AvTalk Episode 137: The grand reopening

What this episode covers

On this episode of AvTalk, the US is once again open to for travel. We sit down with Max Tremaine from Sherpa to learn about the restrictions still in place and what trends his company is seeing as more of the world reopens to travelers. Plus, Boeing and families of Ethiopian 302 crash victims reach a major settlement agreement. Boeing suits settled | Over the weekend, shareholders suing Boeing’s board of directors settled their suit, with $237.5 million to be paid to Boeing by the board’s insurers with no admission of any liability by the board. Separately on Tuesday, Boeing and the families of all but two of the victims of Ethiopian flight 302 agreed to a settlement that names Boeing the sole party responsible for the crash while avoiding punitive damages and limiting any future legal action by the families against Boeing. Climate action: aviation edition   | With COP26, the United Nations’ climate conference ongoing in Glasgow, the United States released its 2021Aviation Climate Action Plan. We discuss the plan, its benefits, and where it falls short. Max Tremaine, Sherpa co-founder and CEO   | Sherpa co-founder and CEO Max Tremaine joins us to talk about how their company founded to help travelers navigate the visa process for their destination quickly retooled to help travelers understand COVID-related border restrictions and the unlikely sources that tip them off restrictions are about to change. This week’s good news | British Airways and Virgin Atlantic celebrated the grand reopening of the US to vaccinated travelers by conducting parallel departures from London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday. Embraer unveiled four new concept aircraft. Qantas brought its first A380 back to Australia ahead of restarting service early next year. Airbus conducted its first transatlantic Fellofly flight. The Grumman Albatross is making a comeback. And finally, Air France puts on a show with its A220.