#nerdbirds Rachel and Sebastian adjust to economy seating on a Porter Airlines flight to San Francisco, and share highlights from Toronto—where residents are chatty and poutine rules the day. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nerdbirds/message

Since Brendan and Sebastian had never been on an inaugural flight, it was time to go on one (eh?) and go on one they did: Porter Airlines from San Francisco to Toronto. Listen in as Rachel attempts to stay sane with the two most animated #nerdbirds (on a small plane) (for five hours) while reviewing the airline and learning a few insider tips from the Canadian crew. A fellow traveler joined as an impromptu guest at the end, with stories of working at an airport.

What do the Newark, New York JFK, and Seattle airports have in common? Could burnt avocado toast in Chile compete with a Times Square Applebees for the worst food on the ground? #nerdbirds Brendan, Charlie, Rachel, and Sebastian share their answers to the best and worst flights, airports, hotels, food, and experiences of 2023.

Still more September travel stories await, with Rachel recapping her afternoon at the "CES of Aviation" and a more-recent thwarted attempt at a millionth mile flight. The two events had more in common than she realized, and she and fellow #nerdbird Sebastian ponder how much technology can help during a flight disruption.

More stories from late summer travels await, with #nerdbird Sebastian sharing his Rockstar experience on Virgin Voyages. Rachel's only contribution is explaining why she no longer travels during the summer, despite stumbling upon a cereal vending machine, finding a rat in the Detroit airport, and observing fireworks from high above in Utah.

Travel Tales return with a focus on late summer/September experiences: Eric talks about his spontaneous ride on a blimp, Charlie recaps a record number of canceled flights, and Rachel starts to ponder where to take a millionth mile flight.

When Lightning Round episodes were the rage in 2020, some of the #nerdbirds answered questions about all things passports. For 2023, a few more (Brendan, David, Pilot Sarah, Sebastian) appear and share thoughts on passport design from esoteric countries (and a micronation), what happens when one loses all forms of ID when traveling, and the end of passport stamps with the move toward biometric IDs.

Pilot Sarah retired as a commercial airline pilot in January and reflects on her final flight -- "a wedding and a funeral on the same day" -- complete with rolling delays, paper airplanes, water cannons, and heartfelt tributes. She and co-host Rachel also chat about what happens during retirement flights, and changes in an industry with a pilot shortage.

As a nod to our (not-so-former?) Design Series episodes, #nerdbirds Brendan and Rachel discuss an exhibit of Air India's award-winning vintage Maharaja posters at Poster House in NYC, and share interesting art finds during a recent San Francisco airport field trip.

What happens when 27-time Disney Cruiser Sebastian and first-time "it's-not-a-cruise-it's-an-expedition-ship" Rachel record an episode? Typical #nerdbird banter ensues, from (lack of) Internet connectivity and handling seasickness to ship (and flight) upgrades. Learn from all of Rachel's mistakes when she spontaneously went to Antarctica as Sebastian summarizes advice for planning a smooth(er) journey.

It's anniversary month: Five years since the Virgin America final flight where the #nerdbirds met, and three years of this podcast! Co-host Rachel chats with Sebastian, Pilot Sarah, and Brendan about how travel has changed and what their magic wish would be to transform anything in aviation. Listen in as they reminisce from parody airline websites to going thru security pre-9/11, and get a sneak peek at Pilot Sarah's new career.

While honorary #nerdbird Pilot Sarah was flying her final flight with a commercial airline, friends and family were having a good time sharing stories of her love of aviation. Listen in as #nerdbird David learns about life with a pilot in the family from Sarah's spouse, brother-in-law, and son -- live on the flight.

Because #nerdbird Eric can't hog all of the airline inaugural celebrations, co-host Rachel finally goes on an inaugural flight (ZipAir from Tokyo to San Jose) and swaps tales with Eric's inaugural flights: JetBlue from Boston to Kansas City, and Delta's new A321 from Boston to San Francisco. They share the wild and wacky tales of pomp, random airports, and chalk cookies -- and look ahead to finding flights in 2023.

In the first of a series of episodes recorded during Pilot Sarah's retirement flight festivities, #nerdbirds co-host Rachel's seatmate David gets asked the uncomfortable questions during dessert (with a few inflight interruptions). Listen in on David's take on feeling rich and growing up with those who weren't into adventure or travel. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

The "ask the #nerdbirds the same uncomfortable questions" series continues, with co-host Kai quizzing Brendan and learning that even a Los Angeles native can enjoy public transit! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Continuing from last episode's conversation about flexing your creative travel muscle, #nerdbird Rachel asks Charlie the six questions she and Kai answered in December 2022. Charlie's answers share a perspective on only recently starting to travel, combined with managing family group trips. Bonus tidbits on renewing American passports and using mobile data in Japan are included :) --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

#nerdbirds Kai and Rachel revisit the Travel Ninja Gym and up the ante with stories and advice on how travel can spark inner transformation -- or not! Few stones are left unturned as they discuss situations and topics that force them to think about how, why, and how often to travel. Part 1 of a 2-part end-of-year series.

#nerdbirds Kai & Rachel discuss how scents are one of the strongest memory recall triggers, and how scents impact our journeys, for better or for worse! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Travel Tales Time! #nerdbirds Brendan and Rachel compare their recent trips based on phases from the Traveler Lifecycle. Contrast Brendan's meticulous planning a year in advance vs. Rachel's three days, along with how they arrived, top moments, top hiccups, and heading home. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

#nerdbirds Kai and Rachel ponder how weather factors into planning for and rolling with the travel punches, with stories from dealing with heat in Singapore and Hawaii, to smog in China, a tsunami in Tokyo, and bitter cold in Berlin. They ponder whether avoiding places because you don't like the weather is just learning what you like vs. living a more "authentic" experience. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

When #nerdbirds co-host Rachel overheard Brendan pondering what (paper-based) books to bring on an upcoming trip, she wondered if anyone else reads while traveling. Learn more about what the other #nerdbirds (don't) do, listen to a few stories of books that inspired tourists and fellow airline travelers, and find some short stories from our past review of Airplane Stories for your next trip.  Show notes and resources can be found at https://nerdbirds.co/episode157/ --- This episode is...

The #nerdbirds are back after a summer break full of flight delays and cancellations -- with thoughts on the complexities of cruise ships, what's an "authentic" Hawaiian experience, a prison-themed hotel and scooter adventures in Helsinki, experiences with bias in facial recognition software at the airport, and a preview of our next episode (good reads when traveling). --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Pilot Sarah needs some company in the honorary #nerdbird department, so it's time to welcome Flight Attendant Joey! Co-host Rachel dug up the lightning round initiation questions from 2020 and Joey was more than up to the task, with tales of travelers losing common sense when they board a plane and favorite eats while on the road (although Rachel still isn't sure about Joey's favorite restaurant in Seoul, where you could suffocate on your extremely fresh meal!). They both banter about their...

It's time for another Brendan's Book Club episode, where he and fellow #nerdbird Rachel review "The World: Travels 1950-2000" by Jan Morris. A deeply fascinating series of articles from Jan's travel assignments to every part of the world, the book also includes a tale of her gender transition. The #nerdbirds explore her white British (and often colonial) perspectives when writing along with her keen powers of observation, and make connections to how we live and explore cultures today. ---...