The Seat 1A Podcast Geoff Dahl and Vinod Viswalingam

In this experience we review some recent travel along with a overview of our summer travel plans. 
Severe turbulence has been in the news recently in various locations around the world. Turbulence is always there and always has been there and always will be there. Remember the words that Vinod would tell passengers concerned about turbulence "The people flying the plane have families they need to get home to tonight."
If you are concerned about the wings during turbulence, there are numerous wing flex test videos for all airplane manufacturers. Here is an example from Airbus.
We want to give a shoutout to the Layovers Podcast. Vinod was a guest interviewee of Paul on Episode 139.
Vinod tried out a Canadian ultra low-cost carrier, Flair, for the first time from Vancouver to Calgary. He shares his thoughts about the experience. Find out why Vinod says they held to the ultra of ultra low cost. Vancouver to Calgary is often a turbulent flight as flights cross the Rocky Mountains.
Turbulence can be divided into planned and unplanned turbulence. Flying into hot destinations often brings big thermals for pilots to deal with. Sometimes flights take big detours to avoid large unstable weather systems.
We discuss our 2024 travel plans.
Geoff has an upcoming round-the-world flight. The idea for the flight started when Vinod asked what a United 737 was doing in Tokyo. The trip starts from Toronto to Chicago to Honolulu on United. Then the Island Hopper in the Pacific, eventually ending up in Guam. Then a connection to Japan to one of the world's busiest single runway airports at Fukuoka. Geoff is looking forward to a domestic Japanese flight from Osaka to Tokyo. After enjoying Tokyo, onward to Copenhagen with 19 hours of flying via Singapore. Geoff has a couple of inter-European flights with Norwegian and Lufthansa. Geoff returns to Canada using a Singapore fifth freedom flight to JFK and finally to Toronto with Air Canada.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 74. "Summer Skies. 2023 Plans for Vinod and Geoff." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Vinod is travelling to Paris to work on the Olympic Games. He is looking forward to his in-flight experience with Air France. Later with family there will be trips to Portugal with TAP, Dublin with Ryanair and Paris with Aer Lingus. Vinod and family will enjoy a return flight to Vancouver together.
Maybe Geoff and Vinod will get a chance to meet up while on their adventures. Stay tuned.
If you have trip plans or experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/

In this experience we are happy to bring you a special interview with senior leadership advisor Marco Villa.
Over three decades Marco has flown more than 2800 flights and 6125000 miles.
Geoff and Marco flew together in 2022 on internal flights in Mozambique complete with a crazy trip to Nampula (listen to experience 64 for more details).
We ask Marco about his alliances and statuses. With all of these flights, Marco has almost achieved lifetime gold status on British Airways. He holds status in three different alliances along with Emirates.
It all started for Marco in the mid-1990s when flying staff standby tickets with Lufthansa, which sponsored AIESEC conferences that Marco (and Geoff and Vinod) attended. 
We ask Marco about his business travel and his top “weird” destinations. Eritrea tops the list and Tajikistan being another exotic destination.
We ask about Marco’s pet peeves – he shares his thoughts about issues on the ground, in the air and at the hotel. He also shares an interesting “worst flight on the planet”.
We ask about Marco’s travel hacks and habits and learn what he never gets on a plane without.
What airlines or hotels are at the top of Marco’s list? Marco wishes that customer service comes back at the major airlines at some point in the future.
We ask about what airlines he feels are at the bottom of the list. It is a really populated place for both major carriers and low-cost carriers.
We ask what Marco would like to see in travel for innovation. Marco also shares his emotional attachment to his paper boarding passes.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 61. "A Very Special Interview. Selling Airbus in China." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
If you have other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/

We’re happy to be back after a few months of hiatus.
In this experience we examine pets and other furry fliers, and Vinod shares a couple of trip reports.
We have talked about animals as cargo in previous experiences. Airlines should know that there is an animal in the plane. Vinod remembers a dog that escaped out of the plane in Edmonton and went missing for weeks. Geoff remembers a poor dog that made a mess of itself in the kennel. Vinod remembers a massive dog that took up a row of seats with a passenger flying from St. John’s to Toronto.
Animal kennels on board need to be able to fit under the seat under the seat in front of you.
Prior to COVID in the US, there was a large number of unique support animals brought onboard.
We saw Dexter the emotional support peacock, Daniel the emotional support duck, Fred the miniature service horse, an emotional support pig, Gizmo the emotional support marmoset and a turkey at security.
Eventually in 2020 a new rule was implemented differentiating between trained support animals and emotional support animals.
Vinod shares a story that his father would share about a passenger feeding a miniature monkey in his jacket.
Vinod shares his experience of rescue dogs flying from Taiwan to Canada.
We wonder what happens with irregular operations and delays with pets. Vinod shares his memory of rats and mice in aircraft.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 41. "What are you Shipping? The Complex World of Air Cargo." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. 
Vinod shares a couple of trip reports. 
The first was a flight from Toronto to Vancouver that was delayed by more than three hours. There was extra drama with passengers and a crying baby.
The second was a family vacation to Costa Rica. Vinod’s son had wonderful interaction with a Delta pilot in Atlanta. The return flight via Los Angeles, caused Vinod’s loathing and hatred of the airport to go up a notch.
bbc.com article 'Emotional support peacock' barred from United Airlines plane  thenationalnews.com article From horses to peacocks, the wildest emotional support animals spotted on flights   
If you have a story about pets and animals on flights, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/

In this experience we look into the reasons why airports may get much busier than normal.
We start out the podcast with a trip review of Vinod who recently flew to London-Heathrow.
It was his virgin flight on an Airbus 350. There was no free seat selection with the ticket that he purchased. When Vinod flew out of Vancouver the British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Plaza Premium lounges were all under renovation. This led to an interesting temporary lounge in Vancouver’s International departures.
The flight was quiet and uneventful with a landing at Heathrow Terminal 3. It had been decades since Vinod had flown into Terminal 3.
Vinod had a chance to meet up with Paul from Layovers while in London.
On his return to Vancouver, Vinod had a bag that was at the weight limit. Thankfully there were friendly service staff to help him with the situation. Vinod used the Flighty app which performed very well. The flight had an empty seat beside him and was quick and efficient on the trip back to Canada.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 35. "Beating the queue. Lining up strategies at the airport." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. 
We dive into events that take over an airport. Taylor Swift is a current example who has caused airlines to do incredible things.
simpleflying.com article Taylor Swift, Like A Hurricane, Prompts Airline Change Fee Waivers  Sometimes there are things that you're aware that some airports will be busy like holidays. Other times you may not be aware of things like sporting events, large conventions, trade shows or political events.
It can throw you for a loop if you don't know things that are happening at that airport.
Geoff remembers flying into Cairo during Hajj and it was a connection point for flights from all over Africa.
Finally, there are large international airshows with some beautiful aircraft that may or may not delay you when flying. But you could end up with a wonderful view from your window.
 
News Items:
simpleflying.com article United Airlines Passengers Can Now Extend Their Trip With Deutsche Bahn Tickets  simpleflying.com article Vistara Airbus A320 Turns Back After Dog Spotted At Goa Airport Runway   
If you have a story about unexpectedly busy airports, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/

In this experience we look into the world of customer service and examples when the experience goes sideways.
We review the situation of the passengers who were flying from Paris to Singapore with a farting and drooling dog in premium economy. Singapore airlines finally got the issue resolved and credited them for their experience.
In days gone by, your travel agent would have been your point of contact. Now you’re mostly on your own. Over the last four years, airlines lost many individuals who were extremely proficient in high-touch customer experience. Even more than ever, airline agents are working from home. Things that can be done virtually can be much different than in person.
A key is knowing how to be efficient and work with the people on the other side of the desk.
Geoff shares a story of a cancelled Porter Airlines flight to Newark, and the quick actions of a check-in agent to get him on another flight quicker than originally scheduled.
Vinod shares a story of remotely assisting a family member with a Cathay Pacific and WestJet check-in. He was even able to resolve some of it while sitting on his sofa!
Geoff shares a story of a flight with online information about waiving fees being much different than fees that needed to be paid in person.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 60. "We Appreciate Your Patience. Wait Times and Customer Support." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts. 
Vinod shares a story of helping a family re-locate to Ireland. The online system would not allow a check-in without paying but did the passenger need to pay?
Vinod also discusses a YVR vacuum cleaner retrieval request.
What happens online versus offline doesn’t always line up. If you are able to do things in person, you may have a better chance.
News Items:
straitstimes.com article Couple seated next to ‘snorting, farting’ dog on long-haul flight get $1,600 refund from SIA  simpleflying.com article Honolulu Airport Closed Over Medical Emergency  simpleflying.com article Only 5% Of Allegiant’s October Flights Are On Tuesdays   
If you have a story about airline customer service, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/

In this experience we take a trip into the show’s archives and review tickets and booking.
We start out with a review from Vinod about his flight in the summer with Porter from Toronto to Vancouver.
As people are looking for good fare prices, this is a good lead-in to a discussion about ticketing. We talked about ticketing in our very early experiences and are revisiting it in this experience.
The moment that you purchase the right to travel on an aircraft, you get a Passenger Name Record. Every airline has their own PNR. Make sure you don’t share pictures of your PNR online.
But airline ticketing systems are not as advanced as some would think. Sometimes an e-ticket does not get associated with the PNR. Sometimes a booking ends up only being a shell. When you need to fix it, you will need a specialized ticketing representative. This is why an airline representative can't fix it...they may simply not have the access. Vinod shares a story of checking in a passenger and somehow not noticing that there was no e-ticket associated with it.
One of the key aspects of any ticket booking is who is in control of the ticket. Is it the airline, the travel agent or someone else. An airline will do everything it can to keep the control of the ticket, including upgrades in certain circumstances. But sometimes things go sideways, and an airline needs to hand over control to another airline. In the days of paper tickets this Flight Interruption Manifest was almost like an I Owe You between airlines. Today, it all gets processed electronically.
Things can get a bit complicated when a travel agent is involved. Vinod shares a recent experience of helping with a ticket booked with a travel agent and some of the surprises involved.
We look at fare classes which are important when you have to make changes. Is your fare class available anymore when you change the ticket? What do you have to pay for cancellations and/or refunds?
We look at how much ticketing has changed with it now being much more transparent than in the past. We also answer that question asked so often "when is the best time to buy a cheap ticket?" We recommend having a budget and if your ticket is in that budget then book it and don't look back!
How much talking are airlines doing with each other? Vinod shares a story when he had two tickets flying from Toronto to London to Madrid.
If you're liking this episode experience, you may also enjoy Experience 1. "Maiden Flight." It's available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
When your Passenger Name Record is created, be very careful with entering the name and passport information because it could be very difficult to change the information.
 
News Items:
simpleflying.com article British Airways Reportedly Offering Passengers Money To Avoid Heathrow Lounges  simpleflying.com article Singapore Airlines Passengers Demand Refund After Farting Dog Disrupts Their Flight  
If you have a story about ticketing, or other experiences that you would like to share, please email us at stories(at)seat1a.org or find us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram. If you wish to support the show financially, we are on Patreon. Show notes are available online at http://podcast.seat1a.org/