The Allplane Podcast

Allplane

The Allplane Podcast is all about commercial aviation and air travel. Every episode features an aviation professional that opens up for the audience a different aspect of the aviation industry.

  1. Jul 18

    The Allplane Podcast #141: ETS, CORSIA and SAF with IATA’s Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen

    Marie Owens Thomsen, Chief Economist and SVP Sustainability at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has emerged as one of the most outspoken voices in the aviation decarbonization debate. Is the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) fit for purpose? Are the EU's current sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandates fit for purpose? Are airlines carrying a fair share of the decarbonization cost burden? These are some of the questions Marie addresses regularly at industry conferences, and that we discuss in depth in today's episode. As a preview: while agreeing with the Net Zero 2050 goal, Marie - and IATA for that matter - believes the current regulatory framework in Europe is badly designed and fails to account for the dynamics of both the aviation and energy industries. True, IATA is not an impartial actor in this discussion, as it obviously represents the interests of its member airlines. But as the main target of these regulations, airlines are certainly entitled to have their voice heard, if only because, with an average profit margin that has never exceeded the low single digits, any poorly designed regulation can seriously damage an industry that is, after all, one of the pillars of global economic growth and an and an enabler of trade, tourism, human connection, and all sort of other opportunities. IATA has made its case with figures and studies, yet it's often Marie's sharp commentary that often drives IATA’s point home. It is illustrative that this conversation was, in fact, originally planned to last around 45 minutes, but the topic has so many consequential angles that we ended up talking for considerably longer, discussing what could realistically be done to ensure the airline industry meets its environmental commitments without putting its future in jeopardy. So tune in for a fascinating conversation about sustainability, environmental regulation and what these mean for airlines with IATA's Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen!

    The Allplane Podcast #141: ETS, CORSIA and SAF with IATA’s Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen
  2. Feb 25

    The Allplane Podcast #136: next gen flight tracking, with Alex Lungu (Wingbits)

    The popularity of flight tracking apps has transcended the boundaries of the aviation community and truly become mainstream. I guess most of our readers and listeners are familiar with the market leader in this space, but what if I told you the competitive landscaspe in this space is far from static? Alex Lungu is the CEO of Wingbits, a ventur capital-backed Swedish startup that is aiming to disrupt the flight tracking industry by introducing a new model to build a flight tracking community which shares differently the value it creates. It is precisely the way incentives are built into its system that has allowed Wingbits to grow fast in a matter of just over a couple of years, from a few dozen tracking stations when it launched in 2023 to some 6,000 worldwide, as we recorded this conversation. In this episode of the podcast, Alex will explain what Wingbits is doing differently from its competitors and what factors have allowed this company to grow that fast. We also discussed, more generally, how flight tracking works and how the huge amounts of data generated by the flight tracking community hold immense value that can be put to good use if the right tools are available. And this is, precisely, what Wingbits has set to do, because Alex describes Wingbits as, essentially, a data business at its core. So, tune in for a deep dive into the flight tracking business with our guest today, Alex Lungu, CEO of Wingbits!

  3. Feb 1

    The Allplane Podcast #135: advanced air mobility reality check, with Adrian Norris

    Every now and then is good to stop for a second, and take some time to think and assess what’s going on around you. If you are following the advanced air mobility industry on a day to day basis it is easy to get carried away by a deluge of triumphalist announcements and press releases. But what is real and what is mere hype? Adrian Norris is someone that not only knows the aviation industry inside out after decades of experience in different capacities, but he’s also been an aircraft entrepreneur prior to becoming a consultant. So, he knows a thing or two about the challenges of developing and marketing a new aircraft type from scratch! I’ve been following Adrian’s writings on Linkedin for quite some time. In the, he shares his critical analysis, based on objective, known facts, of some of the most prominent aviation projects going on in the world right now. Does hydrogen aviation have a future? What are the prospects for electric aircraft developers? Who’s going to win the eVTOL race, if anyone? These are just some of the topics we discuss with Adrian in today’s episode. What’s more, rather than remain in the domain of the abstract and general, we are going to name specific companies and try to assess their chances of success. So, buckle up for a ride through the volatile world of advanced air mobility. We'll try to separate hype from reality in an industry in which high hopes and promising tech collide with challenging human and physical laws, challenging economics and shifting investor sentiment!

  4. 12/18/2025

    The Allplane Podcast #134: electrifying airliner taxiing, with David Valaer (Green Taxi)

    What if the lowest-hanging fruit in aviation decarbonization was not in the air, but waiting right in front of us, on the ground? This is what David Valaer, founder and CEO of Green Taxi Aerospace thinks. A pilot since the age of 16, David has spent his whole life surrounded by aircraft, either spending summers a bush pilot in Alaska, flying F-16 fighter jets for the US Air Force or, later on, scaling up and selling a successful helicopter tech company. A few years ago, David became intrigued by the possibilities that a new generation of electric motors offered to solve one of the issues of everyday commercial aircraft operations: the amount of fuel wasted while taxiing inefficiently through airports. Did you know that between 5 and 20% of fuel is consumed by airliners while they are on the ground? This happens because most of the time aircraft use their engines to move while on the tarmac, an incredibly wasteful process which in addition to producing unnecessary carbon emissions, also strains aircraft brakes and exposes the engines to foreign object damage. What if the taxiing could be done with electric motors instead? Green Taxi is working on a system that, David promises, will be able to cut down drastically the amount of fuel aircraft consumer while taxiing. Airlines could be saving in the region of $250-300k per aircraft per year if this technology is finally implemented, not to speak of the related drop in emissions and wear and tear of equipment. I was also intrigued by this story, so after speaking with David a few times at industry conferences in the last few months, I thought it was best if he could come onto the podcast to share all the details about this promising new technology that his company is developing. So, tune in for an interesting chat about what Green Taxi can do for the environment and for the bottom line of airlines! (and also for some fascinating details about David’s earlier adventures in aviation!)

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
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About

The Allplane Podcast is all about commercial aviation and air travel. Every episode features an aviation professional that opens up for the audience a different aspect of the aviation industry.

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