AvTalk Episode 181: The Queen’s flight

What this episode covers

The flight carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II shattered the record for the most tracked flight of all time, nearly doubling the record set just last month by Nancy Pelosi. We talk about the records the Queen’s last flight set, how it affected Flightradar24, and what’s happening behind the scenes to continue upgrades to Flightradar24 infrastructure. We also discuss United and Emirates’ new codeshare and interline agreement and preview a few important upcoming dates for the aviation industry. Plus, how a freight train derailment led to canceled flights at an airport nearly 100 miles away. Flight carrying coffin of Queen Elizabeth II tracked by 5 million people 5 million people tracked the flight and even more attempted to. How it happened, what worked, what didn’t, and how we’re improving Flightradar24 to ensure everything goes smoothly next time. United and Emirates make it official United and Emirates announced their codeshare and interline agreement this week, with United returning to Dubai later this year as well. We look at who benefits and and what those benefits are. Tailwind faces headwinds Tailwind was scheduled to start service to the DC area this week, but “issues outside [its] control” have delayed those flights, and the airline will now begin service to Dulles instead of College Park. COMAC C919 certification coming? Could Chinese certification of the COMAC C919 come as early as next week? It’s a distinct possibility. Spirit Airlines shareholders to vote on JetBlue merger Spirit Airlines shareholders will meet in October to vote on the proposed JetBlue merger. Air India leasing 777-200LRs and Airbus narrowbodies Air India will lease five 777-200LRs and 25 A320neo family aircraft, split amongst the A320neo and A321neo. Wizz A320 makes it out of Ukraine A Wizz Air A320 left Lviv, Ukraine for the safety of Katowice, Poland this week. Three Wizz Air A320s remain in Kyiv. SAS secures bridge financing approval SAS secured bankruptcy court approval for bridge financing this week. Airbus cancels final Qatar A350 order For the first time in decades, Qatar Airways has no aircraft on order with Airbus after their remaining A350 orders were wiped from the books. September is full speed ahead September used to be a month when things quieted down—kids were back in school, parents were back at work, and air travel was easy. That’s not the case this year, with full flights, long lines, and summer travel woes continuing well in to the fall. Calgary and WestJet derailed A Canadian Pacific train derailment in July caused WestJet and Calagary airport to delay and cancel flights because the train severed fibre lines needed to run the airport. Let us know what you think (and let your friends know too!) Thank you so much for listening! Like the podcast? Have suggestions for future shows? Let us know by leaving a review on iTunes. Reviews on iTunes not only help us make a better show, they help more people find the podcast! Want to send us additional feedback, just email us. And tell that friend who asked you for a podcast recommendation that AvTalk is the one they want to listen to next. Please click here for a transcript of this episode.