
On this week’s episode of AvTalk, United and Delta Air Lines face lawsuits for charging extra for window seats without a window. Serbian investigators reveal the extent of damages to a Marathon Airlines E195 during takeoff in Belgrade and the chain of errors leading up to the flight. A Finnair ATR (operated by NORRA) has an unfortunate incident with a ground power unit. Air Canada’s flight attendants return to work and a tentative agreement could be the first domino to fall in how flight attendants across the industry are paid.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Marathon Airlines report
* Finnair ATR photo
* Ryanair Seat 11A (no window)
* Spirit Airlines flight through (over) Hurricane Erin
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Aug 22
39 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Spirit Airlines’ second quarter earnings report raises “ongoing concern” concerns and paints a bleak portrait of the airline’s future. A French notification about a Swiss investigation tips us off to a close call by an Aegean A320neo from last November.
Brazilian investigators release their final report on the collision between a GOL 737 MAX and a truck on the runway and reveal the incredible sequence of events the prevented the accident from being much, much worse and also how it could have been avoided entirely.
The US DOT Office of Inspector General has launched an audit of the FAA’s airspace organization around DCA airport and the ADS-B exceptions provided to military aircraft.
Chile has agreed to drop the charges against Ethan Guo, the pilot who landed at Chile’s Antarctic base, but Guo is still stuck for the time being.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Spirit Airlines Q2 financial report
* Aegean Airlines flight
* GOL 737 MAX vs truck final report
* US DOT OIG audit announcement
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Aug 15
54 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, what we learned from days two and three of the NTSB’s hearings on the midair collision at DCA. A Delta A330neo experiences severe turbulence, Boeing adds a new 777-9 to 777X test fleet, and Alaska Airlines unveils a new livery for its 787s. Plus, ANA retires the R2-D2 livery 787, the FAA releases proposed rules for beyond line of sight UAS operations, and Madagascar arrests two people over the transfer of a quintet of 777s to Iran.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Delta A330neo experiences turbulence
* Boeing’s fifth 777X flight test aircraft
* Cathay Pacific flights add up to 28 hours on a plane
* Alaska Airlines new 787 livery
* Nolinor’s “new” 737-200
* ANA retires R2-D2
* FAA NPRM for BVLOS UAS OPS
* 787 draws world’s largest self-portrait
* Wendover video on Scope Clause
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Aug 8
56 min

On this episode of AvTalk, what we learned from the first of three days of investigative hearings by the NTSB into January’s crash at DCA. Russian investigators peel the layers of problems that led to the crash of a Gazpromavia SuperJet. An American Airlines 737 suffers a landing gear problem and fire in Denver.
In our strange new series there’s more animal-related aviation news this week and in honor of our 330th episode, Ian gives Jason a pop quiz on the Airbus A330.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
NTSB investigative hearings
Russian investigator’s report on the SuperJet crash
American Airlines 737 playback
OIG announcement
Nordwind flight to Pyongyang
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this episode.
Aug 1
52 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian returns from Europe and Jason returns from sitting and staring at the wall for a brand new episode. We discuss the conversation around the Air India flight 171 preliminary report, a close call in Mexico City, and another in Minot, North Dakota.
Plus, things are looking up for airlines awaiting Boeing 737 MAX deliveries, the NTSB issues a final report that raises questions about moose meat and the Ship to Theseus, and someone smuggles a turtle onto a flight.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
Air India flight 171 preliminary report
Data on close call in Mexico City
Air Force statement on Minot incident
NTSB report on Alaska crash
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this episode.
Jul 25
42 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Indian investigators narrow the focus of their investigation on the crashed 787’s fuel cut off switches. Lufthansa has quite the week with a damaged A340 in need of an unpressurized transatlantic ferry flight, a diverted 747 in South America, and a loose cat locked in a lavatory. A young pilot flies to Antarctica without authorization, raising the ire of the Chilean government. A man is ingested by a Volotea A319 engine in Milan and the NTSB releases its preliminary report on the close call between a Delta A319 and a flight of T-38s in Washington DC.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* The Air Current’s report on the AI171 investigation
* Lufthansa A340 unpressurized transatlantic ferry flight
* Unauthorized flight to Antarctica
* Volotea flight in Milan
* NTSB Delta—T-38s preliminary report
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jul 11
47 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Indian investigators have downloaded the data from AI171’s recorders. Chinese authorities decline to release a report on China Southern flight 5735, citing threats to “national security and social stability.” A report on the Heathrow power station fire makes clear that it should have never happened. And a US Air Force base is being overrun by squirrels… again.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* China Eastern Airlines flight 5735 data and report announcement
* BBC summary of Heathrow transformer fire report
* Mexicana’s first E195-E2
* EASA’s take-off performance monitoring system (TOPMS) proposal
* Task & Purpose’s piece on squirrels at Minot Air Force Base
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for transcript of this week’s episode.
Jul 4
45 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss all that has happened in Middle East airspace over the past week—from the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities and elaborate diversion flights to the Iranian retaliation against US bases in Qatar and the subsequent airspace restrictions to the fragile cease fire and the gradual opening of airways.
We also ponder why nearly two weeks after the crash of Air India flight 171, investigators have still not reviewed the data from the flight data recorders even as both were recovered just days after the crash. And the NTSB holds its probable cause board meeting for the mid-cabin exit door plug blowout aboard Alaska Airlines flight 1282, find that Boeing’s safety culture and the FAA’s lax oversight contributed to the door plug’s ejection from the aircraft as it passed 15,000 feet last January.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* The B-2 tanker diversion
* NTSB probable cause summary for Alaska 1282
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 27
46 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss the crash of Air India flight 171 shortly after take off from Ahmedabad last week. What we know, what we don’t know, and possible avenues of investigation. We also examine the situation in the Middle East to see what effects current hostilities between Iran and Israel are having on commercial aviation. And we dig into the order numbers from this week’s Paris Air Show.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Flightradar24 data regarding Air India 171
* Airspace closures in the Middle East
* Paris Air Show news round up
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 20
49 min

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Silver Airways ceases operations immediately and Qantas says subsidiary Jetstar Asia will wind down flights by the end of July. The NTSB releases the preliminary report on the American Airlines 737 fire in Denver. May was a big month for Boeing, with more than 300 orders, while Airbus recorded orders for precisely 0 aircraft. This month’s Paris Air Show has the potential to close the gap.
Southwest is looking at “monetizing its order book,” while American Airlines sends the wrong 787 to Naples. And Condor operates five flights in a failed attempt to get passengers from Zurich to Heraklion.
Note: this episode was recorded prior to the crash of Air India flight 171 on 12 June. Our discussion of the crash will be available in episode 325 next week.
Helpful links for this week’s episode
* Silver Airways ceases operations
* American Airlines 737 Denver Fire NTSB preliminary report
* US restricting aerospace component exports to China
* American Airlines sends the wrong 787 to Naples
* Condor’s five flights to nowhere, A320 D-AICA
* NTSB 3-day hearing scheduled for July 31-August 2
Thank you for listening!
Thank you so much for listening to AvTalk! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review or comment on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next.
Please click here for a transcript of this week’s episode.
Jun 13
42 min
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