S1 Ep6 - Creating "Airlines of the World"

Our episode today will delve into the making of "Airlines of the World", a television documentary series currently being created and produced, with the expectation to be released at the end of 2023. The series will focus on the global airline industry, past, present and future. 

 I will be joined by Patrick Weil, Managing Director of Jennuin Films and Senior Executive Producer and Creator of the “Airlines of the World” documentary series. 

Patrick will talk about the behind-the-scenes planning, offer insights into the creation and production of the series to date, and how they have been recreating the aircraft interiors and passenger experiences of yesteryear down to the finest details. 

Hear more about the work in progress as well as the narration of the series by the one and only William Shatner, who I fondly associate with the legendary role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the original USS Enterprise from the Star Trek franchise.

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Transcript

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. Even though it has been reviewed by a human, it may contain errors. Please review the audio for the episode and use that as the guide before quoting from this episode or transcript. This text may not be published online or distributed without written permission. Feel free to contact the team at ‘On your flight today’ with any questions.

On Your Flight Today – Season 1, Episode 6 – Creating ‘Airlines of the World’

Recorded: Dec 2022 | Live Date: April 2023

Host: Corinne Streichert

Guest: Patrick Weil, Managing Director – Jennuin Films, Senior Executive Producer and Creator of "Airlines of the World" television documentary series 

[Introduction]: Our episode today will delve into the making of "Airlines of the World", a television documentary series currently being created and produced, with the expectation to be released at the end of 2023. The series will focus on the global airline industry, past, present and future. 

I will be joined by Patrick Weil, Managing Director of Jennuin Films and Senior Executive Producer and Creator of the documentary series. Patrick will talk about the behind-the-scenes planning, offer insights into the creation and production of the series to date, and how they have been recreating the aircraft interiors and passenger experiences of yesteryear down to the finest details.  Hear more about the work in progress as well as the narration of the series by the one and only William Shatner, who I fondly associate with the legendary role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the original USS Enterprise from the Star Trek franchise. Let’s go!

[Corinne]: Patrick, thank you so much for joining us.

[Patrick]: Glad to be with you today. And hopefully I can answer a few questions. I'm an old guy, but ….

[Corinne]: We’re all very excited to hear about this “Airlines of the World” Project absolutely thrilled to hear more. And I've been lucky to see a few behind the scenes things that, you know, I won't say anything until it's public. But, you know, before we get into all of that, which I'm sure everybody wants to hear, a lot of our listeners might not be aware of the extensive airline background that you've had. Been there, done that and had quite a career in the airline industry. So, can you take us back?

[Patrick]: I grew up in Los Angeles and still in Los Angeles, one of the few people still here in Beverly Hills, actually. My interest in airlines started when I was at age 2 or 3 years old because I was just fascinated by airplanes. And my parents would take me to the Santa Monica airport. When I was old enough, I started to take the work at a little airline called Sun Air at the LAX airport as a baggage handler. And Sun Air is now SkyWest Airline and I had my job. I think I made $2.75 an hour, and then I graduated to a little bit of a larger airline called Air California. So I started going through the ranks. And then a little airline called America West started up in 1983. And, they were interesting because they trained their customer service agents to do every job function that was either at the airport or you would be a flight attendant one week. You would be a ground staff. One week you would actually take reservations. So it was sort of everybody did everything. And it was a great way to train the staff to, to be able to cope with many different functions with, you know, not a huge balloon staff. So that was really good training ground for me. And I and I started to carve my little niches into into what I wanted to do. Anyway, the opportunity came as I was managing or managing director of a a consultancy called Airline Resources International, and we created the first ticketless reservation system with the very beginning of the Internet in 1995. 

{Double chime sound}

[Patrick]: The gist of our show really is about that. We started in the mindset of each episode would be Delta Airlines, American, British Airways etc, etc. And what we found out, this is why it's never been mainstream, is because the networks, you know, your Discovery's Nat Geo's History, those kind of networks, look at that as a infomercial for the companies directly. So we had to really change our approach and make it about history of the airline industry, which no one had ever done. Actually, starting back to 1919 with KLM, you know, from the very beginning and then going through the 20’s with all the US postal contracts that were awarded and how the US industry was born basically out of overnight mail, basically or post. And then you start to see these iconic people coming up through the ranks. So starting with like Juan Trippe, Howard Hughes and people like that. And then the show really captured the interest of Bill Shatner because he wanted to tell the stories of those those iconic people, even to this current day with like David Neeleman and Michael O'Leary with Ryanair. You know, people like that, these iconic leaders, Richard Branson. So, all of a sudden, you know, the light bulb went off and all these folks and they, they understood, wow, this hasn't been tapped before. We got to get in there and do that. So, from what I dreamed up in the very beginning to what it is today is a completely Hollywood-esque type of show. So, what we do is we take the viewer literally back to 1970s, that first 747. And I think I've shared some of the, some of the outtakes from some of that for you. And it's so authentic. You cannot tell the difference from the actors we put in there in costume. They are you are in 1977, 747 with Pan Am or Braniff or any of the airlines. And we have all the catering equipment, all the material, all the safety cards, all the seatback, everything you could think of in the cabin is identical to what it was in the 70 s. So we took 1970 as a focal point to sort of, that was when the 747 really brought low fare,  the idea of a low fare ticket or the average person could fly somewhere to Europe, for instance. Up until then, it was pretty much, you know, reserved for the elite, if you will.

[Corinne]: Yeah, yeah. Really opened it up for sure. I feel so lucky to have been able to see some of these sizzle reels and, and what I really found was interesting and you know spot on to what you were saying, it really is a spotlight on the industry. It's not an infomercial. You know, it really is, as they say, up close and behind the scenes, you know, of what it is and totally understand why you're coming from that angle. And I totally also understand why, if it was just like so just airline specific, it would be seen as a, you know, promotional branding.

[Patrick]: Yeah. I mean, a lot of bloggers like, you know, really good people, they do great work. But it's more that's more about the current day and the new aircraft. Sometimes they go for the the cool old planes like an Electra or something like that. But this is more about the story of all the things that happened, especially like deregulation up through the 50s, transitioning from props to jets. And then we actually take the viewer, in those in those constellations and what it's like to fly. What it was like to fly. And it's a lot of recreation. One of my favourite recreations actually is a Qantas safety video. And it was Qantas 100 years with the 787 safety video. If you look at that, it's a 100 years of Qantas history and you see the passengers and everything and every airplane.

[Corinne]: I think I did see that video. Yeah, I was there when they were celebrating their 85th birthday, I think. Um, but yeah, I think they've hit 100. Yes, they did do some really good historical footage from the early days. Yeah.

[Patrick]: Actually, they actually made it like, Yeah, it was shot yesterday. You know, they, they were able to recreate that and that's those that was what we were looking for. And to get Bill Shatner to be the host of this, just sort of put the icing on the cake. We first actually went to John Travolta. Unfortunately, John, his wife had passed away. And then he was just he was devastated. So, it sort of threw us back a little bit. And then we started looking for somebody that could be, who would epitomize aviation or the future. And Bill Shatner was the, was the answer. And I was very fortunate to have met somebody that works for him. And he was able to arrange a meeting. It was only supposed to be 20 minutes, turned out to be three hours. And he was just he was just every every aspect of this was just so cool. So, you know, basically our one of our very first shots, I'll give it I'll give a little teaser of that is he's, he's sitting there with the phone and he's I'll do it in his voice. “I just booked my flight and that's it, right. Or is it right?” And he goes … We actually the camera goes into the phone and then just starts to see this whole world of the matrix, if you will, of how the the reservation turns into everything that you see from when you go to the airport to the baggage, the just everything you can think of that you don't see is what we want to show the people. And so it's kind of a modern day going back and forth retrospecting to the days that weren't so easy. We take, we take you into like American Airlines reservations in 1956. So we show we take the viewer back to that time so they can see the evolution of the industry and how it all is today, which everybody takes for granted unfortunately.

[Corinne]: It’s going to be hugely beneficial for what I like to call the leaders of tomorrow. People getting into aviation. I think there's written information out there, but to actually see it put together. I was hooked just with the sizzle video, you know that storytelling and also the other promo video with Bill Shatner's voice on there.  And I must admit I am a Trekkie and or Trekker.

[Patrick]: We kind of figured that might be the case. So yeah, so it's fascinating just because this thing, I had this great idea and it just seems to be catching on now that we're starting to really get the airlines involved. We, we sort of held off through COVID because it was just the airlines were devastated. And they, they didn't have a lot of staff. But it looks like 23 and 24 are going to be great years for, for the airline industry again. So, we think the timing of this is very key. And you get you get to see something, you know, very few people have seen actually.

[Corinne]: Last night thinking, geez, how did I get so lucky? You know, I'm so excited to see this. And also, you know, I am a huge Bill Shatner fan as well and Star Trek fan.

[Patrick]: He's got the great tagline at the end, doesn't he? I'll be your Captain.

[Corinne]: Fantastic. And it's great to see him still actively involved in, you know, storytelling and doing that kind of work. I have to ask, you know, just, you know, I've never had the pleasure to meet him. But just out of curiosity, when you're sitting across from him, do you sometimes think, oh my gosh, that's Captain Kirk?

[Patrick]: I did for about a minute, and then I had to put my regular, like I'm trying to get him to do something for me. So I was like, Yeah, but William Shatner, he's he's a character. He's a nice fellow and he really loves the subject. This is very similar to the Unexplained, if you've ever seen that.

[Corinne]: No, I haven't.

[Patrick]: Okay. That's. Now, he just had he renewed that for two more seasons, so. And he's, he's 92 years old.

[Corinne]: Yeah, he's still doing great. I mean, …I got a phone call a few months ago, my Dad calls me up and said, “Captain Kirk went to space!”. He saw the launch, I think, when, um, Bill Shatner was going up on, um..

[Patrick]: Blue Origin. 

[Corinne]: Yes. Yes. And I just thought, wow, you know, I was really happy for him that he got to experience that. And I did see the interview after they landed and you could tell he…

[Patrick]: He was very moved. So it was it was just synonymous to have him there.

[Corinne]: Yeah.

[Patrick]: And he, we at least were contracted right now for ten episodes of the show. And these episodes will be north of $800,000 per episode for our budget. So, they're going to be very Hollywood style looking, but they're not going to be, they're going to be actually factually accurate.

[Corinne]: Yeah, because you got quite a team working with you.

[Patrick]: We do, because a lot of times and what I really hate is, is, you know, you watch some movie with an airplane or you can just go, Oh, really? You know, and you just like they didn't get it, you know, the accuracy or the or the, you know, that that whole thing gets lost a lot. So we're very keen on making this 100% authentic as it was in the day that it was shot. Even, even the actors, I mean, you saw the Pan Am parts there. I had directed that. And that captain looked like a Pan Am captain from 1970.

[Corinne]: They it looked so real. Yeah. And I was curious as well. How did you go about getting all that original.. the sets and all the memorabilia and all the amenities and everything to recreate such an authentic scene?

[Patrick]: Hollywood magic. See, that's the advantage we have being here and having a lot of this here. There's actually dedicated film studios that do nothing but aircraft sets.

[Corinne]: Oh, okay.

[Patrick]: So one, there's a studio. There's there's actually one separate studio for 747 interior. And then there's, there's other, there's another studio that does 787, 777, you know, 73s, etc etc. They have modern aircraft and then they have, they have the classics couple and they can do, um, we can do a 707 as well. With the with the old interiors. With the old open coat rack kind of thing. As opposed to the, you know, the, the bins.

[Corinne]: Wow. So those are studios that are replicated to look like the interior of an aircraft. And they're like there for like all kinds of projects?

[Patrick]: All kinds of movies. You know, ‘Once upon a time in Hollywood’, just anything you can think of. It's called Air Hollywood -  It’s Airhollywood.com. And you can check out their sets and your check out their whole operation. On top of all of that, they also maintain the uniforms and all the catering equipment, the trays, the interior pieces of the aircraft. And they can, they can replicate maybe about 30 or 40 different airlines, interiors and uniforms and crew. 

[Corinne]: Wow. 

[Patrick]: Yeah.

[Corinne]: Amazing. I'd never heard of it. And do they, you know, I know you do some work with Flight Path Museum in Los Angeles. Do they kind of work very closely together because I know they've got some really great kind of artifacts and..?

[Patrick]: Not really, No. Flight Path Museum. I spent some time there. I didn't I only was a volunteer one day a week. And I try to take on more of the airline displays and things like that. I don't have time for this, unfortunately. It's nice. It's nice to have nice. Um, they have a huge flight attendant uniform collection. The one thing they do have, it's very extensive. They have pilot uniforms, so they mostly have like 1930s flight attendant uniforms going back to, like all the airlines from, you know, American, Delta, you know, TWA, especially the US carriers, and then a number of international carriers like Japan Airlines, they have an extensive collection of uniforms. But the Air Hollywood people have, I would say, almost the same amount of uniforms. And that's that's big to have for wardrobe because that really is a game changer.

[Corinne]: I mean, they looked so real and authentic based on pictures I had seen from that era.

[Patrick]: Yeah, they were actual Pan Am uniforms. Yeah. And the hats. And they have British Airways and they have all all the BOAC stuff. That's just it's really, really extensive. And it's so it's so fortunate that we have all this here. And we have to, we have to let people see that. It's phenomenal. They do, they do something called the Pan Am experience where you can have dinner on a Pan Am 747. And it's, it's very it's relatively expensive, but it's all inclusive. Everything is, you know, inclusive and the bar and everything. And it's, uh, I think they take about 40 people and they do about once a month. They have a dinner on the set and they do fashion shows and all sorts of cool things on board that. But they close the door, you're on the plane for three hours on that movie set. 

[Corinne]: That sounds excellent. I had no idea. So this is airhollywood.com?

[Patrick]: Yeah you should definitely look at the Pan Am experience. That is something that's right off the runway at LAX. And people at LAX know this place, it's been there for, I don't know, 50 years. And it's an aviation themed restaurant. And they're going to add this whole Pan Am experience to the that. And it's, it's not cheap. It's I think for 2 to 2 dinners, it's something north of $250, for instance.

[Corinne]: But it's the experience. You know, it's the experience.

[Patrick]: And they absolutely recreate the entire menu from first class Pan Am in 1970. So do they do they say they bring the serving cart and they carve it at your, at your seat and then they show movies on the screens because, you know, it wasn't they didn't have IFE really back then. So, and I know you want to talk about that. I'm kind of into it IFE as well for the new world we live in. 

[Corinne]: I was just thinking when you said it was about $250 to go to this restaurant for Los Angeles area,  that's pretty standard, though I think, some of the places I've been out there. So and for that experience, it definitely sounds like a place to check out once they're up and got that up and running.

[Patrick]: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It's and it's and they, they all so the staff and the bartenders, they all wear the formal, the uniforms you saw in that in that video. But they also have like the white uniforms too, like the, like fellows were stewards back then. And so, they they do very proper. It was very it's very well put together. It's very classy. It's very fun.

[Corinne]: The “Airlines of the World”, for our listeners, when do you think we'll be able to see it?

[Patrick]: Probably the end of 2023. We have a lot of work to do. We have we're right in it. So where we are right now, is we're writing the ten episodes, which will cover basically the history from the early days to the current day. And then we're going to focus on certain things like de-regulation and the fare wars, and we'll see the boardroom stuff and we'll see, you know, we'll have actors recreating, you know, Frank Lorenzo and people like that. So you'll see, you'll see all that, what went on that most people have no idea what happened or the collapse of Eastern or the collapse of Braniff. Or the start of People Express. You'll see. Or FedEx. We were just on a big Zoom call two days ago with FedEx and we're we're bringing Fred Smith into this now. And Fred Smith is the man that created FedEx. That's that's a whole episode about that. That's one episode right there. The other episodes are, we kind of go into like the 20s, the battle of the Air Express. Seeing passengers, first passengers with goggles and scarves flying over the the, you know, Rockies and that kind of thing. That's one. And so and you have Bill doing the narration through the whole all of those. So, they're really good storytelling. So that's where we're we're in the we're writing those right now. It's not what you think it's going to be as a documentary series. Is a very much a premium documentary series. So it's going to it's going to have a lot of cool stuff and things you've never thought of. Right. And it's going to be like, oh, see, we get we want to get the average person that's not maybe not an airline employee or staffer to understand all about what this is. And then we even go into the first black pilot in America that was hired by Continental Airlines in 1965, I believe it was. And the airline would not let him fly for them. And he had to go to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court ordered him that he could take his employment with Continental Airlines. And that was, I believe it was in 1968. So you see a whole a whole thing about the Supreme Court in his case, to let him be the first black pilot in America. So you see all that cool inclusion, all that stuff, LBGTQ issues all are or, you know, addressed. And, and so we want everybody to, to understand, you know, it was, I mean unfortunately, it was it was it was run by a bunch of old white guys for a long, long time. And that evolution that it's completely inclusive now. We want people to see that from where it started as and so it's really a cool thing to see as an industry.

[Corinne]: Yeah. And I think it also tells a story of America's history, which, you know, to be really honest with you, I've only been here for just over a decade, but and there's so much to learn. But I think it's great that it's going to be talking about these topics, seeing where it all began and those that fought for those freedoms and those liberties to be able to do…

[Patrick]: You got it, yes, absolutely. And even the music is going to be paired with this for the for the episode. So you're going to see that like in the 60 s episode, you're going to see this Go-Go 60s, right? And it's going to have The Doors and The Byrds and the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. So you're going to see Pan Am with the Beatles coming off, and it's like it's brand new, like like, where did you get this? Like, oh, we we created it. So we have like our own we have our Beatles actors and we they're getting off the 707. Yeah, you're going to see that like, because we're going to shoot it with actors. Yeah. Yeah. So it's really going to it's going to be a Pan Am 707 and you're going to see… we have what we do what we do is we retrospect that with stock and archival footage, then we then we, we really enhance it with CGI and things like that. And then so you don't know if you're looking at the real 707 or the one that was that we created for the for the show. It's hard to tell the difference actually. So it's like and if you look at that Qantas safety video, it's very similar. They have ,what they did is they took John Travolta 707 and matched it with they just put it in black and white. So basically it looked like from the day it was new and the constellation that they have, they incorporated those artifacts. And it's a really cool style. So if your viewers want to have an idea of what we're going to do, that's a great way to, to check it out.

[Corinne]: Did say a lot of the stuff they did for their 100th birthday. And I think it's fantastic just, you know, speaking about John Travolta, he was at the time I was at Qantas, he was an ambassador for Qantas and he used to visit all the time. And I never forget the day I walked into the office and they said to me, “You just missed him”. He was just in the office. And I was really, you know, because I, I was a kid when Grease came out and I've been a fan of his ever since then. And he's got an incredible body of work. But I know he's a pilot and quite the aviation enthusiast, and he did do a lot of work for Qantas back in the day.

[Patrick]: He's like the number one as far as celebrities go.

[Corinne]: Yeah, Wow. It's really exciting. I just wish I didn't have to wait months to see it. But 

[Patrick]: I know… 

[Corinne]: I know you've been working with your team prior to COVID. I've been following on social media and it takes time to get it right. And obviously COVID did impact everything, but the industry is bouncing back and doing really well post COVID. So hopefully you'll be able to progress a lot quicker and get that out to us.

[Patrick]: Well, it's fascinating as we sort of up until about six months ago, we were sort of just going to go with the, the archive footage and the old black and white photos and that match it up with the modern day things. And then when we brought in some other creative folks, they said, why don't we take all that cool stuff that we have access to, like the sets and the and the memorabilia and all the things and the uniforms and all that. And let's, let's really take it up a notch. And that's and so we want people to now experience what that experience was like. Right? And it's such a different we had to sort of reinvent the wheel. This is after this we know COVID was ending. So, we were we had been kind of in a no man's land for a couple of years. And Bill Shatner was just more “Yeah, that sounds a lot, a lot more like a what? It sounds like I like that more “so he because it's more like a scripted series in that respect. So it's what they call a premium documentary series, kind of like ‘Men who Built America’ and those kind of shows that are current right now. So, it's a little bit more dramatic. But again, as far as my eyesight goes, I want to make sure it is absolutely what, what really was happening before as opposed to the fantasy. A lot of unfortunately, a lot of Hollywood folks don't have that background. That's kind of where I kind of come in on this thing because I've turned it over to a lot of people that are experts in that industry and do what they do. But I want to make sure continuity is the main thing, to keep it keep it efficient and authentic.

[Corinne]: Yeah. And I think what we touched on, you've got a team of advisors that are ex-airline executives as well advising you every step of the way. So that will help with that authenticity and storytelling.

[Patrick]: And we want the airlines to have 100% inclusion in that decision, whatever. We're not going to do anything negative. I mean, there might be some a little bit of an accident that caught, but as a result of an accident, created air traffic control avoidance TCAS, for instance, that happened on a on a flight to San Diego, had a mid-air collision. But as a result of that collision, now you have a huge advantage in safety. Now, two airplanes can actually see each other in flight. So that's so things like that. We're not going to get too heavy into that because it's a negative and the airlines don't want it. It's about the feel good and it's about celebrating the airline industry as opposed to negative. So out of negative, sometimes it really is good things that come about. And then we want the airlines to put their stories and their people in front of the camera. From the, from the baggage handler that has, you know, feeds his family and the generations of those generation of pilots. The mother daughter pilots for Delta Airlines would be one. So there's all kind of cool stories like that. There's so many women in aviation is so exciting. And we have brought in some, some experts in that in that world as well. My list is like I have like 4000 people but go to for expertise. So that's lucky. I profess not to be an expert in anything, but I know how to find the expert.

[Corinne]: That's being an expert in itself. Being able to find know where to go to get what you need. But I think, you know, you touched on something there. I think that diversity, that representation and inclusion and to show how that has come about, I think that's going to be huge. And hearing that there's a focus on women in aviation. Historically, we know it's been an industry that has been predominantly men and also within inflight entertainment connectivity, kind of, you know, the playground. I like to play in is, usually men. But now with technology and more encouragement and programs out there, more women are getting involved. And I think it's a great thing.

[Patrick]: Sure. Absolutely. Yeah. In fact, the other day I was on a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles. There was only 22 of us on that flight was, was delightful. But the the selection of IFE was amazing. In fact, I think I was I watched Maverick the first time, actually. Yeah. Really? Yeah. Like, why didn't you go to the theater? Well, I don't know. I just wanted everybody else to see it first. But I saw it on the plane, and it was fantastic. And it was like the selection and the range of choices was you couldn't watch everything if, if you had a 20 hour flight, you know, it was so much stuff and it was really great. It was like I was so happy to see that. I'm happy to see that. Like, for instance, United just ordered, what, 100, 200 aircraft and they're all going to be fully equipped with IFE and so many other things that I'm happy to see that they moved away from the bring your own phone kind of thing and that kind of thing, because I think it's much more dynamic if, if there's a if there's a screen in the back of that seat.

[Corinne]: Obviously Delta is doing it. United made the decision to bring seatback screens on domestic aircraft… last I read, American still holding back. They're still, you know, investing in the bring your own device and time will tell.

{Double chime sound}

[Patrick]: So what we have to do right now is we're filming a few little pieces to complete our our, our what they call a presentation demo to the network officials. And there's about three networks that are negotiating with us right now. So, we're 90% confident that that's going to happen and we don’t to see a problem with it. It is a very complex series. Yes, very, very in-depth. A lot of once we get past like the, the writing of it, it's going to happen a lot faster and things will materialize. So it's and it's I like have my hands tied behind my back. So I'm like, no, do I put out that I can get away with? I'm like, okay, I can put this out. I can put that out, and I have to go through a whole approval process of that. Yeah, we're now able to show some of the, the recreative stuff, you know, so we're, we're putting some actors in and look like Tom Selleck, for instance, and the pilot and, you know, stuff like that. So it's like and we have so many people want to get involved and it's and we have like a secret studio in Redondo Beach that, that's where our where all our stuff is. You know we….

{Double chime sound}

[Corinne]: You know, I've got to go through a series of questions here very quickly just to share your thoughts and experiences. So what is of all the aircraft you've seen and flown, what is your favorite aircraft type?

[Patrick]: Oh, boy. I and this is I was pretty young back then, but I would say the Convair 880.

[Corinne]: I'm not familiar with that one.

[Patrick]: Yeah, that's that's how old I am. I love the DC8 because it's just noisy and loud and smoky, but it has really giant windows. You can, I love to look out the window. So I'm, I'm never not sat in the window seat.

[Corinne]: Oh, okay. So you prefer the window seat to the aisle?

[Patrick]: Of course I do. Yeah. And I'll climb over anybody to get out. But yeah, I love the window seat. And so yeah, old DC8s as far as a modern aircraft today. 78-9, 78-9.

[Corinne]: Oh Dreamliner 787-9. Yeah, one of my favorites. Have you flown the -10?

[Patrick]: I haven't flown it. Yeah. No I. I'm a United frequent flyer but I haven't been anywhere I needed United lately. So I've been going East Coast and just mostly JetBlue and Southwest. Of course, I like the 747 all variants of it.

[Corinne]: Queen of the skies. Yes.

[Patrick]: Yeah.

[Corinne]: When you're flying short haul or long haul, what do you like to do in flight? Do you like to sleep, eat, watch movies, music, podcasts, games, map? 

[Patrick]: I never sleep unless I get knocked out by something, But I don't know. I like to look at the map, quite frankly. I like to look out the window. I'd like to bring my own music with me. I like to you know, I like to just kind of drift off in my own world with, you know, a noise cancelling Bose headset. Look out the window. My neck is usually pretty messed up by the time I get off the plane because I'm always turning to the right or left.

[Corinne]: Technology has just really changed the way we travel. Like you said years ago, there was no in-flight entertainment. Now you've got these cool screens on the seatback you've got coming to your own personal device. Can I ask, have you ever connected to inflight Wi-Fi? 

[Patrick]: Yeah. Yeah. 

[Corinne]: And how has that experience been for you? Because, you know, it's relatively new technology. Has it been a good experience?

[Patrick]: Pretty slow. Yeah. I've had only a few few recently, I would say Southwest Airlines couple of times. 

{Double chime sound}

[Patrick]: So yeah, it's been quite a journey. It just feels like it's meant to be. By the way, we love to hear stories from people that are in the industry, so if they would like to volunteer, their stories, absolutely will listen to them because we want all the stories we can get.

[Corinne]: And in terms of the stories that you're looking for, because everybody's got experiences, are you what kind of know passenger experiences,  behind the scenes?

[Patrick]: Well, I think staff because we're looking directly for staff, we want to hear like, you know, the, the pilot that taught his son to fly and then his son is now the, the captain or the or the mom and the daughter or just like families that work in the airlines that have done it for generations, that kind of thing.

[Corinne]: You know, again, Patrick, thank you so, so much for, for spending some time with us telling about the “Airlines of the World”. And just for our listeners, if they want to kind of keep up and see these little breadcrumbs that you're dropping on social media, would it be the Facebook page or LinkedIn? What would be the best place to keep up to speed?

[Patrick]: Um, LinkedIn and Facebook is fine. Sure. Yeah. Probably LinkedIn gives a little bit more news for that. And yeah, LinkedIn for sure is definitely for the show.

[Corinne]: Okay, great. So, thank you again, Patrick, and you know, look forward to having you back on the show as things progress in 2023 to share more about “Airlines of the World”, thanks again.

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