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In this week's show its VR flying, Air india send the wrong aircraft & one airline sends some of their fleet on hoiday to spain
In the military were off to Japan & Armando brings us another great update.
We'll also have our regular update on our 600th show which will be on Friday 22nd May.
You can get in touch with us all at :
WhatsApp +447446975214
Email [email protected]
or comment in our chatroom on YouTube.
You
Well hello and welcome to episode number five hundred and ninety four of the planes
all the UK podcast. I'm Carlos and in this week's show it's VR flying, Air India, send
the wrong aircraft and one airline sends some of their fleet on holiday to Spain.
In the military news this week we're off to Japan and Armando brings us another great
update as well and he's not with us this week. Unfortunately, Nev is he's off having
a trip somewhere, probably having a few beers or a curry, no doubt knowing Nev. Nick's not
with us this week but back with us in the pub studio. It is of course our resident captain
of the Airbus A320 and sim captain it is course captain Andy, hello Andy. Hello nice
to be back two weeks in a row. This is a rare thing isn't it? I know it's the money
we pay you I think is what it is isn't it? The what? Sorry the money. Tell you we've got
about six years of invoices that are outstanding me. I'm getting I'm going to small claims court
before long. Actually not not to small claims court. Where where there's blame there's a
claim. Yes. So that's very true. How are things are you Andy? Very good. Thanks. Yes
busy at work. Just completed writing the next training cycle. So that's all been released
which is good. Now I'm moving on to other bits and pieces. Then next week I am flying
and I'm instructing so I won't be on next week. I'm very busy. But yes, all is ticking
along nicely. Thanks. Excellent. Excellent. It's been a very busy week this week in Aviation
isn't Andy. We're crossing the globe. Very very busy week. But hopefully joining us as
well this week across in a remote studio and by remote I mean in the back end of nowhere
but it's a very nice part of he's staying here. It should hopefully all being well be
Matt Smith. No, he's not there. Excellent. That's how we like to start things here on the
show. He's disappeared. Well, hopefully we'll be back soon Andy. He's currently tending
to the dogs. Yes, he's tending to the dog. Well, Matt Smith is here. He's tending to the dogs.
He let the dogs out but he's got to get the dogs in. So yeah. But we have got loads to get
through on the show tonight including our retro airline ad of the week to Adverts this week
from the 1980s back to back which is going to be good. But Andy, would you like to introduce
the first part of the show please? Yes, it's the commercial aviation segment.
So it's a news that has dominated all the news feeds and social medias this week. It is of
course the sad news coming to us or came to us from New York's La Guadilla Airport. This is from
the BBC.co.uk and two pilots sadly died after an air-Canada aircraft carrying dozens of people
collided with a firefighting vehicle responding to a separate incident at New York's La Guadilla airport.
41 people were taken to hospital, Port Authority Executive Director Catherine Garcia confirmed
32 of them were later discharged but others had serious injuries she said. La Guadilla's airport
remained closed until at least 2pm local time on Monday, Garcia's dead and New York's mayor
or city mayor Zoran Mamdani, hope I pronounced that correctly, described it as a tragic collision
and said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating a Sunday's incident.
He said I'm grateful to our first responders who swift actions saved lives he said.
Around 2340 local time on Sunday shortly after air-Canada flight 8646 had landed from Montreal
collided with a firefighting vehicle as we know on the tarmac. The fire engine from the
border authority of New York and New Jersey was responding to a United Airlines aircraft that
reported an issue with Oda, Garcia said during the news briefing.
Video footage on social media showed the aircraft which is operated by air-Canada's regional
partners Jazz Aviation coming to arrest with his nose upturned. In audio from the air traffic
control tower at La Guadilla a staff member can be heard saying truck one stop stop stop in the
seconds before the crash. The aircraft ACRJ900 model carrying 72 passengers and four crew members
suffered significant damage. All onboard the aircraft have been a count of four Garcia
said while adding that the sergeant and police officer who were inside the fire fighting vehicle
were in a stable condition in hospital with no life threatening injuries.
Hundreds of flights were affected with carriers including American Airlines, Delta,
Airlines, Southwest and United Airlines and Air Canada and as of 8am local time terminal B
from where air-Canada operates the board showed every departing flight for Monday by one
have been cancelled. Earlier La Guadilla Airport authorities released a statement stating that
the emergency response protocols were immediately activated after the crash with the agency's chairman
and executive director on the scene with port authority police. Now I can say that for those
you follow the NTSB and the National Transportation Safety Board on YouTube and I do
they've released two separate videos on their YouTube channel in regards to this incident
I'll watch both of those today and they kind of go through the preliminary findings but I think
you've still got quite the investigation to go Andy on this. Yes and that story must have been
lifted from the BBC quite early on because sadly it doesn't mention the fact that the two pilots
sadly died in the incident. Yeah it's an absolutely horrible situation for the controllers to be in.
I certainly don't blame the controllers nobody goes to work to especially aviation we're all
mission-oriented we're there to do the job and do the best we can. Nobody goes to work to be negligent
but there's something has broken down massively in this system here. I've heard the audio
which I'm sure we all have where it started. This is where all you we always talk about the Swiss
cheese and you need all the holes to line up for something bad to happen. Well the first line is
the united aircraft declare an emergency so that takes a lot of capacity to do with that.
Then with the weird system they have in the states where the ramp is not controlled by air traffic
controls they're trying to find a stand for them. All the capacities getting sucked up then they
want to get stairs over so they're getting the fire trucks. There's quite a few fire trucks.
The controller had already cleared the the jazze aircraft to land and then cleared the fire crew to
cross the runway. The weather it was night time it was misty visibility would be very difficult.
I'm sure that the fire crews checked before they went across the runway but it's New York.
There's lights everywhere and aircraft's lights could just disappear into the the ether and
background and sadly all the holes lined up and by the time they realized it was just too lit.
It's a really tragic event and this is not the first incident in Laguardia in recent times. There's
a very close call recently where two aircraft were on the crossing runways and nearly hit as well
so this investigation is going to have to go quite deep into systematically looking at how this
airport operates. It's a very small airport heavily congested. You know you listen to the
design of ATC recordings Andy and you know obviously you can't listen to ones in UK because they're
not broadcast and like they are in the US but having an air band you know civil aviation
band receiver many years ago you could listen to like Heathrow and Gatwick and Stans the Dan
Luton talking to aircraft and everything was very slow but it was quite pronounced and spoken
reasonably you know slowly. When you listen to these air the ATC in the US it just feels like
everything is just done at about 760,000 miles an hour. Where's that just me? Oh yeah absolutely
no that's correct in the UK we have a very structured phraseology system for air traffic
control. There's a document cap 413 which is the radio telephony manual that's by the CAA and
it's slow and it's deliberate in the speaking so that everything is clear and understood and
structured and aware that everybody can understand. In America I've noticed listening to a lot of
these ATC channels the language use can be quite plain at times and in my opinion there needs to be
a more standardized and better system used around the world so we standardize everything else via
IKEA we really need to standardize air traffic control as well. How big a part and is you know
when you're doing a SIM train how big a part is the ATC or the radio calls part of I mean is that
part of the syllabus for when you're training pilots and the SIM? Yes to a degree but unfortunately
we don't have the ability to add like background chatter in and other aircraft it comes down to
the instructor the instructor has to be an instructor air traffic control ground crew cabin crew
company they have to be everybody outside of the flight deck and at times you cannot you cannot
make realistic air traffic control in the SIM it's just not possible in the morning unfortunately.
Do you think this communication is what when it comes? Yeah and when it comes to flying
it's FNC or ANC depending on which matter and the effect you aircraft to use so Aviate
navigate communicate communicate comes last the most important thing is to fly the airplane and make
sure I mean somebody's going to have to be ultimately held responsible because that's the way
the world works these ways doesn't it but it's just like I mean the pilots don't stand a chance
because they're I've figured me if I'm wrong in saying this but obviously then those is going
to be up in the air because they're coming into land and usually I believe the object for the
exercises for the back wheels to hit first normally yeah and you know as you say it's a busy
airport there's going to be lots of things going on like within the airfield and stuff as well
if you're in a big old fire truck your visibility is not necessarily fantastic so the chances of
seeing something coming down you know like from above you if you see what I mean is almost going
to be non-existent it's just such a tragic it's just a tragic tragic incident is that
once those wheels were on the ground and the reverses were selected their fit was sealed really
you can't go around you don't have the energy for that from the video footage they clearly spotted
very late as they tried to yore to the right to get away from it but yeah this the fit was sealed
sadly much like the UPS crash there was nothing they could do there it's very tragic but hopefully
as with everything in aviation when it comes to accidents we just want to learn from it
yeah try and ensure it doesn't happen again yeah absolutely this is going to be quite the
investigation I think yeah but I don't know whether the NTSB have released another video on
their site did I haven't checked but no it's just the two just the two yeah but for if we've
not seen them they are up to watch you can watch both I think they're about 25 30 minutes long
but they are quite interesting obviously puts a bit more of a focus on the job that the NTSB do
in situations like this so yeah well worth a watch rights moving on I mean you stormed my story
they call this story yeah you can you can tell you can have the next one I'll do the next one
so the next ones from flyer.co.uk and it's Logan airshaws how electric beta delivers across
highlands and islands Scotland's airline Logan air has given a real-world demonstration of how
an electric aircraft can transform aviation Logan air Royal Mail and US company beta technologies
officially kicked off the UK's first real-world electric flight demonstration series today
on the 20th of March it features the beta alia C-Toll so conventional takeoff and landing aircraft
the first official demonstration flight successfully connected Glasgow and Dundee marking a
marked day for European aviation Royal Mail which serves all 32 million UK addresses
realize heavily on Logan air's regional network to reach the most remote communities in the
highlands and islands as part of its strategy to reach net zero by 2040 Royal Mail giant is now
exploring how electric aviation can replace essential domestic flights this is a real tangible
program of flying across our network which will provide invaluable data on how an electric aircraft
could perform in a real commercial environment said Luke Faradjala hope that's right see your
of Logan air the alia C-Toll is an all-electric aircraft specifically designed for regional cargo
and passenger operations its specifications make it a natural fit for Logan air's frequent short
hop routes it has a payload capacity of up to 560 kilograms a demonstrated range of 336
and its charging time is only 20 to 40 minutes using beta's fast charge system and the aircraft
can operate from existing runways and requires no new airport infrastructure the demonstration series
isn't limited to a single route either over the coming weeks the aircraft will carry
representative letters and parcels across several key Scottish hubs to see how the technology
integrates into the existing logistics network the plan routes include Glasgow to Dundee which
has already been completed and I guess in Glasgow Aberdeen in Venice Wick and Orkney according to
beta technologies Scotland's unique geography with short distances between islands and mainland
communities make it one of the most compelling environments for validating electric aviation
I think we might have actually found a use for electric aircraft it doesn't actually looks
it looks all right you know we've obviously talked about electric aircraft on on the show a million
times and the other you get the paint jobs grit yeah you get these computer generated versions but
this is an actual actual flying actual aircraft that's actually flown it does look quite I think it's
brilliant and a fun it's also if they can if they can commit this work for this sort of specific
market the sooner you get this into full service you can develop it far quicker then and
make more changes and then we might actually see this becoming really useful yeah Richard Adams
and chatroom says reminds me of a skiver does look like a skiver and like a mini skiver yeah does
yeah yeah yeah from yeah that's look very good Darren Smith says in a chatroom there's
there's a push bike inside there and a man paddling like Matt do you get a little black and white
cat to sit on the other seat as well hey that course from Pat love that excellent now it's
so it works it's so it does work it'd be good to especially on these little short hops up north
where they have to go to these little tiny islands and that with small kind of airstrips awesome
getting supplies to people so yeah good to see it's it's really good if you if you do a few hops
between five or six islands see then you recharge for half an hour and you can hop back that's
that's really good yeah mr Smith if you would like to take the next one it's VR training
it is indeed the source on this one is afm dot arrow and the headline is uk aviation training
technology developer secures regulatory approval for VR based pilot walk around trainer oh this
is interesting sinian a uk based aviation training technology company had quoted an exeter
science park has secured approval for the uk civil aviation authority are from the uk civil
aviation authority for its tacit walk around as an other training device otd marking the first
time a virtual reality based device as received say cAA approval for pilot training the tacit
which stands for training aircrew competencies using eye tracking that's the the acronym for tacit
so this walk around system creates a repeatable high fidelity virtual environment for pre-flight
inspection training resolving the operational constraints of traditional walk around training
including aircraft availability weather dependency and the inability to safely replicate
airside defects and hazards the system uses integrated eye tracking technology to objectively
assess where trainees are looking during an inspection in measuring scanning efficiency
situational awareness visual attention inspection time and hazard detection providing quantifiable
competency data in support of the industry's transition to competency based training and assessment
at the core of the program of the platform is sinian empathetic learning engine ELE described as
an emotion AI API trained on millions of humans interactions which interpret its behavioral
and eye tracking data to generate adaptive evidence based feedback the tacit walk around is
compatible with multiple aircraft types including the Boeing 737-800 near bus a321-neo and is
positioned as a scalable solution across airline fleet as an alternative means of regulatory
sign off jet to one of the UK's leading leisure airlines is is the launch airline customer having
installed six vibe focus vision headsets across its Manchester and Bradford crew training centers
becoming the first airline to deploy the cAA approved solution operationally the tacit platform
extends across sinian's aviation and defense portfolio with the flight training module already
deployed in both civil and military pilot training environments now this does sound very very
cool very very interesting it is very techy but I mean and the obviously I mean you're used to
like dealing with simulations and stuff I mean this seems like a like a useful tool as part of
that this is awesome so it's part of a line training once you get to an airline you have to
be checked out on the walk around it's one of the requirements we do before every flight the air
check where we go around and check every part of the air frim that we can see for any damage or
anything that's unusual and it's very difficult to point out things that are wrong when they aren't
wrong on the air frim and the whole point of this walk around is that we need to be able to spot
things that are wrong and we can get rectified so this software and these devices are fantastic
because as trainers we can input defects and see if the training is actually pick up on it and
we can use the eye tracking and everything else I think it's fantastic it's the way forward
and you can sit inside in a warm room and do it in the middle of winter when normally you'd be
walking around an aircraft in a big court desperately trying to get it done as quick as possible
to get back inside in the warmth but I think there's a future exactly Andy and I think for me
that the thing that's so so good about this is in an ideal world every aircraft that is presented
to you in preparation for you know for a flight flight is presumably operationally ready if you
see what I mean so you'd like to think there is nothing to pick up if you like as part of your walk
as we're in this scenario you can like you do in the simulator you can you can throw certain
situations and scenarios at the candidate and see if they notice yeah absolutely and when you
get an aircraft as well normally it's ready but sometimes you can go out to a flight land somewhere
go out and do the water and a fan that you've hit a bird or on part of the wing which is part of
the check but yeah you will be at a design so many scenarios to use in this and because it's
competency-based training as well we can design scenarios for specific competencies involved
in doing this walk around so yeah it's it's so flexible it's expandable as well what will be
to do with it I think it's fantastic so another job for you Andy now to obviously do the scenarios
and the sims for flight for actual flying I bet you'd like to get your hands on it now you've
got to do scenarios for walkgrounds well yes and fun enough the lkn I worked for we are developing
something similar to this with another company as well so it is something we're getting stuck
into and we want to expand it further as well so cool yeah it is so cool yeah yeah it really is
right Andy we're off to sunny spine yes and this one is from the FT of all publications and
its Qatar Airways has sent 20 of its largest aircraft to a site used for long-term storage
in a sign the airline is preparing for months of disruption across the Gulf the carrier has
been transferring aircraft to a rural airport and spin which specialises in heavy maintenance
and long-term storage in the past week it sent five more aircraft on Sunday in addition to the
15 already at the site according to data from flight radar 24 many are air 380 air 350 and Boeing
787 aircraft among the largest in its fleet which typically carry passengers to its doha hub
to transfer to onward flights the airline has been running a limited service with much of its
airspace affected by the conflict in Iran which is now entering its fourth week it said the decision
to move some of the aircraft out of the Gulf was a Gulf was a temporary move until the airspace
was fully reopened due to the current situation in the region and the resulting disruption to
flight operations Qatar Airways has positioned some of its aircraft at selected airports outside
Qatar the airline told the FT this is a temporary measure and the aircraft will be progressively
returned to service as flight operations are restored to normal levels Qatar Airways is currently
operating less than a quarter of its normal services making it the most affected of the major
regional airlines while regional carriers Emirates and Etihad have resumed some schedule flights
from their bases in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Qatar's efforts to restart have been held back by the
closure of its airspace Qatar Airways told the FT it would resume operations once the Qatar
Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe full reopening of Qatar airspace Ali handrawe ibrahim
general manager of Tural Airport said the site has seen increased activity since the conflict
began we're getting more customers arriving with their aircraft he told a local television station
airlines were downsizing their fleets revising their routes and trying to keep their aircraft
in safe locations such as Europe Tural Airport is used by the industry to store aircraft for
extended periods during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic it offered several services
said John Strickland an aviation analyst including temporary storage where engine intakes were
covered and deep storage for longer periods when windows were also covered to prevent
onboard electrical systems from overheating it's a great place to store aircraft knowing they're
not going to degrade and at least at least in terms of humidity he said because of the age of
the Qatar Airways fleet it's unlikely the aircraft will be undergoing heavy maintenance at the
site he added the number of planned centre Tural does suggest it could be potentially for longer
storage with Qatar also taking opportunity to move key assets away from the risk of damage
when we saw this airport or this airfield used heavily during the pandemic
British Airways sent a lot of aircraft there as well as lots of other airlines they also had
British Airways I believe they had the 747 fighter when they had one parked here during the
pandemic as well but I think it's a wise move by Qatar to be honest if you can't
if your airfield where you keep most of your aircraft normally is in the firing lane from Iran
it's probably a good idea to move as many out as you can to keep them safe until
Qatar's business is safe again yeah I wonder if Emirates will do the same thing Andy
with a huge fleet hmm be interesting to see because Emirates are a little bit
further aware whereas Qatar is is right in the the famine lane um we have be interesting
yeah it's also great for your a few aircraft spotter all I wonder how accessible the site is
there in it's in the middle of nowhere ah probably not then I mean you can get there by car
I'll take quite some time offline and later craft or something I was going to say I get get a
local taxi driver to take you out there I'll make for a for an interesting day just hire a car
yeah be cheaper right we get where we going to now let's go to me with this next one air India
this is on erotime dot arrow air India I can't get this this is weird this story because I saw
this earlier on the week air India sends wrong Boeing 777 to Canada forcing flight back to Delhi
so air India sent a Vancouver bound flight back to Delhi after departing with what India media
described as the wrong triple seven variant for entering to Canada forcing a costly mid route
you turn after several hours in the air the airline confirmed the flight AI185 returned to Delhi
on March the 19th this year due to an operational issue and said the aircraft landed safely
according to multiple Indian outlets the aircraft operating as flight AI185 was a Boeing
triple seven 200 LR while air India approval for service into Canada covers its Boeing's
triple seven to a hundred sorry 300 ER fleet and not the LR variant the mistake was reported
discovered only after the aircraft had flown for more than four hours and reached Chinese air space
near Kunming at times of India reported the aircraft departed Delhi at 1134 local time
landed back in the Indian capital at 19 minutes past seven in the evening are nearly after
nearly nine hours a total flying time air India did not publicly confirm the wildly reported
explanation in its statement instead the spokesperson said that only that at the air flight
AI185 operating from Delhi to Vancouver returned to Delhi due to an operational issue
at the airline said the aircraft landed safely passengers were crew with disembarked and ground
teams provided assistance including hotel accommodation while efforts were made to send passengers
onward to Vancouver as quickly as possible international operating permissions can be tied to not
just an airline but also to a specific aircraft type fleets or in even individual tile numbers
depending on the destination country's regulatory process in this case the reported problem appears
to have been with the aircraft assignment error involving the two different Boeing
triple seven variants never heard this before Andy I'm guessing you probably have
well a lot of routes especially long haul routes have aircraft that are assigned to them and
approved to operate into certain countries I'm not sure in this case if it's due to maintenance
issues like when Pakistan was allowed to operate into Europe I mean it's currently blacklisted
still I believe from EASA it was on a specific set of airframes and registrations so this could be
the same thing and somewhere in the system it's got mixed up and they've just sent this aircraft
completely by or must be completely by mistake unless they were really just trying to chance it to
get in there but I believe it was the Chinese air traffic controllers that pointed out to
to the Air India pilots that you know this aircraft's not approved for entry into Canadian airspace
so yeah it's weird that it's happened there should be some form of barrier to stop this sort of
thing happening I guess that's not a problem you have with your airline Andy
no it's all the same error plans thankfully just one family nice and easy nice and easy exactly
yeah interesting story that slightly weird I wasn't expecting that but Air India been in
Singapore in the news a lot this year or is it just me I think it's I think they've been in
the news quite a lot this year I mean I I think it's been over a number a number of years
isn't it because Air India I think when they involved in one of the Boeing yeah the dream
things when that when yeah when all that sort of happened and stuff so yeah I think it's I think
it's I don't think it's narrowed down to just this year is essentially what I'm going with that
right stick him with you Matt and this is hopefully not going to impact anyone's holidays this year
but better not do anyway I think you could almost guarantee that it'll certainly happen to you or
me Carlos because that seems to be the way these things happen anyway Mira.co.uk is the source for
this one and the headline is airlines making plans for jet fuel shortages including possible
cancellations to airlines are drawing up emergency plans to cope with jet fuel shortages according
to reports industry chiefs fear a hits to stocks could begin to be felt within a matter of weeks
as the Middle East conflict threatens the flow of supplies the price of jet fuel has already
doubled since the US and Israel launched missile attacks on Iran at the end of March the surge
if it continues grisks higher fares for passengers airline chiefs also complain that they are unsure
about the availability of jet fuel supplies beyond next month it comes as many families prepare
for the looming east to get away although the bigger impact could come in the summer unless the
war has been resolved some countries including the UK and elsewhere in Europe are believed to have
sufficient stocks of jet fuel for now the bigger issue is for long haul carriers when traveling
elsewhere and nervousness about having to refuel for the return leg Ben Smith chief executive of
Air France KLM said that we're putting in plans today to draw up scenarios on how we would
deal with a shortage of fuel the hit two supplies could be felt more in some areas of the world
than others however Mr Smith told not me told the financial times south east Asia is much more
dependent on fuel coming over the Gulf than Europe is we can get fuel out of Europe but when we
go to a southeast Asian city we're not going to be able to fly the plane back there's no fuel you
can't fly a Kenton Kenton Jarvis use the boss of budget airline easy jet said that supplies
had that supplies had assured it of fuel deliveries for the next three weeks but no one's telling us
we have no immediate issues in six weeks because they're not prepared to say that Mr Jarvis
added will you also the director of general of international air transport association
and form of us of British Airways warned this is a bigger supply issue than we've seen before
a hit to supplies could result in airlines reducing their number of flights with a knock-on to
passengers from availability and potentially higher prices yes I know there lines are currently
looking at their shed jewels from April onwards and starting to chop out routes that are not
they forming but yeah yeah absolutely and I suppose the other
side of things I suppose if you're lucky enough that you've got a flight where it's returning to
where you know so like if it's a UK-based flight and it's going out to you know somewhere in
Europe and then coming back then you think what because you know the situation where you are at
the moment but I mean realistically how much information is going to be reliable if you like as
you say with the long haul people where you've got to go out to let's say Australia for example
I mean what's the you know are you you know are you going to potentially run into problems not
having enough to get home yeah and you can tank tank a fuel which is carry as much as you can so
that you don't need to pick up as much down route there's always a cost with that because it's
makes the aircraft heavier so there's more drag and you burn more fuel than you would have normally
it's all got to be balanced up but yeah South East Asia as it serves in the stories heavily
reliant on fuel from the Gulf I believe where in Europe and America it's topped out a $100
a barrel down in the Asia you're looking at $200 a barrel at the moment oh wow that's how much
they rely on it so yeah it's unless this gets resolved pronto it's going to start dragging
into summer and start making things very interesting and difficult as long as it doesn't drag us
back into the same position we're enduring COVID really people will start to get nervous about
traveling and then we have to start thinking about jobs then as well so let's hope it doesn't get
to that point yeah Darren Smith says in the chat room that the Logan air electric plane
but could become very popular when that fuel arrives yes yes it took quite a few hops to get down
to down to Alicante stopping off to charge up every time and only taking around 10 passengers but
you know it could it could be an option oh dear need that huge solar plane that the
flew a few years ago do you remember that one man yeah there's six million solar panels all the
way along the wing yeah well as long as I can make it to Maltor and June I'll be happy oh yeah
I mean as long as you're all right Carlos I mean you know yeah I agree everyone else hey
where would I be like my usual mecca to multi each year true true that yeah it's a lovely
segway here into the next story really if you do manage to make it abroad this Easter Spanish
French airports fierce hours of Easter delays due to post Brexit checks that old chestnut again
this one's from I thought you done with that but you care unfortunately not it appears
and British holiday makers could be hit by painful delays of several hours when heading to Europe
this Easter travel experts have warned they may need to consider arriving at airports in the EU
early the usual amid warnings the disruption caused by the new post Brexit checks could continue
over the mere bank holidays and summer some people have faced cues up to two hours at passport
control in recent months because of the entry exit system the EES where it's could be doubled to
four hours by the summer airline groups have said pointing to critical IT and staffing issues with
a new system tourists planning to use the port of Dover and Euro Tunnel have also been more
of the potential for gridlock on the roads as they head to France the biometric system which requires
non EU visitors to provide fingerprints have their passport scanned and their photos taken
began being gradually rolled out in October the process which replaces the simple
stamping of passports has been fully implemented on the 10th of April though it comes at the end
of England's Easter school holidays travel experts say a family still face potential disruption
in early July due to rollout problems passport control checkpoints at EU airports have suffered
persistent waiting times of up to two hours in recent months due to the EES checks according to
the Airports Council International Europe the organisation which represents more than 600
airports has warned that cues could stretch up to four hours or more by the summer unless critical
problems are fixed British tourists have had to wait two hours to have passport checked at
Lanza Rottie Airport in Spain recently and travel travellers previously told the i-paper of
horrific waiting horrific waits of one hour and 40 minutes at Malaga Airport was that really
horrific with arguments breaking out and the cues. Lisbon Airport in Portugal where cues reportedly hit
six hours now that's horrific was forced to suspend EES checks entirely for three months from
December. ACI Europe said waiting times have increased up to three hours at peak periods adding
that airports of France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain have been especially impacted.
The organisation said processing times had increased by up to 70 percent during the
phased rollout so far. The European Commission has said member states may suspend EES checks for
up to six hours when congestion is bad up until September. Now I think nobody's saying what the
problems with this system are and I'm finding I back in October when this was introduced I passed
through to go all airport for work. It was a bit of a wait but I did all the fingerprints,
all the pictures everything else and then every single time I've gone to Amsterdam for work recently
I have stood for at least 40 minutes in a queue to have passport stamped. Why are they not
using? Surely if you're getting your fingerprints done in your picture and everything else with a
biometric scanable passport we should be using the eGates again and that would and then get to
the side of the eGates get your passport stamped. That's what happened in Barcelona when leaving
when I was there recently. The whole system just seems to be completely discombobulated and
not the same in every airport when I think the whole point of this is meant to be a standardised
system. Have you two experienced any of it recently? I haven't flown for a long time I have to say.
Last couple of times I think it was last trip but it was to Ireland and you don't have a problem
then. No but I've not really been trying to think. I came back from Dubai a couple of years ago
they were eGates that I was using to get into and out of Dubai. I didn't have any trouble with
those as well my passport worked first go without there was no issues at all. That's not the European
system is it? No it's not. I didn't have any trouble with that at all but unfortunately that's my
only experience really. I haven't travelled in Europe for a while to be fair. Interesting to see
you Carlos in Malta. I was going to say I've only done Ireland a couple of times this year and that's
been absolutely fine but there's the agreement with the UK that we don't have to do that. We'll see
what happens in June when I head back off out to Malta and see what the crack is then but to be fair
in all the years I've been going out there. It might be worse now but last year was fine but they
are normally fairly swift to get you through passport control at Malta. There's times you've
been to an airport and you've come up to passport control and there's six million gates but only
ones open with one member of staff. Yes, three of them so often. So often. I spent like the security
lines at Stanford Airport when you're going through. You've got so many different security lines
there but there's only ever three, three, three. Every time I've been through stands at this year
to Dublin, three of those lines have been open. At the busiest time when the first flights are going
first thing in the morning. I don't get it. There's some interesting comments in the chat room.
Jenny and Rome says I don't know about post-Brexit checks but some family members almost missed their
return flight at 10 a.m. because of slow passage through customs. Jason Trussell says the last 25
years they are making it flying so difficult. It's as if they don't want people traveling around the
world. Very good. Richard Adams says what are the odds that the system gets totally scrapped after
the first big date of reach. It was poorly designed by committee so almost certain to be vulnerable.
It does seem poorly designed. If they can't implement it correctly first time round then it
lost the point. Yeah, Darren says as well. Stanford 11 o'clock at night is also a nightmare.
I've not been late. My flights have always been early out of and into Stanford but yeah,
obviously this year will be a real eye-opener for me because I'm flying out of Stanford and
back into London Norwich airport. London? Norwich. I get to see how wonderful
Norwich are during the whole, you know, security thing when we land. So that'll be interesting.
Right, let's move on to the next story. Matt, it's a tech one for you and this is sort of a shout.
I nod at Nev. I know he's not here this week but a certain airline he loves.
Yeah, absolutely. It's it's good old Starlink raising. We've had a few of these who have
certainly went to some of the American carers and things where they've got Starlink on board.
Now it's the turn thanks to the story on travel tomorrow dot com. Now it's the turn of British Airways
and they're becoming the first UK airline with Starlink on board Wi-Fi. And now it's last
November. British Airways has now officially joined the growing league of Starlink equipped airlines
bringing what is often described as the fastest connection in the sky to its passengers.
The inaugural flight featuring the new system took place on the London Houston Texas route.
The airline became the first UK carrier to introduce Starlink connectivity on a Boeing 787-8
aircraft on the 19th of March, marking a significant milestone in its digital upgrade strategy.
Installation is already underway across the 787-8 fleet with plans to roll out the system
progressively across its entire fleet of more than 300 aircraft, both long haul and short haul
aircraft over the next two years, excluding BA city flyer powered by a constellation of more
than 10,000 low earth orbit satellite. Starlink offers seamless high speed internet access at
cruising altitude. The connection is strong enough not only for messaging but also for streaming
gaming, remote working gaming. Who's going to be doing that on the aircraft seriously?
Bring your Xbox with you, plug in, remote working, shopping online and even if you're organized
enough, ordering a pizza to be ready the moment you land. Developing developed and operated by
SpaceX Starlink relies on reusable rocket technology and expanding satellite networks to
deliver low latency connectivity, a notable improvement over traditional in-flight Wi-Fi systems.
Looting a landmark moment, British Airways chairman and chief executive Sean Doyle said that the
airline was excited to be the first UK airline to bring this level of connectivity to our customers.
We know that staying connected matters to people, whether they're traveling for work or heading
off on holiday and Starlink will give our customers a fast reliable Wi-Fi that transforms onboard
experience he added. Beyond passenger comfort, British Airways noted that the upgrade is also
expected to enhance operational efficiency, improving communication between cabin crew, flight
crews and ground teams. The introduction of Starlink forms part of British Airways wider 7 billion
pound transformation program, which includes upgrades ranging from redesigned lounges to new
digital technologies and cabin improvements. This milestone is part of a wider investment in
elevating every aspect of our customer journey as we continue to modernize our airline.
Maybe you should look at the backroom systems first. Anyway, in a notable shift,
the passengers this service will be offered free of charge access across all cabins.
Until now, onboard Wi-Fi could cost between 499 and 2199, depending on usage with the free
messaging typically reserved for loyalty program members. And I've had some reasonable experience
with certainly the non-commercial version of Starlink. In the main, it's a really good system,
it's certainly the speeds are there. I have to say I have had some significant issues with
reliability and dropping out. So I'm going to put my park radio hat on for a minute. One of our
presenters has a Starlink system and he streams his program into our servers using that and
it will usually and it is very much aligned correctly because I've been unchecked it myself.
It will quite often drop the stream probably two to three times every program.
So in terms of connectivity in flight, it's going to be good enough for a quick video call
and all that kind of thing. But when we're saying it's fast enough for gaming and stuff,
I would say it's fast enough whether it's reliable enough would be my only concern.
It depends on from the other element of this where it's saying it'll give connectivity to
crews, you know, that the crews on the plane connecting with the ground systems. It depends
on how reliant their system is on a stable connection. Laughing at the comment Matt in the chat.
Richard Adams says that you could order a pizza just for your land and then it's stone
coal by the time you've got through the additional euro checks. Well, there is that.
I'm just being a miserable middle-aged man here. I don't want to hear people's TikToks,
Instagrams. I don't want to hear them video call and granny saying that they're on an
aeroplane. I certainly don't want to hear their Netflix blaster now. Just use the Inflight
Entertainment, put your headphones on, don't ring anybody, chill out. You don't need your net on
an aeroplane. It's a place of quiet and naceness and please do not let flight crew be using
this internet as well. Yeah, I mean, I'm assuming that I'm assuming they're referred to using
it for operational purposes if you like as your communication, you know, like channel,
if you like. My dad said that would be protected. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, I have concerns.
I mean, at the end of the day, if there are any being used for entertainment and the odd video
cool then, if it drops out, it drops out. But as I say, my only nervous would be if I don't
understand enough about in flight systems and communication links required with the ground that
would use an internet connection, if you see what I mean, as to how critical they would be
in the event of a dropout. I'm guessing that this is something that your particular airline will
probably never ever invest in having on the aircraft. Certainly wouldn't give it away for free,
that's for sure. That's not with an out business model. Every time I get on a B.A. aircraft that
has Wi-Fi fitted, it's not working. So how many times is this not going to work as well?
And that's when people get in there. If you're charging people for it, the guy's not working,
oh, and I'm not going to pay for it. But if you're having it as part of your ticket essentially,
people are going to start getting annoyed when this doesn't work.
Yeah. I mean, I think it will work because I don't know, you see?
No, I mean, like the actual hardware, not working on the aircraft.
Oh, right. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Because I suppose at the end of the day, although it's got a
styling on the end of it, it's still got to essentially plug into the plane's router to
have a connection to change that. Are they? I mean, that's just going to be the same.
In infrastructure, if you like, they're just adding the method of connectivity has changed.
Interesting one. Definitely an interesting one.
Yeah. We've talked about this for years on the show. We internet on board commercial airliners.
And God, I mean, I loved it coming back from, so I had I treated myself. I think it was,
I think it was 2199 with American Airlines. And I was coming back from Charlotte. And I'll
be honest with you. I'd had a lovely time. And so I was a bit bloomin' miserable, to be honest with
you. And it was actually, I know this sounds bonkers, but it was actually really lovely.
I'll also think you'll appreciate this in the fact that I was boarding a plane and
John O'ables about to start his breakfast show. And to be able to listen to that when I was
feeling a bit miserable on my way home, all the way home. And it didn't drop out once. I have to say
for that, like for the whole three hours that I listened to his program, it didn't drop out once.
I mean, I was more excited about our system, not letting me down as well if I'm honest, but
but the fact that the onboard Wi-Fi with American Airlines, and I don't know, I assume they were using
the Philip system, which is what I know BA have used in the past, I found it pretty reliable,
to be honest with you. I mean, yeah, I had to pay the 2199 for it, but yeah, that was that was
just lovely to listen, to have a familiar face in my ears, listening, playing the music that I
like and all that kind of thing, as I was coming home. And it made what was otherwise a sad time,
a very nice time. So I mean, so there are some advantages to it, but you know, I guess me wanting
to listen to the radio, essentially, my chosen radio is very different to these people who want to
watch TikToks all day. And you know, I mean, I was able to listen to the radio. With your head for it in.
Well, yeah, don't get me started on that one. I was definitely wearing headphones.
Definitely. Good, I'm glad you were. Yeah, yeah, I was very considerate for the passengers.
Yeah, it's absolutely right. Also, I didn't want them to have to, you know, I didn't want them
listening to what it was for me, not for them, but anyway, but to be able to, you know,
when they're looking out of the window. And so I mean, because I'm listening to music,
but I'm enjoying what, you know, I'm doing looking out of the window and seeing all the clouds and
and all that kind of thing, you know, it's, yeah, I'll shut up. No, it's nice. It's nice. And
listening to John O'able's breakfast show, it always makes you happy. It makes me smile every time.
Honestly, forget the social media side of things and the watching videos and all that kind of
stuff. And do you not think Andy that on the flight deck as flight, you know, flight deck crews
that something like this has been more beneficial to you guys up the front to do certain aspects of,
you know, your, your job or not? Yeah, the connectivity is fantastic. You can get live
weather updates on the EFB, live turbulence charts, live updates on the flight plan. If they want
to reroute us, much quicker communication than via VHFA cars systems. Oh, yeah, operation,
Lee, brilliant, really good. Except you haven't got a pay for it, Andy, which is always a bonus.
Oh, yes. Yeah, um, can't unfortunately get Netflix on the PFD or the NAF display, certainly.
That would be, there must be a H in my port somewhere you could just,
just plenty of serial ports all over the aircraft with no HGMI.
Yeah, Amazon will have one, don't worry. There'll be a C port converter to a HGMI.
Darren, Darren Smith and Chapman says he used a sky phone on Delta flight back in the 1990s
to find a football score. He said that was an amazing moment for him. I mean, do you remember
the ones, is that the ones where they lift them off and then you put your credit card in the bottom?
Oh, good lord. Yeah, that kind of cost you, Darren, just that curiosity.
He's still paying off now. Yeah, that is, yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, three segments, yeah. Yeah. Honestly, the technology these days, it's incredible.
Anyway, moving on. Next one, ChronicleLive.co.uk. Good news if you live in the northern part of the UK,
especially in Newcastle, Newcastle. The story is here. Based that is EasyJet opening a new
basic Newcastle airport running 86 flights a week. The opening of the three aircraft base at Newcastle
has created 140 direct jobs. That's always good. Pilots and cabin crew with the airline operating 86
flights a week on 22 routes. The opening of an EasyJet base, which we'll see three aircraft
station at Newcastle Airport has been described as a vote of confidence for the North East.
The budget carrier opened its new base officially on Monday this week, which will support 140
direct jobs for Pilots, cabin crew with 86 flights per week to 22 destination, which is said to have.
There are 800,000 seats on offer for this summer with 22 destinations. 14 of these, which are
new to EasyJet from Newcastle and the airline's first flights to Antalya,
Corfu, Dalman, Infaida, is that Matt?
Enfida. Enfida. Thank you, Andy. Faro, Lisbon,
Malta, niece, Prague, Ruze, Ruze, Rhodes, Rhodes.
Yes. Thank you. Shamel Shake and Senna Reed. Can tell I've not been there before.
Kenton Jarvis, CEO of EasyJet said that he was incredibly proud to be operating the new
base at Newcastle. He told ChronicleLive. He said we've seen a strong demand for Newcastle
and with the growing EasyJet holidays we know that's fantastic opportunity to offer our holiday
choices to the North East. He said so what we are doing is by basing three aircraft we will be
able to increase capacity by 85% on the levels we've had before and more destinations through Europe
and beyond. The new base opens against a backdrop of uncertainty for oil and fuel prices,
as we were talking about earlier in the show, due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Mr Jarvis said that the airline was well hedged and had brought fuel in advance.
Oh, there we go. But it encouraged families who are thinking of booking holdings to do so as soon
as possible. So there we go. If you're living up in Newcastle in the UK here,
you have more child choices of destinations and way to fly with EasyJet. Good news.
Yes, some long routes in there. Well, Charmel Sheik is quite a schlep from the North East.
What's that four hours, Andy? Oh, that's five and a half to six hours,
depending on the weather. Oh, blind. Yeah, a long old trick.
Wow. But the good thing in these is, though, it's jobs. It's more piloting jobs.
Well, all the pilots have transferred from other bases.
So they have to travel? No, they've moved there. There's quite a
there's a few new pilots there as well that have drained this airline. But yeah,
no, transfer base. So within companies, you can bid to move to other bases.
Actually, on that note, Andy, question for you. When you join the airline
and get your job, your dream job, sitting in the right seat, do you get a choice of where you're
going to be based or is it the airline that says to you, you will be based at this airport
and you have no sign that matter. Sometimes, depending on your work at four,
if you've gone for someone like British Airways, you've got very limited choice of where you're
going to be based. But like the likes of jet two, two E Ryan Air, easy jet, etc, they may offer
you a choice or they may just say, this is where we need you, that's where you go on.
And that's part of the game. When I joined my airline, it was Luton or nothing. So I
moved everything and myself were not to Luton itself. I didn't live in Luton,
but I was based there for eight years. Blimey. And did you enjoy it, Andy?
I enjoyed living where I did. I lived in several places around the area. It was good for me.
Yeah. Yeah. There we go. I learned something new every day.
Right. That is where we're going to bring the commercial news segment to close this week.
But can I hand things over? Just for change this week, because we are missing a
Nev, as we know, over to Matt to introduce next part of the show.
Yes, indeed. It's time for what is a lot of people's favorite part of the show. It is the retro
airline ad of the week. And this week we head off back to the 1980s where one lucky passenger
gets a flight deck visit. And then it's time to slap on some red lipstick. This is just Carlos,
by the way, and jump on to onto the brand new Airbus 300. Or is it the love bus?
Oh,
I'm so full.
I love.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
So.
And there we go. The love bus or the A300. I don't know what to do with that. That one,
I mean, but I mean, different time, wasn't it? Yeah. Explofer lipstick on the side of your face.
Yeah. Good. Just looking in the chatroom down Smith says Philippine Airlines have named their A350s,
the love bus, apparently, these days. Oh, thank you. I mean, that's so for good man,
I'm going to hear that A300. What? What? I presume, obviously, it was the first of the surgeries.
Yes. Yeah, the A300, Matt, you know that obviously the air buses have the side sticks
on the flight deck, rather than a control yoke. The 300s, and I'm correct me if I'm wrong, Andy,
the 300s where they had just a traditional yoke for control.
His conventional flight control system, yes. Flight by way, I didn't come in until the
the A320 partly the A310 as well, which was another variant of the A300 afterwards,
but the side stick didn't appear until the 320 family. There we go. Yeah. Love that.
But I'm glad to see the young lad there doing exactly what I used to do back in the 80s.
Soon as we got airborne. What? Make a nuisance of yourself. Press. No, I was not
for making a nuisance of myself.
Oh, your audio is a bit muffly there, Matt. I think you're. I'll try that. Sorry.
There we go. Sorry, as I say, to be fair, Andy, I don't think he's changed. So he's still making
himself a nuisance on any aircraft even at 40. I'll have you know that the flight deck visits
that I've had in, well, in late or these last few years, they've either been after we've landed
before we've taken off or if we've been delayed, taken off, and I've asked to go up on the flight deck.
Yeah, for no other reason, because you can't. I'm because of a certain incident that took place,
you know, in the States, a number of years ago, Carlos, where if you managed to flight deck visits during
flight, that's called a hijacking. Yeah, absolutely. That's a very different experience when you land.
Carlos, I, I missed those. I missed those that I think they were the best bit about flight. And
it's probably, it's why that I got into heavily inter-aircraft like I did, because I always
have the flight deck visits all the time. But I think I just think it's just such a missed opportunity
nowadays with youngsters and stuff to get them into. I did, I do remember having one flight deck
visit when we were in the air, and I was flying with, I think the company was air 2000, and we were going
to Greece. The air 2000. Yeah, I think that's what it was. The only reason I remember it, because
it had the silly headphone jack where it had two prongs on it, which melted my mind, you know,
because I'd only ever come across the stereo jack right to that. But yeah, I do remember going up
to that, to that. And the biggest takeaway for me from going up there was how peaceful it was,
because I suppose you're the furthest point away from the engine's ascension, as you could
possibly get, especially the pointy bit. And, you know, to be, you know, there was no wind noise
or anything, if you like, it was all very well sealed and stuff like that. And it was nice and
toasty in there as well. It was just, yeah, it was just, it was quite sort of magical to sort of
say, I suppose the only thing is, because it was nighttime when we did it, of course, you
wouldn't see anything, because it's essentially just black, you know, but it was my favorite time to
fly. Like you said, it's cosy or little twinkling lights, you've got to turn down, got the eating,
turned up, nice bit of food on the tree table, because I get an actual table. You do this piece
and quiet. I love it. That's my favorite time of flight to, favorite time of the day to fly
at night. I love flying all night. It's lovely. Really. I was quite, I was going to say, Andy,
you're, you're so young, incredibly young that you probably never had the, the days when
past June. Oh, yeah, we did. Oh, he did. Oh, sorry, it's a pilot. As a pilot, yeah. No, no,
absolutely not. And I wouldn't allow it even if it was allowed. Now, if they brought it back in
for whatever reason, it's just too risky, in my opinion, to know, um, it's me, especially
with you, especially with you. I do not have time for all these questions. Oh, I feel, I feel
deeply upset now. Yeah, whatever. You'll get over it, Carlos. You'll, you'll find another pilot
to pick on. You'll be fine. Let's not forget, I've seen you operate at 320 in the simulator,
so please do not get in my operating seat. Good for me. I did not mean to touch the weather
part of that scene when there was flying. That was, oh, that was funny. That was funny.
Fiddled. That's yes. Yeah, turbulence. Oh, dear.
If there's one thing I could do, and that's what someone do, text stuff, and then follow through
afterwards again, using what I've learned. That's like, never did follow through from the
sand. I nearly did as well. I'm going to be honest. Carlos, stop pressing buttons, please.
Anyway, it's that it's that pleased to do the clenched teeth, particularly.
Yes. For those things, for those of you coming, coming to the 600 show, well, we'll,
we'll regalia of that story at the Sandra. It was quite the interesting time.
Right. I'll leave you to introduce next part of the show, Matt.
Oh, yes. Okay. That's right. Just throw it at me. That's fine.
Yeah. Okay. Not really sure what to say about this. I think we just got the one story this week.
And it'll be no. And all in a little video as well. Of course. Yeah. Okay. A little video.
Are we doing the video first? I will do the story first and we'll leave a video.
Let's do the story first in which case then. Carlos, it's Nev's favorite part of the show.
Press the button.
Oh, there's a link on it.
And the first story this week comes to us from, if it gets to scroll up,
there we go. Ft.com. Another fine engine, Ft1.com. Blimey.
Japan signs alarm over UK's delays to combat aircraft projects.
Yeah. Surprise. Surprise. We're delaying again.
That Japan is growing increasingly.
Don't fool about the UK's commitment to their joint fighter development program with Italy,
the crucial development work, stalled by British budgetary foot dragging.
Surprise. Surprise. The global combat air program or G cap, which aims to put next
generation fighters in the skies by 2035, is a landmark effort by Japan and the UK.
And Italy to challenge US dominance in military technology.
But a series of delays to the UK's defence investment plan is preventing the signing of a vital
contract for design and development work with Edwing, the commercial joint venture between
the three nations leading defence contractors. Frankly speaking, they said it's a terrible
situation, said one person involved in G cap referring to the hold-up of project work caused by
the UK. A second person involved acknowledged there was a sense of growing frustration on the part
of Japan. In addition to funding questions, two people familiar with the matter also suggested
the two capitals had different priorities for the program. Tokyo's main aim is to produce a new
fighter by the mid-2030s, whereas London and Rome are more interested in G cap producing a
cutting-edge system of systems, a jet that operates in concert with a swarm of drones over less
rigid timetables. One of the people said, one of them added that this could leave the UK tempted
to try and slow the timetable to make it more affordable in the short term. The friction between
the two governments comes at a time when anxieties are rising about the global security because of
the war in the Middle East and an unprecedented U.S. under the Trump administration that has urged
it's NATO allies to do more to defend themselves. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is said to have
tried to resure, I reassure even, his counterparts Sanei Takichi of Britain's commitment to the G cap
project during his visit to Japan this year. Kin Jong was in a tent or was intended to create a
successor to the current generation of jets flown by the three nations, helping to reduce
reliance on more advanced F-35 fighter supplied by the U.S., which are a mainstay for NATO air forces.
So once again, the good old UK slowing things down because we're worried about spending a few
or a few million quid to be fair. And I'm pleased to say that joining us via the interwebs,
I think he's joining us for the last, but his favourite bit of the show. Hello, Nev.
Oh, if only I'd known, I would have stayed off for a bit longer.
Have I missed anything? Anything been happening at all?
Oh no, it's been a very quiet show, Nev, as we said.
Okay. Excellent.
But no, we've just done that story. We have got a video story, Nev, this week sent us from Armando.
So yeah, do you want to, do you want to introduce the video segment from Armando, Nev?
Oh, yes. And he's been doing a regular update for us on the situation in Iran,
hasn't he? And this is the second one of his bit of a look about what's been going on from
an operational point of view and what that means for the guys and girls involved.
Hey, team, US and coalition air operations over Iran this past week are still holding a
steady pace, but the airspace is getting more and more demanding. Strike volume remains high.
In the last 24 hours, we're seeing continued pressure on both sides with ongoing strikes and
continued Iranian missile and drone activity across the region. Over the last seven days,
strike activity has remained consistent with US and and coalition aircraft continuing to target the
missile infrastructure and all of its supporting sites across Iran. Long range bomber missions
are still being flown supported by a steady flow of tanker aircraft, bridging that US into the
Atlantic, into the Middle East, but that structure hasn't changed, but it is being worked hard
in the last 24 hours. There are continued reports of strikes against launch sites,
storage areas along with ongoing air defense activity inside of Iran.
At the same time, Iran continues to launch missiles from drones across the region,
keeping pressure on US positions. All our military bases are partner infrastructure.
There's also a continued movement of personnel and equipment into the theater.
Heavy air lift remains active, reinforcing that this is a sustained operation, not a short-term
surge. So overall, the tempo is stable, but the environment remains active and increasingly
contested. What stands out this week is that operations are no longer happening in a relatively
clean environment like it was at the beginning of the conflict. There are clear signs that Iranian
air defenses are still active and able to reach aircraft operating in and around target areas.
We saw that earlier in the week with a USF-35 that had to divert after a combat mission with
indications that it may have taken enemy fire. All of that is still, well, I don't know if we'll ever
know the answer to that, but that does matter because it shows that even with a strong air power
in place, aircraft are still operating inside of this threat envelope that requires constant
attention from everybody. Over the last 24 hours, that picture hasn't ceased, hasn't eased, continued
air defense activity ongoing strike operations, so just that crews are still flying inside of that
same risk environment with no real reduction in pressure. This does change how missions are flown
instead of focusing purely on timing and weapons delivery crews now have to spend more time
managing risk, watching the enemy picture, the battle space, staying flexible, adjusting in real
time, which is things that we all train for for years and years. At the same time, the support
side of the operation is under pressure. Earlier in the campaign, there was a loss involving a tanker
during refueling operations that just continues to highlight how demanding these missions are,
especially when you're running them continuously. Everything really goes back to timing.
These strike packages depend on multiple aircraft hitting very specific points in space at
very, very specific times, sometimes all the way across the world to a 30 second window.
If anything slips, weather spacing, communications, it absolutely starts to affect everything else.
Now, add a more active threat environment and the margin for error gets even smaller. Again,
something we train for. The aircraft may need to adjust routing, change timing, spend more time
in general managing the situation than an originally planned. All of that just kind of adds friction
to the mission. And over time, that friction builds. The other factor playing in here is endurance.
We're now several weeks into sustained operations. Crews are flying long missions repeatedly.
Maintenance teams are keeping aircraft moving at an incredibly high pace. There is nothing
in the news this week that suggests that the operation is slowing down anymore. But it does
suggest that it's becoming more demanding to maintain. A few other points worth noting this week,
aircraft carrier presence in the region remains slightly reduced compared to earlier in the
campaign with at least one major aircraft carrier operating outside of the immediate strike
carrier after a long deployment. There are also continued signs that strike planning is being
paced carefully and around certain infrastructure targets, suggesting the deliberate control
over any potential escalation. In the last 24 hours, there are ongoing indications of continued
infrastructure, nuclear sites damage across key sites reinforcing that the campaign is focused on
sustained pressure over time. Now, from a cockpit standpoint, this is where operations often start
to feel a little bit different. Early on, everything is structured, everything is predictable.
A few weeks in, the workload starts to shift a little bit. Air refueling becomes more than just
a routine event. It's something that you need to get exactly right because everything depends on
it. You need to manage fuel, you need to manage timing, position, while also keeping track of
everything that's happening around you. But the battle space picker has changed since the forces
planned on going in an initial attack. When the airspace stays active, like we've seen over the
last 24 hours, from a cruise standpoint, your attention gets spread out even more. You're not
just flying the plan, you're constantly adjusting to stay inside of the plan more or less. That's where
the experience of our cruise really matters. Looking ahead, key factor is still sustainability.
Aircraft are there, the weapons are there, the question is whether the tanker support,
the maintenance, the crew endurance can keep up with that pace, and that's what's going to shape
the next phase of this campaign. For now, that's the airpicture for this week.
Thanks for listening, and we will see how this all evolves and pick it up again next week.
Hey, team, US and coalition air operations over around this past week are still holding a
steady pace, but the airspace is getting more and more demanding. Strike volume remains high,
in the last 24 hours, we're seeing continued pressure on both sides with ongoing strikes and
continued Iranian missile and drone activity across the region. Over the last seven days, strike
activity has remained consistent with US and and coalition aircraft continuing to target the
missile infrastructure and all of its supporting sites across Iran. Long range bomber missions are
still being flown supported by a steady flow of tanker aircraft, bridging that US into the Atlantic
into the Middle East, but that structure hasn't changed, but it is being worked hard in the last
24 hours. There are continued reports of strikes against launch sites, storage areas along with
ongoing air defense activity inside of Iran. At the same time, Iran continues to launch missiles
from the drones across the region, keeping pressure on US positions. All our military bases are
partner infrastructure. There's also a continued movement of personnel and equipment into the theater.
Heavy air lift remains active, reinforcing that this is a sustained operation, not a short-term
surge. So overall, the tempo is stable, but the environment remains active and increasingly
contested. What stands out this week is that operations are no longer happening in a relatively
clean environment like it was at the beginning of the conflict. There are clear signs that Iranian
air defenses are still active and able to reach aircraft operating in and around target areas.
We saw that earlier in the week with a USF-35 that had to divert after a combat mission with
indications that it may have taken enemy fire. All of that is still, well, I don't know if we'll
ever know the answer to that, but that does matter because it shows that even with a strong air
power in place, aircraft are still operating inside of this threat envelope that requires constant
attention from everybody. Over the last 24 hours, that picture hasn't ceased, hasn't eased, continued
air defense activity ongoing strike operations suggest that crews are still flying inside of that
same risk environment with no real reduction in pressure. This does change how missions are flown
instead of focusing purely on timing and weapons delivery crews now have to spend more time
managing risk, watching the enemy picture, the battle space, staying flexible, adjusting in real
time, which is things that we all train for for years and years. At the same time, the support
side of the operation is under pressure. Earlier in the campaign, there was a loss involving a tanker
during refueling operations that just continues to highlight how demanding these missions are,
especially when you're running. There we go, and they have just for you, we ran that.
Wow, unbelievable. I'm away for just over an hour and what happens?
And can I ask that we now do that again without referencing it because obviously I will now edit it
also if you just come straight out of it and I'll find the cut point and then just rejoin. So
2023 is my marker point and just come out of it as you would normally Carlos, make sure the
camera's switched to you. Yeah, okay. And thank you Armando for your update this week. We're
going to try and entice Armando to do one of these every week. Well, hopefully fingers crossed,
we'll try and entice Armando to do one these each week. I know that Nev would very much appreciate it
if Armando did the military segment every week. Yeah, definitely.
And no offense to Armando, but I sincerely hope that it won't be necessary for much more than
another few weeks to be fair, of course, because it's horrible. What's happening? Let's be honest.
Absolutely. But we move on to happier things and it is obviously our 600 show, which is
fast approaching 22nd of May this year. Nev, obviously you join us. Good to see you as always.
Any updates on the 600th? Yeah, we have a full house. No more space available. I don't think. So
thank you very much to everyone that is booked to come. Friday the 22nd of May is the date. A couple
of updates for you. We have got confirmed now while the speaker as well, which I'm delighted to
announce that our listener, Derek Smith, known as Grinner in the chat room, has kind of agreed to
give us a presentation about his military and civil aviation career. He says it's a blast through
the last 45 years as he puts it. That's going to be really interesting together with Russell Marriott
from the IWM, the aviation historian who's an expert guide. Alan White will be telling us about
his flying career as well as his varied work on the fixed wing aircraft for the RS Coast Guard.
And also, Armando is going to be giving us a talk about his time in the US military,
whilst based here in the UK, amongst other topics I am sure. So really looking forward to those
for Chaps presenting at our event. Don't forget there'll be a quiz as well for those who are
attending the event. And we'd like to thank John Falk, very much indeed for offering to
providers with some excellent prizes also to Andy as well. It was kind of donating some prizes also.
So we're just offering the Lanyards in the next week or so and also the T-shirts as well. So you've
all given us sizes that you are. I think we've just got one or two stragglers. I'll check that
up tomorrow because we're going to be giving you a 600-show T-shirt. No charge. We're paying for that.
You're very welcome to wear it with pride wherever you can. Yeah, hopefully you're going to get
those ordered very soon. And they'll be hot off the press, quite literally, hot off the press.
And as Nev said, they will be PTK branded with the 600th show on there. So it'll be a bit of a
keep-sake. It will be quite nice. But in the sky blue, we're going for the sky blue again, Nev,
as we have always done in the past. Yeah, nice, lovely. Yeah. So Nev, you've joined us. How are
things? How are things in the Bounds household? Yes, very good. Hectic been all over the place
today. Garden centres, coffees, sausage baps. I've got to try and counteract this weight loss
somehow. But no, it's been a busy week or so. Just putting some final touches to the 600th show
of details, just liaising with the Imperial War Museum again a couple of days this week. But no,
and yeah, very much looking forward to it as well, of course. So it will be a good, a good
doubt for everybody. Yeah, looking forward to it. Absolutely, looking forward to it. Right,
so we're going to start to wrap up this week's show. But Nev, would you like to run through the
socials where people can find more of us online? Of course. If you are social media inclined,
then it's Facebook, X, Instagram or LinkedIn. Just search those platforms for plain talking
UK. You can email the show podcast at plaintalkinguk.com or you can WhatsApp us plus 44,
7446, 975, 214 for comments, your aviation pictures, whatever you like. You can also subscribe
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conversation of the show by joining us in the chat room as many people have done today. Just go to
youtube.com and search for plain talking UK. Don't forget to press the subscribe and the like button
as well. As you know, this show does not come completely free of charge for at least for us.
So we are very pleased to offer you the possibility of contributing to it. And a lot of people
already do. And we're very, very grateful indeed, both on Patreon and by PayPal as well. Just go
to our website plaintalkinguk.com and you'll see a button on the top right hand side which says
support us. If you feel you can assist us with any donations, we would be very grateful to receive
them from you. All the details on our website there. Yes, thank you very much indeed,
never for that. So hopefully we'll be back again next week with the next show. But quick round
robin of what everyone is up to, what the team is up to for the rest of the week and the
weekend. So we'll start with you Andy. Any exciting things going on with you? I am very busy.
So as I said, I'm not here next week because I'll be Danny Cowick. I am flying. I am instructing.
I'm doing all of my job next week for once, which is nice. Rest of this week working from home and
then got a gig on Saturday night that I'm playing with a few friends, which should be good fun.
So yeah, keeping busy. Excellent. And just for the benefit of the listeners who might not know,
Andy, what is the instrument that you are playing? Ah, play everything. piano, guitar, bass,
ukulele, anything with strings on, I can play it. Yeah, it's got fun. Jack of all trades.
Master of none. And, Neve, how about you? Yeah, fairly quietish week, although, of course,
tomorrow is being Thursday. It's the keep fit day for the over 60s where we go in feeling very
fit and we leave not being able to move for about two days. It's got off and the lady that takes
the class takes no prisoners, that's for sure. But it's for our own good, apparently. So that's
the thing. I still can't, Jen, you believe that you're over 60 there. Seriously. It's still
very nice. I can't, I can't give a head around it. I don't understand how that's happened.
Well, I'm halfway between 60 and 70, because I mean, my 65th year. So, yes, in November,
stop talking about, stop it. It'd be 65. So, but yeah, I'm surprised I made it this far to be
perfect answer to you. And a lot of people have said that to me as well. Well, we, we're very
relieved you have, sir, a long way, long way there be another 40 or 50 years to come.
Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know about that. Anyway, so yeah, bit of, bit of keep it tomorrow,
bit of swimming Thursday and Friday. And then it's the weekend again. So the week, I tell you what,
when you're retired, you think that the week might drag a bit because you're so used to be so
busy at work, believe me, it doesn't. It goes just as quickly, if not more quickly,
than when I was working full time. That's, that's definitely the case. Your own is old as a car
you drive, Nev. Exactly right. Yeah. Oh, that's a very, uh, we end up version to the one I know,
Carlos. Well, anyway, how are you, Mr. Smith? Well, next week, I'm afraid I'm not here either.
Oh, yes. Where are you going? Well, I'm going to be in the Norwegian Fjords.
Next week. Uh, so I see on daytime TV. Sure. Why not? Uh, yeah, I can't wait. It's going to be
lovely. Um, uh, mums taking me away this time, which is nice. Um, she's taking me off to the
Norwegian Fjords. We've got, uh, one of these fancy little mini sweet things on onto board.
I'm very much looking forward to got our own little conservative tree that we can sit outside
and watch the northern lights if they should appear. So, uh, so yeah, so a very special week that
all starts on Sunday for me. So very much looking forward to that. Oh, that'd be nice. I'll take
you. You got, uh, uh, a hat and scarf, I was going to say, and I'll go and coat. Yeah,
well, no, we're in a conservatory. So we'll just sit outside and turn the heating up. That's how it
works. That's fresh air. That lovely. I mean, I'll do that one. I go for me morning walk around
the deck, I think. Uh, that'll be enough for me. So, um, you're passing through Oslo, you could
pop in and see Darren Smith, couldn't you? Oh, I don't know. I mean, if the, if the boat that is
the size of what I can only describe as a, as a floating city, um, I mean, uh, our room is 5,321.
It's, uh, yeah, yeah, it's, it's quite a scary, um, yeah. Um, yeah, I don't, I don't want to think
about the legit, you know, like the, the science behind, behind how something like that floats.
But, uh, yeah, it's, uh, yeah, if it was possible, I would, we would absolutely drop in for coffee,
but, uh, yeah, perhaps I was coming to see us on the, on the, on the, on the shoreline or something.
I don't know. Yeah. It's, uh, I have done a cruise once before. I did a Fred Olson one. This is
with P&O. Um, and so, yeah, it'll quite, quite excited. The, the, the room, I'm looking forward to the
room and, uh, couple of nights of entertainment are with, um, actual, right, like, real, like, people
off the tally. Uh, so a couple of the nights, uh, entertainment are with people off the tally,
which I'm sort of quite looking forward to. So, uh, so yeah, it's going to be fun. I should tell
you all about it upon my return. Darren Smith and the chatroom says Matt, uh, Operation cold
responses in progress. So keep an eye for fighter jets. He says, oh, goodie. Right. Okay. I was
kind of hoping, I was kind of hoping going out of that way that I could sort of forget that
that was happening to be honest with you. I must admit, we out, both me and mum have been sat
there terrified looking, looking at our emails waiting for our unit to pay us more money because,
you know, we haven't got enough fuel or something. You know what I mean? It's just like,
that's the only thing I've been a little bit nervous about is that the, you know, the fuel to,
to power the boat's gone through the roof. But as Masha says in a chatroom, Matt, it sounds lovely.
Yes, I hope so. I hope so. Yeah, well, because it's, if Carlos and I, it's, uh, it's a big year,
isn't it Carlos? It's a big year this year. It is a big year this year. And this is, uh, and I
fully plan on starting now until my actual birthday. Do it filling it, filling this year with lots of
things in the lead up to that. But yeah, it should be good looking forward to it. Excellent.
And I will be just dude, but I don't be doing a weekend, probably sleeping, falling asleep,
sleeping. And if the forecast days as it is, I should be lighting the wood burner on this weekend.
Well, yes, quite. Absolutely. But, uh, yes. So that is where we are going to bring episode five,
nine, four to a close. Big thanks to all the awesome chat room tonight. Thanks to everyone in there,
all the usual family members in there tonight joining us. Thank you very much indeed. Also,
big thanks to everyone who downloads the shows and audio podcasts each week. Massive thanks to you
as well. And don't forget to send us in an email. Say hello. Let us know what you up to. That'd be
nice. You could also leave us for a view as well on the many places where you download the show
from. So that's it for the show. I, as never's here now, I'm going to leave never to close the show
for this week so I can press all the buttons. Take it away. Very good. Well, yes. Thanks for joining
tonight. Sorry, I was a bit late on duty, but, uh, needs must, you know, and hope everyone has a
great rest of the week and the weekend. We'll be back at seven o'clock on Wednesday of next week.
Hope you have a great time. Bye for now.



