Episodes

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Airbus’ Montreal final assembly line is invaded by a family of raccoons. Newark reopens its main runway a few days early as airlines and the FAA jostle over flight cuts. United and JetBlue announce their Blue Sky partnership, while the IATA annual general meeting generates announcements of its own. A Condor flight misses Munich’s curfew by mere seconds and Air India reveals how much flying around Pakistan is costing the airline. Helpful links for this week’s ep...

On this episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason and back home from Stockholm and ready to take on the week’s news. The NTSB is out with a handful of reports, including details on the FedEx 767 bird strike in Newark, Frontier’s hard landing and go around in San Juan, and Alaska Airlines’ main landing gear collapse. We also discuss the crash of a Cessna Citation in San Diego last week. Plus, Boeing says it has a fix for the 777X thrust link problem, which grounded the test fleet for months. Helpful lin...

This week, Gabe Leigh joins Ian and Jason in Stockholm for a special episode of AvTalk. Gabe recounts his experience on the first Global Airlines revenue flight and we discuss the future prospects for the would-be, all-A380 airline. We also get into the interesting media relations strategy being pursued by Global Airlines CEO James Asquith. We also cover Etihad’s aircraft order and surprise route announcement to Charlotte. Spanish investigators release their final report on a Lufthansa pilot’s ...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason are joined by resident numbers expert Gavin Werbeloff for the facts and figures behind some of the large aircraft we’ve seen this week. There are more changes coming to Newark as the FAA tries to prevent more air traffic control outages. And we dig in to the history of the 747-8I Qatar wants to gift the US and why any thought of quickly turning it into a temporary Air Force One is a flight of fancy. Helpful links for this week’s episode * DOT’s n...

On this episode of AvTalk, we learn more about what happened at Newark last week, what is still causing dozens of daily cancellations, and what’s being done to mitigate the problem. We also discuss some of the ideas touted by Newark’s biggest user, United Airlines, to improve the situation. We get an update on the situation in India and Pakistan as tensions continue to rise and airlines are staying further away. Plus, just as things at Pratt and Whitney were looking up for the GTF engine, machin...

On this week’s AvTalk, Indian airlines lose access to Pakistani airspace and gain a massive fuel bill. A massive power outage in Spain and Portugal affects millions of passengers, but airports keep moving. Newark falls victim to equipment outages again as Congress proposes $15 billion to modernize air traffic control. And JetBlue and United are said to be in talks about a proposed partnership that could see United back at JFK, but what form that partnership takes long-term is in the hands of Uni...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, it’s hard numbers, euphemistic language, and a bit of planes on fire. If all of the first quarter earnings reports could be summed up in a single headline, it would be: “Seeking stability in a fluid age of dynamically uncertain softening.” We review Q1 financials from Boeing, Southwest, and others to see how the aerospace industry’s largest players fared at the beginning of the year and what they think the rest of the year has in store. The FAA announces a fas...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, we discuss what’s known so far about the crash of a Bell 206 in the Hudson River last week. We also break down the sequence of events after the crash that led to the FAA issuing an emergency grounding order for the helicopter operator. Also this week, more tariff impacts as China reportedly tells its airlines to stop taking delivery of Boeing aircraft, while airlines are getting creative with ways to get around the tariffs. Ian geeks out over Airbus’ performanc...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Jason joins Ian in Chicago for a face to face conversation, which also means it’s a self-edited show this week. The preliminary report on the Swiftair 737 crash in Vilnius looks to human factors as investigators probe how and why one of the aircraft’s hydraulic systems was shut off during the approach. Delta Air Lines is the first major US airline to report quarterly earnings this year and the statements from Delta CEO Ed Bastian do not paint a pretty picture, ...

On this episode of AvTalk, we learning all about long endurance gas balloons with a world record holder. We learn more about the erroneous TCAS alerts that plagued aircraft near DCA at the beginning of March and what the FAA is doing following a fist fight in the DCA air traffic control tower. Heathrow’s chief continues to defend the airport’s handling of the power outage two weeks ago. And Russian investigators release their final report on Aeroflot flight 1492, which suffered a hard landing an...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the lights are back on at Heathrow and investigation into what happened is in full swing. We discuss the Transport Safety Board of Canada’s preliminary report on the Endeavor Air accident in Toronto, including the sequence of events leading up the landing and some the challenges faced during the evacuation. En route to Shanghai, a pilot discovers he’s forgotten his passport; and a Southwest Airlines crew forgets what a runway looks like and attempts to depart o...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Chris Lomas fills in for a vacationing Jason. The FAA acts on the NTSB’s urgent safety recommendations in DC and reconfigures helicopter routes near DCA. An American Airlines 737 catches fire at the gate in Denver, leading to questions about evacuations when passengers are already deplaning. The NTSB issues its preliminary report on the runway incursion at Chicago-Midway. And Jazeera Airways finds out the hard way how important balloon insurance is. Helpful lin...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, the NTSB releases its preliminary report on the mid-air collision over the Potomac River. In addition to the report, the NTSB also issued a pair of urgent safety recommendations to the FAA regarding the helicopter routes in the Washington DC area. We also discuss the preliminary report from the NTSB on the crash of the Medevac Learjet 55 in Philadelphia. Southwest Airlines this week announced a seismic shift in its strategy and culture as it will begin charging...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, another round of tabloid journalism meets aviation incident as a FedEx bird strike and resulting engine fire lead to breathless headlines. Also this week, the FAA issues a set of Airworthiness directives aimed at the CFM56 engine nacelle, Boeing finishes rework on its 787 backlog, and Aer Lingus finally wins a 28 year old court case. Helpful links for this week’s episode * FedEx 767 diversion playback * FAA Airworthiness directive regarding CFM56 nacelle * C...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, a tale of 3 go arounds. We first visit Chicago, where a Southwest pilot made the quick decision to go around as an unauthorized aircraft crossed the runway. Then we visit San Francisco where an Asiana Airlines A350 descended too low as it approached SFO and went around. And then we end up in Washington DC, where sometimes a go around is just a go around. Also on this week’s episode, more than two dozen aviation industry groups are banding together to call for i...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, an Endeavor Air CRJ-900 ends up upside down in Toronto, but everyone on board makes it out safely. The NTSB provides a detailed update on the mid-air collision in Washington, including the agency’s focus on the helicopter’s altitude and the altitude the pilots believed they were at. We discuss the recent firings of probationary employees at the FAA and what effects this might have on the agency now and in the long term. And for the first time in the airline’s hi...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, a Bering Air Cessna 208 crashes near Nome, Alaska. Updates on the mid-air collision in Washington DC and what airspace changes may become permanent. New propulsion technology projects from major manufacturers are being pushed back 5-10 years. And we share the recipe for the ultimate inflight desert. Helpful links for this week’s episode * Bering Air C208 flight path * Alaskan aviation safety expert Colleen Mondor * GOL 737 and pick up truck damage * Nolinor...

On this episode of AvTalk, we review what we know so far about the mid-air collision between a US Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines CRJ-700 in Washington DC, what we don’t know, and some of the avenues of inquiry investigators and authorities are following. We also discuss the crash of a Learjet 55 air ambulance shortly after takeoff near Philadelphia. And finally, we sort through the preliminary report on the crash of Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243 near Aktau, Kazakhstan to ...

Note: this episode of AvTalk was recorded prior to the crash in Washington DC involving a PSA Airlines CRJ-700 and US military H-60 helicopter. We will have complete coverage of the accident and where the investigation stands on next week’s episode. For regular updates, please visit our blog post on the accident here. On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Boom makes a boom for the first time, taking its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft beyond the speed of sound for the first time. The NTSB is investigati...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, Jason journeys through the European fog for a very special trip to the beach. Snow hits the US Gulf Coast from Houston to New Orleans forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights. The Boeing 777X is flying again and the NTSB releases its final report on the United Airlines 767 hard landing. And on a HiFly A330 this week, a new passenger was added to the manifest mid-flight. Helpful links for this week’s episode * Jason’s video landing in Barra in the Twin ...

On this week’s episode of AvTalk, TCAS once again ensures everyone goes home safely, this time avoiding a collision between a Delta A330 and United 737 in Phoenix. A Delta 757 suffers and engine failure on departure from Atlanta. Lufthansa could be in a bit of trouble as the European Commission says the airline must return to preferential pricing for Condor. The EC is also investigating the airline’s transatlantic joint venture with United and Air Canada. And Air France has released its signatur...

On this episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason are back with their first regular episode of 2025. We get an update on the investigations into the crashes of Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8243 and Jeju Air flight 2216. We take stock of Boeing’s progress toward a new safety culture one year after the Alaska Airlines 737-9 MAX door plug blowout. We discuss the preliminary report on the ground collision between a landing Japan Airlines A350 and Japan Coast Guard Dash 8. And the transition by Air Greenland fr...

On this special episode of AvTalk, Ian and Jason discuss what we know so far about the crashes of an Azerbaijan Airlines E190 in Aktau, Kazakhstan and a Jeju Air 737 in Muan, South Korea. This episode of AvTalk was first released as a video episode on our AvTalk Podcast YouTube channel. For the visual version of the episode, click the link in the show notes below or search AvTalk Podcast on YouTube. All of the visuals from Flightradar24 included in the video can be found on the Flightradar24 bl...

On this episode of AvTalk, we look back at a trio of our favorite conversations from this past year. In 2024, we were fortunate to speak with experts from across the aviation industry. In this recap of the year, we revisit three conversations with people who helped us understand challenges facing the industry, what it takes to bring a new aircraft to life, and how its possible to seamlessly merge airplanes and Lord of the Rings. Matt Thurber, AIN Media Group editor-in-chief — GPS interference ...