In this episode of 'The Flight Pod,' Michael Arron interviews Josh Cahill, who turned his love for aviation into a successful YouTube channel. Josh talks about his journey from military aviation fascination to airline reviews, focusing on independent content and honest critiques. He shares his approach, future plans, and the importance of passion in travel. The conversation also covers his notable travel experiences, airline opinions, and favorite airports.
In this episode of 'The Flight Pod,' Michael Arron interviews Josh Cahill, who turned his love for aviation into a successful YouTube channel. Josh discusses his beginnings, from military aviation fascination to airline reviews, emphasizing independent content and honest critiques. He shares his unique approach, future plans, and the importance of passion in travel and reviews. The conversation also touches on his notable travel experiences, airline opinions, and favorite airports.
The Flight Pod's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theflightpoduk/
The Flight Pod Website https://www.theflightpod.com
Josh Cahill You Tube Channel https://www.youtube.com/c/joshcahill
Josh Cahill Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gotravelyourway/
Timeline
00:00 Introduction to the Fly Pod
00:36 Josh Cahill's Early Aviation Passion
01:18 From Blogging to YouTube Stardom
02:09 The Philosophy Behind Honest Reviews
03:54 Challenges and Rewards of Being a YouTuber
07:39 The Importance of Crew and Customer Experience
09:39 Airport Experiences and Preferences
11:43 Memorable Flights and Future Aspirations
17:46 The Journey of Hitchhiking and Life Lessons
21:22 Maintaining Integrity in Airline Reviews
23:40 Reflections on Airline Experiences
33:51 Aviation Enthusiasts Unite
34:57 Closing Remarks
[00:00:00] Welcome to The Flight Pod, exploring the lives and journeys of the most influential people in aviation and travel. I'm your host, Michael Aaron, and we're kicking things off with a high flying guest, Josh Cahill, the man behind one of the world's most watched aviation YouTube channels from couch surfing and hitchhiking to racking up over 500 million views.
Josh has turned airline reviews into a global phenomenon. He's honest, he's entertaining, and he's not afraid to say when a flight sucks. I got the chance to speak to Josh in more detail about how it all began.
I started to love aviation from a very young age, but I was more into military aviation. Interestingly, loved Top Gun, you know, so when I was, uh, when I was young, uh, that was that movie and there would always be a fighter jets flying over our house and I was always like, so, um, Like fascinated by, by aviation and, um, but never really had the desire to become a pilot [00:01:00] or, um, fly a plane myself, but just , just aviation as such was very, very, um, interesting to me.
And then I never really had anything to do with it. Went to uni, dropped out, uh, started hitchhiking around the world. So I was like very, very far away from, from anything like this. And then. Um, I started writing about airlines first. I was like, just started a blog while I was working in, in shitty jobs in Australia.
And, uh, then I went to China where I was first time working for an airline, like Hainan Airlines. So I was, uh, working there at, uh, branding and marketing. And at the same time, just for fun, I started filming my trips. So I just took a camera, uh, When I think my first flight, I was China Southern on a three 80.
Uh, interestingly, that's the one that's going to be flying for global airlines, um, very soon. And I just started like. reviewing stuff, I started like to highlight these kind of things. [00:02:00] And yeah, quite interestingly, um, it then started to grow. People started to subscribe and, um, because I think I had a very different approach.
I didn't want to do like free, uh, flights, sponsored flights, um, as such. For me, it was much more interesting to go on the flight and see how the journey evolves, you know, is it going to be a good flight? What issues do I have to deal with? So I wanted to keep it like really relatable to the. Average, um, traveler, because I'll be probably facing the same problems as they do, um, probably airlines start noticing about it, um, and they will work on their shortcomings.
Now I have a channel, I have that reach and, uh, why not, uh, try something else? I started going to all these, uh, not so popular countries in order to fly really old planes, like the Airbus A310 in Afghanistan or in Iran, um, and such.
And yeah, and then, uh, the channel just grew and grew. And, uh, obviously at the same time as like doing reviews and, uh, with [00:03:00] a strong, really strong focus on being a team customer, you know, not making any, um, uh, promotional videos for the airlines. Yeah. And this is, I think today, what, what I and my channel stand for it , at some like holding airlines responsible for all their promises they make to the customers.
So you been able to just carve your own kind of career, just from something that, started as a fun hobby, I guess, Yeah, it's just
a hobby that turned into a job pretty much now. Like I didn't have much money.
You don't need that. You just need to be passionate about something, bring your camera and go travel. And then. Gradually it grew, you know, it didn't explode overnight, you know, and, uh, still had like, uh, like the strong focus on economy travel and stuff because that was the most affordable and, uh, yeah, it's a hobby that turned into a job, but then also don't, uh, like, uh, make sure you don't turn your hobby into a job because then you don't have any hobbies anymore.
What's the deciding factor of where to go, what to do, how to do it.[00:04:00]
Um, well it always depends, like, so you gotta, the most important thing is you gotta be very reasonable, right? If I fly Ryanair and I pay 20 The crew can abuse me. They can throw stuff in my face. That's totally cool, you know, because it's a cheap flight. It gets you from A to B most of the time, um, on time.
However, when I fly an airline like Qatar Airways, for example, and they promised me to be the best airline in the world, it's a five star experience. I'm going to judge you on this. You know, this is what you give out to the customer. This is the message. This is the product that you sell to me. Um having flown over 200 different airlines, you obviously couldn't compare you can see it's like you have to make sure You also got to be reasonable in terms of crew.
Everybody can have a bad day, you know, but like the The thing is like you really look at it um from a From a perspective of, um, of a freaking flyer, you know, and then you compare with other airlines and how do they deal with certain situations? How does the airline deal with it afterwards? You know, are they going to reach out to me?
Like, [00:05:00] uh, like, are they going to work on it? I usually, when I post a video, I hear a lot about what happens behind the scenes. And generally airlines are very grateful for this because that gives them the chance to really like work. on, uh, their issues much more rapidly because it is right now trending or, or it's on the internet and a lot of people, um, see that.
Yeah. Let's say there's a new airline, you know, beyond, for example, it's something interesting. People want to see that I book a flight. I go on the flight. I judge the airline on, uh, on what they, what they promise, you know, beyond new product.
But you get on the, you get on the, on the flights and all business class flight, you think like, okay, what expectations would I have as a frequent flyer? Is it as somebody who travels, for example, Qatar Airways or Emirates or Lufthansa every week? So like, while it looks fancy and while it's a great idea.
You got to really go into details and then really you take the product apart. And this is where people sometimes say, Oh, you're always [00:06:00] complaining. You're complaining. It's not when you review something for living, you go on the plane, you take the product apart, right? And you have to talk about every aspect, food, seat, Um, little things, crew, uh, the, the ground experience.
It is so many things that, that people don't understand. They think like, Oh, he's just going there to complain. No, like it's not. And for some people who don't fly, it seems like, Oh, why is he, why is he complaining that the wet towel is not wet enough or something like that? You know? Um, so it's just a lot of experience.
And there's like, obviously you, you cater a very niche, audience as well, you know, and they, they really care about these kinds of things, you know, and in a time where you have 10 different airlines that fly from London to LA, for example, you, you do your research on where you leave your money, you know, and that is literally what I do.
Sometimes people find it's, uh, it's, it's, it's too much, you know, but like, generally there's two, 3 million [00:07:00] people watching. my videos every month. So I think there is definitely market and people are interested in, uh, in what I have to say in that sense. And it helps them make a better decision. And it also puts pressure on the airlines because, uh, there's a lot of influencers these days who do anything for free flight, you know, and, uh, there's a lot of misleading promotion then.
So I just go, you know, I pay for my own flight. I can say whatever I want. And, I just want to. Improved flying for all of us,
If you could have your own airline or even your own. airport service, what things stand out to you that you would, put in yourself,
that's a good, that's a good, that's a very good question.
Um, I think it's about people management, uh, in the end it is like, how much, uh, do you make your crew, um, a part of this whole journey? How much do you get them, um, involved? You know, if you have, if you have great motivated crew who believe in the mission of the airline, uh, I'm sure. Um, things are going to be [00:08:00] very, very different.
Because that's the lasting impression. It starts right at the door. You know, if a crew smiles at you and, and, and it's overly friendly and makes you welcome. That already is 80 percent of the flight because you, you, you know, when people are kind to each other, if somebody smiles at you, if you walk through the streets of London, how good does that feel?
You know, and it's not that much. And this is where I say, okay, maybe you might, might had, uh, uh, do you have a terrible jet lag or, or whatever, but you're all human, but you got to perform as well. You got to pay for it is you get paid for this. And sometimes it's hard. But, you know, I've worked in so many jobs where I hated it, but I still have that responsibility.
I think this is what, what some airlines cut out used to be very, very strict with the old CEO. Now they have a new one. They put a lot more trust in there to say, Hey, um, post your selfie on, on, on social media and in, in, uh, in the uniform, because we want to create brand ambassadors, you know? And if it's all about restrictions and having that fear.[00:09:00]
And that's how the airline was run on fear. It might work in the beginning, you know, but you burn them out real quick. So make them part of it, make them make it, or we are a team. We are in this together. You know, I think it's all, it all comes down to this. And then obviously there's little details where it starts about.
Which product do you offer, seats, uh, service? Like this is when it becomes very, uh, detailed, you know? But I think it all comes down eventually to the human factor. And if you have a good crew that knows exactly what's expected from them, then, uh, I think this is already like something that, um, makes you succeed in the industry.
What about airports?
God. Airports. I mean, airports is a, it's a different, it's a different ballgame now. Like airports are usually very restricted in, in the things that they can do, uh, what they can offer because most of the airline, uh, airports are, um, run by the state or on, um, [00:10:00] by, uh, the authorities. So for me, a good air, a good airport is, uh, to have the basics, you know, to have Good Wi Fi, easy to connect, uh, uh, just being customer friendly as well.
But I know with airports, I don't try to not focus that much on airports because airlines have very, very little influence on this. And like tonight, I'll be flying to Frankfurt, um, from Colombo and Colombo said, it's an awful airport. Awful, awful airport. Frankfurt as
well. I don't think. Frankfurt is not any better.
Exactly. So I must be like, in that sense, the airline has not that much of an influence on that, but they can try, um, their very best. But airports, you know what it's like. Do you have a favorite airport? Um,
It's been a while since I've actually flown to the Far East. I used to do a lot of Far East travel.
Um, I can I guess I used to love Hong Kong. Probably Shanghai has been quite good, [00:11:00] but I haven't had the chance to experience Singapore, which I believe is unbelievable.
I avoid some airports or some countries because the regulations there are just too annoying, you know, like when you find India or China, very, very, very strict rules, you know, and then there's nothing like should I really transit to India, where you have to take literally every cable out of your back.
And it's like such a nightmare. And it's so intense. You can't use Uh, you have to have printed boarding passes and stuff like that. Of course, these kinds of things matter. And it's very important also like that the infrastructure is functioning, you know, and if you have too many rules and you make it too difficult and it becomes too much of a headache, um, there's a lot of frequent flyers who say, no, I'm not going to transit to Delhi.
I take my business elsewhere. You know,
Looking at your videos, seeing your most reviewed video. The Emirates first class, uh, where you took a shower. And although that kind of done in, uh, posted 2018, how do you kind of [00:12:00] replicate. The success of a video like that.
I mean, that was 2018. It was one of the very first videos I did. It was terrible. I look at it and I think like, but at least when I look at it, you've, you've, you've come a long way, you've come a long way, but that video was never popular in the beginning.
And then it's also depends on the YouTube algorithm. All of a sudden, like a year later, it completely exploded, uh, 22 million views and I wish it would have happened to another video, uh, to be honest, because, uh, but this is how it works, the internet. You know, the algorithm is unpredictable and, uh, YouTube just picks up a video and just decides to blow it up, um, for no reason.
Um, but, uh, on views is something if you become worried about views and numbers and all that kind of stuff, you kind of lose your focus. And like, obviously, you should think, okay, what is interesting to the viewer, but what is interesting to me as well, because if I'm not interested in the story, and I don't believe in the story, I don't have the passion, I don't have the energy, why most of the people might [00:13:00]watch my videos.
So, um, it really, really, really depends what to want to focus on but I know a lot of people they think like, oh my god I have to fly this airline now because it's trending or I have to do this and that Um for me, it's just like very important to cover as many airlines as possible You know try something new but also do something good for the community as well.
This is for example why I have uh focused on not so well known airlines to put the word out there. Hey, like those little countries. We uh, Try really hard or The Afghanistan all female flight, because especially women in aviation is something that I was very passionate about it for some time, because it's like, I was like, still like 80 percent of pilots are male.
Uh, so, and through this video, we were able to save the lives of those, uh, women involved when Kabul fell in 2022. So, um, for me, it's less about the numbers, but it's also for me important to deliver, [00:14:00] uh, to my audience and bring something interesting. But now doing this for seven years. you slowly run out of airlines, you slowly run out of stories, and it's a lot harder to find something like that.
And it's like, as bigger as you get, um, as more difficult it gets as well, you know, like, and I especially experienced that recently with that Qatar Airways video, which Global headlines in that such, it's tiring, it's exhausting and, um, as many great changes as it has brought, it is something where do you think, like, why should I just always, uh, fight this battle, you know, why should I keep on going because it's mentally exhausting, you know, and yeah, I, as a, but to answer your question, um, It is not about the numbers, less about the, the subscribers.
It's just about what I feel passionate about it, you know, and what I want to do, you know, and I take my viewers with it. And if they like [00:15:00] it, that's great. If they don't, uh, you do something else, but, um, you shouldn't lose the focus on your mission. That's the most important thing.
Yeah. I like that. That's, that's a great way of looking at it.
What's been the best part of, uh, Being a YouTuber.
, I think it's the encounters that you have, you know, just like recently, um, I did the first flight of Air India, um, on the 350 and it's, it's the people that That, that come to you and say, Hey, Josh, I love your videos because of your videos.
I started my own channel because of your videos. I became a pilot because of your video. Um, I got over my mom's cancer, like whatever it is. Like there's some very touching stories where people, um, watch them and they feel good about it and it gives them demotivation. I mean, I was We were all, we all have our heroes when we were like starting whatever we wanted to start.
For me it was Casey Neistat, for example, like also a big YouTuber. And, um, I think it's about inspiring people and, and bringing [00:16:00] these stories out there. Um, I think this is what I like the most. I don't particularly like it. I think the Back in the days when I was just hitchhiking, I was a nobody and I was young that Oh, the good days.
Yeah, because nobody cares. Because it is, it is, uh, it is a hard, it's a challenge having an audience and um, and creating controversial opinions as well, like having, um, but because that's the nature of it, then you do. Reporting in a transit traditional journalistic sense, uh, investigating journalism at times and holding people responsible.
Not everybody will like it. And that is, um, what I dislike about it. But like, you know, I wouldn't have had the chance to go on a delivery flight of air Greenland. Or, um, do other amazing things that I was able, uh, to do some grateful, very grateful. And it brought a lot of amazing people into my life. Would I do it again?
I don't know. [00:17:00]
Well, what do you do if you could do it again?
Good question. Good question. Uh, what would I do? I probably would do exactly the same, but I would probably, um, um, look after myself and don't burn myself. Uh, out too much because there's a lot of like, uh, YouTubers that I mentor at the moment and, you know, I always tell them, take it easy, you know, because mental health is a thing, you know, and, and, uh, as much fun as it is in the beginning, You wake up one morning and you think like, Oh my God, this is taking a toll.
It's starting to become difficult. It's all I do 24 seven. Um, and to come to that realization, sometimes less is more, you know,
I tried to read as much about yourself as possible. Um, The hitchhiking thing, very interestingly, could you just tell me a little bit more about that just because there was, there was only a basic thing, which was the, um, you, your attempt to [00:18:00] walk from Germany to Shanghai.
Yeah, that was like, um, I mean, this is the great thing with, um, when you're young and when you're eager, you do try, you come up with a plan.
Craziest ideas and little ideas. And this is where people say it's like very important to fail, you know, and try, you know, people think like you try something and you fail and you think like you're a failure. Yeah. It's not like this. You come up with the most interesting ideas. You're young. You know, I think there's a lot less stress when you, when you're young, there's a lot less pressure and you think of the silliest things, you know, and I think so.
All the great empires were built on, on stupid ideas. You know, so that was one idea. Um, it didn't never, uh, happen. And then instead I was thinking of, um, Uh, traveling. I wanted to travel. Problem was I didn't have much money. I just dropped out of uni. And uh, so I started hitchhiking and couch surfing at the same time.
So we stayed with locals, right? So and this is this is all about growing up. You have to find solutions, [00:19:00] you know, I have no money. I have no transportation, I have no money for hotels, accommodation, you gotta be creative. And if you want something in life, this is the thing, like when I, I do a lot of like public speaking at universities with young aviation students and they like, there's no secret source, you know, if there was some secret source of getting so many views or subscribers, I tell you, right.
But it's not, it's all about how much you want it, so this is how I ended up, um, doing all this. And while you hitchhike, you learn a lot about life. Trusting people, not trusting. You have five seconds to decide, am I gonna jump in that car or not?
You met so many people and every person you meet in life teaches you one thing, you know? And, uh, not necessarily by, uh, telling you something, but like by the interactions that you have, by the vibe that they give you. Um, and so I picked all this up. over, over the years. And then obviously, um, it helped me like, I'm being educated by all these adventures, you know, like [00:20:00] uni is fun and stuff, but I can't remember barely anything that I've learned there.
It was more about the social encounters that I, that I remember. And back in the days, I think I was a little bit ahead of the time. I was like, I saw the potential in the internet and I saw that it doesn't matter like a degree or not, you know, if you can convince someone. This is all, all you need, you know, and like everything else you can learn on the internet anyways.
So, and this was pretty much my journey. And I think like, because I come from a very humble background, um, I've never had money. I, my family came to Germany as refugees. Uh, so I never had anything. So this is where I also like probably have in my videos, people can relate a lot more to me because flying in business class for me is something great, you know, something that I've earned, you know, and like, I know that.
Overall, kindness is the most important thing, so I can relate when I go to India and I see all those young 22 year, uh, YouTubers and they joke around. I can relate to this because I was no different.
I'm a kid from the street as well. [00:21:00] And I think this is what I always, uh, That's a part of the journey. Like the hitchhiking was amazing. Now, would I ever hitchhike again? Probably not. So, um, this is, this is all part of growing up. And, uh, I think I just want a good all day, which I miss so much because life now with 37 is very different than it was when you were 22.
Absolutely. You've also said that, you self fund,, your reviews. , what, what's really defining to you
um, well, the thing is like, it gets a lot harder for me to review airlines because.
Everybody knows me kind of in the industry and I said it with all like humbleness, but like people, obviously there's a lot of crew that recognizes me. So obviously they put on a show. It's a little bit of, it's a little bit of a different, um, experience, um, these days. And, uh, so right now I am pretty much just focusing on trying to do something else, you know, like, perhaps start a podcast one day as [00:22:00]well.
I think it's a very defining year 2024 for me where I see what, what's going to happen.
So tomorrow I'm going to Frankfurt because I've been nominated as best airline critic, um, of the year by the UN, uh, World Tourism Organization. So there's a big ceremony in Berlin at the ITB and, um, Which is also nice that your work gets recognized, but I don't know what, um, what, uh, there is to come,
What's next, advisory consultancy,
Yeah, I've got offers from airlines to consult them and do stuff.
But like for me right now, this is a no go because you have to be impartial, you know, like, uh, I, it's very important to me to not be associated with anyone, but there's a couple of, uh, CEOs or, uh, uh, CCOs or whatever, and they reach out and they have obviously some questions, but, um, money has never been the motivation for me.
So this is not something that is, um, Like [00:23:00] there were things like, okay, like I, how am I going to go for the next step? For me, it's very important that I'm very passionate about something. And I think I want to probably have once I'm like, say, okay, this is my last year of reviewing. I want to probably have a very long sabbatical year and do nothing and recharge and, and, and, and see what it's like, but.
You know what it's, what it is, you know, if you're not a hundred percent convinced of something, you're not going to do it. I'm 99 percent is not enough for me. So I'm open to offers, you know, if somebody wants, uh, listening here and wants to, uh, offer me a good job, I'm happy to listen.
You've had a chance to experience, the best services from the world's airlines.
What, what stands out the most from each airline? And also the worst. That's a, that's a good
question. Um, I think there is, I think consistency is something that is very important. And I usually used to get that on Qatar Airways a lot. That's why I was like last year, very [00:24:00] disappointed when it was not the case anymore for the hard product and the soft product, um, but obviously they're going to, um, um, massive transition right now, British Airways.
I'm a huge fan of British Airways, to be honest, because I always loved the crew. I've never had a bad flight in terms of crew with British Airways. And, uh, like, uh, some people may not agree, especially, um, you, who lives in, in, in the UK. Uh, I don't know.
That was like my dream airline, you know, um, Even down to the fact that, I'll mention this, my brother, uh, when I was about, I don't know, eight or nine, wrote, wrote a fake letter on a typewriter from, uh, Captain Byron, basically say that I'd been enrolled in the, uh, you know, British Airways Youth Training Scheme.
Well, I was, which was amazing because I'd never written to them, but I still fell for it. Um, you know, they always held, held a very high esteem for British Airways. I think, um, unfortunately, kind of like the flights that I kind of did, uh, in latter, latter parts of [00:25:00] life and things were, were, were never, were never really stand out compared to some of the other airlines.
Um, but I was very, very lucky. Um, that when I was about 19, I won , a return flight on Concorde. Yeah. So, um, it was to celebrate 10 years of British Airways being a PLC. They gave away a hundred seats. Um, it was a daily mail competition and you paid 10. And you, you took a flight on the Concorde.
And yeah, uh, this was, this was back probably like over 20, 25, 26 years ago. Um,
incredible.
And I just started going out with my now wife. Um, and it was like nearly Valentine's day, but basically, um, yeah, I mean, it was back in the days when like people didn't really have mobile phones. Uh, I think my mom and dad had like a big brick phone with the house phone.
Yeah. And. We didn't get through there that it was engaged engaged, but on my on mine, it was, uh, it was like ringing [00:26:00] and it rang for 45 minutes. And then, um, you know, after being told, put the phone down, don't, you know, don't waste your time. Um, I got through in the answer. It was like, hello, British Airways.
I was like, uh, I'm ringing about the Concorde. And she's like, yeah, uh, when can you go? I'm like, what? So I booked it like it was the week after Valentine's Day, but I took my, um, my wife, uh, stroke girlfriend at the time. That's
why she's your wife right now. That's why, yeah.
Unfortunately, I've never won anything else since like that, but, but for me, I mean, if I could ever win anything and never win again, then that was the, the, the perfect thing.
So, yeah, we, we went to New York return. That's kind of stuck with me as well as an experience , it was only three hour flight. Very small aircraft, um, you know, once, once you're inside it and you obviously can't see what it kind of looks like, you know, I'm still to, to this day, I'm still awed by Concorde.
I've got this slight obsession [00:27:00] with everything, reading about it. You know, and that was the
golden time, you know, the golden time. Absolutely incredible. That's where I envy, like, I mean, like, I wish I was born 10 years earlier and like YouTube would have come a lot earlier as well. And there would have been so much more adventures, you know, now we're like, well, I guess dream line, dream liners are three fifties.
You know, that's, that's what we can pick from today. We've
gone backwards. And I'll say, if you, you know, visited to Manchester airport and things, you know, we, we just get the kind of a seven, three sevens. Uh, A320s, uh, you know, 95 percent of them, um, you never really get to see anything that great. Even seeing the odd, uh, A380, you know, or Dreamliner, it's quite, quite kind of rare with Manchester.
So that's kind of all that fills the skies here. So for me, yeah, Concorde was, um, an incredible experience
can you name three things that would create the perfect flying experience?
That is, that is, that is [00:28:00] good, good food, good crew, good seat, you know, like it's actually very, very, uh, simple and that like a lot more, I think, customer focused, um, airlines who really like want to bring The joy of traveling, uh, back like, and that's why I think Global Airlines is very brave where they say, Oh, we want to bring the golden times back, it all comes down to the human experience that you, that you have on the flight, you know, like, uh, and that is, that is the three things that are most important, um, if people, if they can fly,
Three places that you'd like to go to still. Or have you been everywhere? I
have been everywhere, almost. Um, I am going on a cruise, um, to, uh, the most isolated islands in the Atlantic. Like Triste da Cunha is one of them, like the most isolated, uh, place, which is part of the, um, Commonwealth. I think UK, very interesting, um, island.
So because I've been, I've been to Antarctica recently as [00:29:00] well. All the places that I wanted to go, I visited already. for having me. Um, so, uh, yeah, like, um, slowly running out of them. So the places get much more isolated, but, uh, space space is something that would be very interesting. I don't think it's that.
That was, that was my next question. Yeah. Would I go to space? Yeah, probably. And I think it's, I think it's going to happen because things are evolving so quick and, uh, the tourism space tourism is kicking off recently. Give it another 20 years and it will probably be much more affordable. Perhaps you can go to the moon.
Uh, all sounds stupid in 2024, but in 20 years, probably when I do my blog, traveling to moon, I say, Hey, remember that podcast?
Would you be brave enough to, uh, to review Virgin Galactic? I'm not sure anyone's YouTube reviewed it yet.
So probably not. No, no, no. But sometimes you don't have to be the first so that somebody else, because it still looks a bit tricky to be honest, but, um, [00:30:00] yeah, definitely one day I think it's, it might happen.
I hope so. Fingers crossed.
Three airline experiences that you'd still want to do.
Air Korea, North Korea. I'm very much working on this. Um, my best friend, he runs tours to North Korea, and I went with him there in 2019. So, I am planning, once North Korea opens, hopefully this year, um, then for next year, we want to do a big aviation tour. In uh, North Korea where I'm hoping to bring some subscribers as well, where you can all fly those tuplefs and the yushin.
Um, that are still available because for me it's like much more about uh, um, the type, um, of plane. You know, like the really old ones, I still would like to fly the Airbus. It's a 300, which I think flies for Iran air, uh, managed to have the 310. So probably, uh, somewhere there and then hopefully your airline and, uh, whatever else comes up there.[00:31:00]
But those two,
I'm going to name some airlines very quickly. Say the first thing that pops in your mind. All right, that's a good
one.
All right, so Virgin Atlantic.
Captain Chris. The brand ambassador. Now, like I met him, he's a pilot for Virgin Atlantic.
And, uh, first thing, because I've never been on Virgin, and, uh, he always pops up in my, in my, on my Instagram feed.
Ryanair. Reliable. Qantas.
The only West, the best Western airline, I think. Yeah.
Your favorite aircraft,
Airbus A310,
right? Wow.
Why I, I'm, I'm, I don't know. I'm obsessed really with that plane. And I had some, uh, I had some really great stories traveling to Afghanistan or Iran to fly that bird.
And I don't know, it sends kind of like testament for, for, for the channel, how I always chase the A310. Uh, but I look at it and there's something unique about it. That's what I like about the 310, [00:32:00]yeah.
I always have a thing for the jumbo, still. More looks wise than anything, it still awes me. So it's a shame we, we, we rarely at all, uh, get the odd freighter that comes into Manchester, but I don't get to see that anymore.
Obviously get to see the A380, which as a plane to travel on, I think is quite an experience because of just how, smooth it is, how quiet it is,
Your favorite airport, .
My favorite airport. I'd say Prague. Prague, because Prague has so been, uh, my mom is from the Czech Republic and I was traveling a lot from Prague.
And I was like, I think like, it's, it's small, it's, it's compact. Things work there. I have great memories there. And, uh, instead of saying Singapore, which already gets too much credit, I've picked Prague and I wave to Czech Flak here.
That's great. Uh, I'm actually going in December to, um, flying Finnair. So we're [00:33:00] flying into Helsinki, which I've only done once, but it was a really just, just an interesting airport, just really for how easy it was to go from one, you know, the one flight to the next connection.
So we're getting to do that. We're experiencing the Northern Lights at December, which is amazing.
Yeah, that's a great, uh, the Helsinki is from my memory. It's a really nice, uh, airport as well. And like, you want it to be functional, you know, you want to have short aways in between terminals, like you want things to whack.
And I feel like Prague is one of them, you know, and like, and Helsinki as well.
I'll check that out. Um, I haven't had the chance to go to Prague yet.
Now you have to add it to your list. There is a lot of cheap flights from Manchester.
No such thing as a cheap flight from Manchester. I think that's, uh, I've taken up more than enough of your time.
I think we had a great aviation chat now. It's like, when two people come together who love aviation, you know, and then like, You understand when I say [00:34:00] A310, you know what it's about, it's like probably a terrible plane to travel, but when you look at it, you have just that connection and it's something, you know, and that is what aviation, uh, stands for,, you know, you look at the 747 and it's just like, wow, and this thing can fly.
Yeah,
some people don't, really think about it, , I find people that aren't as fascinated strange, you know, but the majority of people, you know, they don't, but I, I am still like totally awed,
I had that just recently, I was in Buenos Aires and, uh, Lufthansa flies to 7478 there and they were pulling it to the gate and it's just massive and I was looking at it and I was like, like, I have seen those planes so many times but I think this plane being pulled to the gate, a massive plane, four engines, even longer than the 747 400 and you look at it and you think like, how can you not love aviation?
That was YouTuber, Josh Cahill. [00:35:00] Original Music by Mood Mode. This episode was produced and edited by Stewart Anthony. I'm Michael Aaron and you've been listening to The Flight Pod.