots and so on, they're looking at divert options, they're looking at

42:27 [SPEAKER_03]: at opening a base there and employment and currency, staff, salaries, it's how do you say it's up to you? [SPEAKER_03]: I don't think so. [SPEAKER_03]: Exactly, payment gateways and and the legality and the complexity of the way in which the political environment and the duplicates government is ever evolving day by day out by hour.

42:48 [SPEAKER_03]: So I understand why these routes take time, but I think this is American is here in a similar boat, where they're probably raging on their side, but they are not yet, you know, the other bits of the puzzle are not yet figured out in order for them to have a hard launch. [SPEAKER_00]: We'll keep it because it actually let's touch on Qatar since we spoke about Qatar and we spoke about Arab us so we have nice updates from there, right?

43:15 [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, so so Bloomberg leading with an article this morning that Qatar always new CEO Hamad al-Hata is prioritizing better relations [SPEAKER_03]: with Airbus. [SPEAKER_03]: This is noting that Hamad Al-Hater made his first overseas trip as group CEO to the French headquarters in Toulouse Airbus.

43:33 [SPEAKER_03]: Of course, having their sights dotted across Europe to Luz Hamburg and elsewhere, and described his January meeting with the CEO of the Airbus Group Guillaume forri as brilliant and that Airbus is a long-standing partner. [SPEAKER_03]: of course we've spoken before about the rocky relationship over previous years during the paint dispute which was settled in 2023 and it now means that Qatar is going to take delivery of its first ever a through 21LRs which may cut [SPEAKER_03]: that first part of the air through 21 Neo order as a whole from call to four this year with a brand new business class and economy class product.

44:14 [SPEAKER_03]: So that means we're seeing new aircraft type and new cabins from Qatar always on the [SPEAKER_00]: Hmm. [SPEAKER_00]: We're excited for that. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm excited. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm praying. [SPEAKER_00]: I have candles out every night. [SPEAKER_00]: I have a little shrine that has a picture of guitar airways in the Gothenburg with an E321 in it.

44:37 [SPEAKER_00]: So this is, I'm sending the energy out there, okay? [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_03]: Well, the article guys want to explain that harmonizing and refreshing the existing fleet. [SPEAKER_03]: is an ultimate at the top of the new CEO Hammondell Hearters agenda with aircraft that will start to face doubt once new aircraft joined the fleet.

44:58 [SPEAKER_03]: So it's also, I think, a notable either reset or warming in European relations with Airbus there. [SPEAKER_03]: And you have to, you have to be sensible with it. [SPEAKER_03]: For a viewer in airline, just as we had discussed right at the beginning [SPEAKER_03]: you know, not having all your eggs in one basket and being able to ensure that you have both manufacturers in this world wide, drop a lead, ruled by a bus in Boeing, ensuring you have both of them with a decent relationship exactly where you need them to be with the reassurance says and delivery time lies and so on is the best place you can be in as an airline in 2020-26.

45:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Precisely, so on that note should we jump into Q&A? [SPEAKER_00]: Let's do it. [SPEAKER_00]: I just want to start off here quickly with a message from Morgan. [SPEAKER_00]: It's not so much a question, but he shares this video that's been going around. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure a lot of you have seen it.

45:52 [SPEAKER_00]: Of a British man going berserk in Hong Kong and pushing all the check-in machines, hitting them with different things and going absolutely crazy at the airport. [SPEAKER_00]: So Morgan writes, the big check-in revolution has started. [SPEAKER_03]: Oh, God, you'll be linking us to any uprising in Morgan, not in those, listen, we have nothing to do with it.

46:18 [SPEAKER_03]: If big check-in is under attack, we merely planted the suit, but we have nothing to do with that. [SPEAKER_00]: We do not claim this attack. [SPEAKER_03]: No, that wasn't us, no, it wasn't us. [SPEAKER_03]: And we also do not endorse any violence, not even to self-service, frustrating police, [SPEAKER_00]: So, Johan says, gentlemen, I have a question for you.

46:44 [SPEAKER_00]: On a recent business class flight with Saudi from Paris to Jeddah, I had a flight attendant serving me throughout the whole flight while she was having a severe infection. [SPEAKER_00]: She was professional in the cabin, but you could clearly hear she hardly had any voice and had a runny nose, and when she was in the galley, she was coughing and like crazy, and he meant to get up from her seat on approach to get water.

47:06 [SPEAKER_00]: There must be something wrong when an F.A. [SPEAKER_00]: is allowed to work with such an infection. [SPEAKER_00]: It was obvious to everyone, including the purzer. [SPEAKER_00]: So, has this happened to you and how would you handle the situation? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's tough. [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, yeah, it has happened.

47:28 [SPEAKER_03]: twice and how I handled his brother really little father then everyone else would have because of how why do we always end up on the OCD topic series. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh no tell us what are you going to say. [SPEAKER_03]: Okay the first time I was in first class and the lady serving me was just as the gentleman there just described okay [SPEAKER_03]: she was absolutely the potting was sick so not only was she trying to not cough like crazy [SPEAKER_03]: In the small interactions with me any time she then stepped away and said, yeah, I'm just bringing this and she stepped back into the gallery She was having a fit and then you was so unwell her eyes were tiny and streaming everything So I politely asked for the CSD and I said to the CSD this poor young lady is struggling She's clearly feeling very unwell

48:26 [SPEAKER_03]: And I don't want to put her through it nor do I particularly want her having to be back and forth yet in close proximity. [SPEAKER_03]: But I kind of framed it in a way that was more about her because the genuine fact sorry for the poor girl was not well. [SPEAKER_03]: And the CST said, you absolutely right.

48:43 [SPEAKER_03]: I'm sorry. [SPEAKER_03]: I haven't had a chance to probably take in. [SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to let her rest the entire flight and get better and I was relieved and I was relieved for her and she did not work the rest of the flight because she she wasn't fit to have like on another time It was on a local's career years and years ago and the [SPEAKER_03]: This one was a small example.

49:05 [SPEAKER_03]: The guy was obviously really sick. [SPEAKER_03]: And then because there was no curtains and I was in the second row, I kept seeing him open tablets and pop pills and none very to head back and and then like try to and then but he was determined that he was going to be leaning over people with the service and everything and he offered a cup.

49:27 [SPEAKER_03]: And he held it at the rim, which is a big no, and I was like, no, no, no, I don't want it. [SPEAKER_03]: You don't want it. [SPEAKER_03]: You just last written. [SPEAKER_03]: No, no, I'm fine. [SPEAKER_03]: And I'm kind of pushing myself up against the far window and just ignoring the service and knowing engagement for the rest of the flight, even though it's starving, I'm sorry I can't.

49:45 [SPEAKER_03]: You know, someone else would have, but in that scenario, he was absolutely. [SPEAKER_03]: You know, not fit to fly either, and he is like his own reasons, and so there's the two examples. [SPEAKER_03]: What about you? [SPEAKER_00]: This is one of those things where you really have to appreciate Europe and European workers' rights and everything, because I know crew who have worked in other parts of the world and then come back to Europe and they're like, it's so nice.

50:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Even if I have a slightly sore throat, I can call up and say, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go to work and they go, [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, dear, please get well soon, take care of yourself, take whatever time you need, don't stress, and there's no consequences, which is how it should be, because for one, the passengers don't want to be around that, but more importantly, they're going to get way more sick from flying, and it's actually, could be dangerous.

50:37 [SPEAKER_00]: So it's really, it's not good. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and that's something where I wish that a lot of airlines would be more lenient with crew, because [SPEAKER_00]: I get sick a lot because I travel so much. [SPEAKER_00]: I can't even imagine crew who are in the faces of hundreds of people in this environment where it's so much easier to get sick and in a lot of parts of the world they're taking away more flights than crew in Europe as well on a more frequent basis.

51:04 [SPEAKER_00]: so they're constantly exposed to all this stuff and then not allowing them to take time off because they're unwell and discouraging people doing that I think is really bad and it also goes for pilots so we don't see it but I imagine there's a lot of sick pilots as well that are no calling in sick but are flying sick which I don't love the idea of either so we could definitely [SPEAKER_00]: Now we have a point of view from David here who says he's a pilot for the last 17 years and he wanted to offer some comments on the previous episode particularly about aviation safety and automation.

51:49 [SPEAKER_00]: With regards to the SAS takeoff, he says I'm sure the pilots on this flight have a solid understanding of what attacks he looks like in comparison to a runway. [SPEAKER_00]: When mistakes seem too obvious, not to notice, our attention should be driven to the importance of considering nuances when it comes to understanding the broad picture of what really happened.

52:07 [SPEAKER_00]: For instance, yes, it's true that taxiways have lighting a distinctive from runways with green centerlights, but the fact is, we don't know if this particular runway had green centerlights installed as not all airports or taxiways have them, let alone if they were out of service. [SPEAKER_00]: Other factors could be the previous sequence of flights these pilots were flying or the workload during the moment of the incident.

52:30 [SPEAKER_00]: There were just where there are distractions or other operational pressures like the ones discussed in your episode last week. [SPEAKER_00]: We have to wait for reliable answers to this. [SPEAKER_00]: So he's, yeah, I appreciate he's trying to share that the situation is very complex. [SPEAKER_00]: And we realize that and of course, we hope the investigation finds that the pilots were not as at fault at all and there was something else going on.

52:55 [SPEAKER_03]: Of course, yeah, no, these things are never as obvious as they seem and it's never either At most of the time it's not the obvious Kind of assumed Verdeckte either as your explanation either as to why something had happened So grateful for the input of course, and we'll come back to to you guys as we get an update on what had happened There yeah, concerning incident [SPEAKER_00]: So two final little comments here from you guys.

53:22 [SPEAKER_00]: I love when you tune in with your stories as well. [SPEAKER_00]: So Phil says, just letting you know you're not alone in your obsession with intercontinental's Balda Freak. [SPEAKER_00]: So the soap, please hope. [SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: Even funnier is that the bottle I used to quote, transport it out of the IC was Dan's favorite water, voss.

53:42 [SPEAKER_00]: So IC is intercontinental. [SPEAKER_00]: When you were talking about it before Christmas, I burst out laughing. [SPEAKER_00]: I no longer feel shame for re-homing bull-tarletries from hotels, knowing I'm a good company. [SPEAKER_02]: I love the idea that way, do we take amenities and toiletries to a better home?

54:00 [SPEAKER_00]: Giving them more rock to run around and we appreciate them more than other people. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's the point. [SPEAKER_00]: One, interesting, a quick comment about this is that I was staying at a hotel this weekend, a world of history, because world of history has a assault, which is my personal favorite, brand.

54:16 [SPEAKER_00]: And when I was there, one of you guys recognized me, so came up and said, you love the videos and turns out this person worked for a assault. [SPEAKER_00]: So, of course, we go [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, no way this is the real deal either they're doing looting it or I mean because the thing is I recognize the smell so I believe I would believe that Potentially it's diluted with some Yeah, yeah, definitely diluted I mean that's [SPEAKER_00]: But it's kind of sad, and I think, you know, we go into a discussion where she says she thinks most hotels do this, because at the end of the day, if you have a body lotion, a hand wash, and then three bottles in the shower, that's like $250 worth of products, which is a lot to pretend for someone to potentially take home in boss bottles, right?

55:20 [SPEAKER_03]: And that definitely is not diluted because it's even, I don't know, you can, it's identical, identical in texture, scent, strength, everything to the existing one that I'd had. [SPEAKER_03]: But that was a smaller bottle, also richer country, so I feel like it's, you know, there's more of the budget there, it's funny that, [SPEAKER_03]: You know, we know that In such a market, especially the US, you see the housekeepers come with the massive tanks and like you're looking at it thinking oh, that doesn't look very soft.

55:49 [SPEAKER_03]: That doesn't look very buried. [SPEAKER_00]: It does it exactly. [SPEAKER_00]: It's like Timo by retail not the real deal. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah [SPEAKER_00]: And then final comment for today from a Yilan, who says on the topic of the last episodes, I think this is the first episode about La Première, I can confirm that I was last week on an Air France flight to Beirut that had La Première and only one seat was empty, which is funny because I was listening to the last Air France episode on that flight.

56:17 [SPEAKER_00]: And Air France has been sending all types of wide bodies like the A350, Triple 7 and A77. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, lifetons are their oldest A321 CEO. [SPEAKER_00]: So there you go. [SPEAKER_00]: Quite an inconsistent product and lifetons are definitely up the game a bit by trying to introduce as we spoke about some sort of recliner seat that's a bit more comfortable to compete somewhat.

56:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, true, true. [SPEAKER_03]: Well look, it's been a pleasure as always. [SPEAKER_03]: We'll regroup the same time same place next week and as a reminder, it is always helpful if you guys will be so kind as to leave a review for the podcast specifically if you're taking if you listen to the podcast via the Apple podcast app or on Spotify.

57:05 [SPEAKER_03]: It is the fastest way that others also hear about [SPEAKER_03]: new members of our own air family as we discuss what's happening in our amazing world of aviation and all every other tangent that we just take and run away then go on and on and yeah get the idea yeah feel free to send your Q&A questions to at on-air with Dan and Alex on Instagram and we will see you all next week bye bye see you later