In this experience Vinny and Geoff share more of their experiences when, try as they may, the situation just went badly. First of all, we want to send a shoutout to fellow podcasters Plane Talking UK . We're lining up co-hosting in an upcoming episode of theirs. Stay tuned for more info. By popular demand, we're sharing more of our travel experiences – good, bad and ugly – and how we worked at resolving them or made the best of the situation. Shoutout to Sam Chui for his review of the Air India ...
Nov 04, 2019•50 min•Ep. 23
In this experience we look at the world of gate assignments, and why your plane is parked at a specific location. What is happening when you arrive at the airport and you're told that your gate is not available. We review the differences between gates and jet bridges. What does an airport need to do to prevent unnecessary mixing of passengers? What's a swing gate. What is the ramp and how is it set up? What happens on the ramp and inside the terminal when there's a last-minute gate change? What ...
Oct 06, 2019•47 min•Ep. 22
In this experience we look back on that fateful day on 11 September 2001 and how it changed the world of airport security forever. Geoff and Vinny share their experience of that day and a story from Operation Yellow Ribbon at YXY. Vinny had a university project suddenly change in focus due to incredibly long wait times at YEG security. Geoff later joined him in YYC. What exactly is pre-board screening and how do different airports do it around the world? Vinny shares his luxurious security exper...
Sep 15, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 21
In this experience we look at two rail travel adventures from Vinny and Geoff from their recent round the world adventures. In both cases they were left with a go/no-go decision point to determine if they should go on. Vinny's took place on the North-South line in Vietnam – on a trip between Hue and Da Nang. He utilized the resources available to him with local population to help him with the issue. Geoff's took place at Frankfurt station in Germany – on a trip to Dusseldorf in the midst of weat...
Sep 02, 2019•43 min•Ep. 20
In this very special experience, we join Vinny and Geoff while they both are on the road. Vinny joins the experience from the Super Lounge at Istanbul Airport (IST), while Geoff joins in from Kuala Lumpur's Sentral Station. We share some of our experiences that we have experienced while on our RTW adventures. Vinny shares initial impressions of the brand new gleaming white airport at IST and its massive lounge. He also lets us know about his unique arrival taking an airport bus from a parking lo...
Jul 16, 2019•12 min•Ep. 19
In this experience we look at Vinny and Geoff's separate round the world (RTW) adventures - Vinny's will already be underway when this experience is posted. We look at the world of booking an RTW with points travel, with stopover and mileage rules, but also how to maximize your layovers between stopovers. Vinny shares his geeking out with reviews and videos to ensure he maximizes his in-flight and lounge experiences. Just because you have an RTW ticket doesn't mean you can't supplement it with s...
Jun 26, 2019•47 min•Ep. 18
In this experience we build off a key component of the previous experience and re-visit the theme of baggage. We look at where your checked bag ends up in a plane and why it is there, along with how bags are loaded with narrow-body and wide-body aircraft. We look at what's happening when you see your bags being loaded. Why is there different weights used by airlines – 32 kilos, 23 kilos and more. Vinny looks back at how many times people tried checking in overweight bags at YYC with British Airw...
Jun 23, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 17
In this experience we are doing something a little bit different. Fan of the show, Debbie shares her nightmare travel experience from YVR to AUS. She shares the nineteen-hour saga – complete with one cancellation, one delay, one changed flight, three airlines, three changed connecting cities, dead checked bags in the bowels of YVR, and the determination of her and her husband to get to Austin along with their bags. Vinny and Geoff analyze what happened, and review how they handled the multiple t...
May 19, 2019•44 min•Ep. 16
In this experience, we look at railway to runway, using train services - that are often tied into the booking of your flight - to get to and from your airport. How does it work? How does it affect your baggage? Are you able to check in your bags at other airports besides the airport? What happens if your plane or train is late? Make sure you're catching the train at the right station. Vinny shares his city check-in experience at HKG. Does anyone still do curbside check-in? Shoutout to train trav...
May 07, 2019•49 min•Ep. 15
With summer flights coming up to and from Europe, we look into the world of Schengen and non-Schengen flights. What is Schengen and what does it mean to you as a traveller? How will you have to handle security, customs and immigration? How does the physical layout of your airport affect your connection? Vinny shares a very tight timing experience flying from IBZ-MUC-YVR on Lufthansa (LH). Geoff shares experiences having to re-jig his schedules twice through MUC on LH. What do you want to do on y...
Apr 08, 2019•55 min•Ep. 14
Condolences from Seat 1A to family and friends of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 along with those in the industry. We were all ready to go with a new experience and then WOW, it went bankrupt. What was WOW's business model...ask Valentine about a free ticket? Vinny shares his story of showing up at work in YEG and finding out Jetsgo (SG) was bankrupt...and then having to tell the pilots they were out of a job and deal with the craziness of spring break travellers. Once wasn't enough though for Vi...
Apr 02, 2019•50 min•Ep. 13
When Vinny was a kid, somehow he always ended up with an upgraded seat when flying YEG-LHR. How does an airline manage fares related to yield...and what happens when the math doesn't work out for the airline? What is a GTE? How does the airline re-jig the seating of a flight? Geoff's experience with snow delays at YYZ that got him an upgrade. Involuntary and voluntary upgrades – what's the difference? How do airlines determine who to upgrade – what's the prospective checklist? What does the upgr...
Mar 01, 2019•58 min•Ep. 12
In this episode big thank yous for your likes & support of our social media launch! We share a story from one of our followers about her cancelled JFK flight. We look at delays versus cancellations and diversions, and discuss the airline's obligations. Listener Isabel lets us know about her story about her cancelled late-night flight at JFK with American Airlines (AA) along with her husband and toddler. The journey to the closest available hotel and time for her next flight was extremely dif...
Feb 03, 2019•52 min•Ep. 11
