LIFT Aero Design’s Aaron Yong joins aviation journalist John Walton from Singapore, bringing an update from the aviation superpower citystate, as well as how aircraft interior designers are responding to the COVID-19 crisis. What’s the situation in Singapore like right now? How will the forthcoming Singapore-Hong Kong quarantine-free air corridor work? And what exactly is going on with the world’s longest flight — or, it seems, not the world’s longest flight according to the airline — moving...

Joanna Bailey and Thomas Boon from Simple Flying join RGN deputy editor John Walton to face off about the newest business class seats from Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. How does Virgin’s Safran Seats Cirrus NG hold up, beyond the well-discussed issue with the table — has the seatmaker fixed its problems? Is the lack of doors a dealbreaker for this new cabin? What about the new Loft lounge space that has replaced the signature Virgin Atlantic bar? What about BA’s Collins Aerospace...

Reuters’ chief correspondent, Asia aviation and defence, Jamie Freed joins RGN contributing editor John Walton for a wide-ranging conversation about the effects that the ongoing instability in Hong Kong has been affecting aviation within the region. How has it affected passengers, the airport, and the demand for its third runway? What about the airlines based in Hong Kong, including Cathay Pacific, HNA’s Hong Kong Airlines and newly-Cathay LCC Hong Kong Express? What do the new people in...

Australian aviation journalist Jordan Chong joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to get to the bottom of Project Sunrise, Qantas’ plan to fly nonstop to London and New York from Australia’s east coast. What is Project Sunrise? What are these “research flights” Qantas has been doing all about? How do the two aircraft being put up by Airbus and Boeing for Project Sunrise stack up, and is Qantas happy with the offerings? How does Qantas’ perspective as an airline at the “end of the line” inform...

Nik Loukas from InflightFeed.com joins RGN deputy editor John Walton for a wide-ranging conversation about onboard catering and how airlines of all kinds keep us fed and watered on the aircraft. What’s new in the world of plane food? What are low-cost airlines focussing on, and how are they doing? Which are the ones to watch…and which are the ones to watch out for? How do the airlines doing a great job with onboard grub do it? What are some of the best meals that Nik and John have enjoyed,...

Head of the Independent Aircraft Modifier Alliance Nicole Noack joins RGN deputy editor John Walton for an in-depth conversation about the fascinating world of aircraft maintenance! What is IAMA, and why does it exist? How does its work, and the work of its member companies, affect the passenger experience? Why did they decide to create an alliance, and what is it working towards? What will IAMA produce, and how will it help airlines, aircraft manufacturers, the companies that maintain...

ATR’s vice president and head of marketing Zuzana Hrnkova joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to talk about the past, present and future of the turboprop airframer. What is ATR, and  where do its two aircraft, the ATR 72 and 42, fit in the aviation spectrum? How are they different from the rest of the market? Why are turbopropos more efficient, with a lower environmental impact, than jet aircraft? What’s the ATR-42S short-takeoff-and-landing version, and why is ATR proposing it? Just how...

What’s new with the Mitsubishi SpaceJet, and where has the programme come from? What’s the latest on this delayed but very promising aircraft? How did its history — and Japan’s corporate landscape — lead it to where it is today, and what does today’s market look like for this size of plane in the context of Airbus’s A220, Boeing’s E2 partnership with Embraer, and indeed the CRJ moving to Mits? How do the new M100 and M90 compare with the MRJ70 and MRJ90 in the 70-odd and 90-odd passenger...

Recorded live at Le Bourget during the 53rd Paris Air Show, Aérospatium's Caroline Bruneau joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to put this most unusual show into its wider aviation context. Beyond the passenger experience, beyond the Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A321XLR and others news in the commercial space, what are the problems facing the aviation industry more widely? What do we as an industry need to be doing in order to meet the growing forecasts for industry employees in the future, and...

Fresh from the Airbus Innovation Days in Toulouse, aviation journalist and storyteller Howard Slutsken joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to talk about what’s new in the world of Airbus, from new faces at the top of the business to new options for the A321neo, new seating for the A350 and much more. Will Airbus launch the A321XLR, YLR or ZLR at the Paris Air Show next month? Just how rocky is the “rock” and how hard is the “hard place” in the middle of the market? What’s new with the Airbus...

Runway Girl Network editor Mary Kirby and journalist Marisa Garcia join deputy editor John Walton at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg to debrief on the world’s largest and most important #PaxEx trade show with a special extended episode of In Conversation. The big surprise this year was the impact of the 737 MAX on the industry, so what does that mean for the passenger experience suppliers at the show? Elsewhere, what’s the future of inflight connectivity? Has Ka-band beaten Ku-band in...

John Morris from WheelchairTravel.org joins RGN deputy editor John Walton for an update on how airlines, airports and other parts of the aviation industry are serving passengers with reduced mobility. What are John’s experiences using a wheelchair while travelling? Are airlines living up to their obligations? Why are some newer business class seats — including Qatar Airways’ Qsuite — a big problem for some disabled passengers? Are lavatory facilities sufficient? What is the airport experience...

What do we lose when we lose the Airbus A380? Why do passengers love it, and why haven’t airlines been as keen? What can airlines do to replicate the passenger experience on the popular superjumbo aboard their smaller aircraft? And what are our memories aboard the famous “whalejet”? Meanwhile, with inflight meals a subject of much conversation online this week, why is it so cool to hate on airplane food? Do caterers and airlines deserve it? What’s the good and the bad in airline catering?...

It’s a busy 2019 already for European aviation, with airlines disappearing, drones appearing and Brexit looming. Aviation journalist Gesche Wüpper is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton to analyse the very latest news and consider the consequences. What are the implications of Virgin Atlantic’s purchase of Flybe? Will it work where previous efforts have failed? Why is Air France ending the Joon experiment, and what does it mean for new Air France-KLM head honcho Benjamin...

Australia is a bellwether market for passenger experience, and Australian Aviation’s News Editor Jordan Chong is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton to bring you an update on what’s up down under. How is Qantas’ seventeen and a half hour flight from Perth to London — in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner nine-abreast economy? How does the way Qantas delivers the flight schedule work? What’s the soft product like? Do the passenger experience benefits of the cabins of the Dreamliner and...

At Finnair headquarters in Helsinki, the airline’s chief digital officer Katri Harra-Salonen is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton, talking all things digital. What exactly is a CDO, and what do they do? How is Finnair transforming itself with the help of digital technologies? What platforms is Finnair investing in, and what’s onboard and at the airport? How does all this improve the passenger experience? How can new technologies help to find new options to offer passengers?...

With interviews recorded live at the Aircraft Passenger Experience Association (APEX) EXPO and co-located AIX Americas expo in Boston, seven senior industry executives are in conversation with Runway Girl Network deputy editor John Walton on topics ranging from seating and entertainment to inflight connectivity. What does Finnair senior vice president for customer experience Piia Karhu want from expos like this? What can Claire Nurcombe, head of marketing at seatmaker Stelia, reveal about...

During a visit to Recaro Aircraft Seating’s headquarters in Schwäbisch Hall, CEO Mark Hiller is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton for a wide-ranging discussion of the aircraft interiors industry. How have the high-tech seats we sit on in aircraft today evolved over time? Why is Recaro positioning itself as a consumer brand in a B2B2C space, and how does it work with airlines to market itself? What’s new in the world of seating, especially with the narrowbodied...

Taking a magnifying glass to the pointy end of the plane, air traffic controller turned luxury travel writer Michele Robson of UK-based travel site Turning Left for Less is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton. With business class heading the way of first class, and with company budgets banning flatbeds, is premium economy really becoming the new business class? How well are airlines doing taking care of their premium leisure travellers? Which are the best business class seats...

Fresh from the Farnborough Air Show 2018, aviation journalist Bernie Baldwin is in conversation with RGN deputy editor John Walton, analysing the big passenger experience news from this year’s pivotal airshow. What was the Embraer E190-E2 like inside, and how has it changed from previous versions of the E-Jet family? How will the new staggered first class seating change the game? What’s up with the new Bombardier CRJ Atmosphère regional jet cabin, and what will be different for passengers on...

Diving into what went down at this year’s IATA AGM in Sydney, aviation journalist Marisa Garcia joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to analyse what commercial aviation’s largest and most influential trade body is thinking. What did new chairman of the board Akbar al Baker say about the capacity and capability of women to run airlines — and was it, as he suggests, both blown out of proportion and a joke that missed the mark? Did IATA and Qatar Airways do enough to correct the record after the...

Going deep on economy seats, Routehappy by ATPCO director of airline research Jason Rabinowitz joins RGN deputy editor John Walton to discuss the latest trends down the back of the plane, where new generations of seating products create more space for airlines, and in some cases for passengers. What new slimline seats are on the horizon for passengers in economy class? Which airlines have big plans for their economy product? What do these changes mean for passengers’ knees — and for their...

What’s new in the world of the Aircraft Interiors Expo? RGN’s Mary Kirby and John Walton are in conversation about AIX 2018, talking new slimline economy seats, business suites, inflight entertainment, connectivity, and more from the busiest interiors show in quite some time! How do these new slimline seats work? Do they really give you more room than previously? What’s the difference between the models from Geven, Recaro, Rockwell Collins, Pitch, Mirus and others? Is that really the...

Recorded live in one of flydubai's 737 MAX aircraft, the airline’s vice president of inflight product, Dan Kerrison, is in conversation with RGN Deputy Editor John Walton, discussing this fascinating airline — “always the launch customer for something!” — and the innovative passenger experience it continues to design. How is flydubai’s inflight and on-the-ground product evolving? To what extent does being a smaller airline than its bigger neighbour — and partner — Emirates make the airline...