Dan is recovering from a mysterious illness that sent him spiraling through AI diagnoses, hospital visits, and an emergency hotel stay, while Alex shares hard-won food safety lessons from decades of globe-trotting. Then the conversation shifts to airline catering: how it works, why it sometimes fails, and the current crisis at American Airlines forcing double catering out of Heathrow. The episode also covers Dan's emotional farewell to the Airbus A340-600, including the shocking discovery that the exact aircraft he flew as a child was later destroyed by a missile strike in Iran. Plus: Somalia's viral new airline Rayan Air operating a 36-year-old Fokker 50, Africa's smart legislation forcing better aircraft on their routes, airline consolidation targets in Europe, Emirates equipment swaps amid post-war schedule uncertainty, and a hypothetical Alaska/Hawaiian/JetBlue merger that could reshape US aviation.

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Dan is fresh off the inaugural Riyadh Air domestic flight from Riyadh to Jeddah — one of the first people in the world to fly the airline since it launched operations. He and Alex break down the full experience: the stunning cabin aesthetics, the dense seat configurations, the dry airline policy, and what it all means for the airline's future competitiveness against Emirates and Qatar Airways. They also cover Qantas Project Sunrise — the confirmed Sydney to London nonstop route launching October 2027 on the A350-1000ULR, and what 19+ hours in the air actually means for passengers. Plus: airline alliance politics, the Oneworld vs StarLux drama, updated Middle East travel advisories, Emirates and Etihad's new conflict travel insurance products, and whether airfare prices will drop following the Gulf peace deal. Essential listening for aviation enthusiasts and frequent flyers.

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Alex is live from Rio de Janeiro at the 2026 IATA AGM - the world's biggest annual gathering of airline CEOs and aviation leaders. In this episode: what it's actually like navigating Brazil as a first-timer, the chaos of São Paulo's domestic terminal, LATAM's surprisingly impressive onboard experience, and the biggest takeaways from the airline industry's most important conference. Jet fuel shortages, rising airfares, Philippine Airlines joining Oneworld, Willie Walsh's exit from IATA, Etihad's unsustainably low fares, Boeing's progress under new leadership, and next year's AGM in Xiamen, China. All the aviation news you need in one place.

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