S1 Ep9 - Ultra premium experiences on a luxury jet

Imagine embarking on a journey of a lifetime, where every moment is filled with awe-inspiring experiences and unparalleled service. TCS World Travel specializes in curating all-inclusive trips that deliver precisely that. They have carefully crafted their offerings to provide meaningful adventures in unique destinations across the globe all while flying in luxury private jets. Their expertise and dedication have earned them numerous accolades, making them the most-awarded jet expedition company globally. 

On today’s episode, I am joined by Ryan Dai, Digital Experience Manager at TCS World Travel who will talk to us about the luxury jet world tours. We’ll hear how IFC together with the digital technology plays an integral role in the overall passenger experience and the operations of TCS World Travel. 

It definitely is a departure from inflight entertainment for commercial air travel passengers, crafting digital and entertainment experiences for ‘ultra-premium’ customers on luxury jets. We’ll go behind-the-scenes to hear how the experience is shaped and delivered in order to exceed the expectations of customers who would have spent well into the six figures to be a part of a bespoke TCS World Travel experience. 

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This episode of On Your Flight Today is brought to you by IFECtiv, an inflight entertainment and connectivity consulting company. Dedicated to elevating the aviation industry's inflight entertainment products and experiences for airlines and suppliers. Visit www.IFECtiv.aero to learn more!

To sponsor an episode or advertise on the On Your Flight Today podcast, visit the show website: www.onyourflighttoday.com 

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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 This text may not be published online or distributed without written permission.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 9 – Ultra-premium experiences on a luxury jet

Live Date: June 2023

Host: Corinne Streichert

Guest: Ryan Dai, Digital Experience Manager, TCS World Travel 

[Introduction]: Imagine embarking on a journey of a lifetime, where every moment is filled with awe-inspiring experiences and unparalleled service. TCS World Travel specializes in curating all-inclusive trips that deliver precisely that. They have carefully crafted their offerings to provide meaningful adventures in unique destinations across the globe all while flying in luxury private jets. Their expertise and dedication have earned them numerous accolades, making them the most-awarded jet expedition company globally. 

On today’s episode, I am joined by Ryan Dai, Digital Experience Manager at TCS World Travel who will talk to us about the luxury jet world tours. We’ll hear how inflight entertainment and connectivity together with the digital technology plays an integral role in the overall passenger experience and the operations of TCS World Travel. 

It definitely is a departure from inflight entertainment for commercial air travel passengers, to be crafting digital and entertainment experiences for ‘ultra-premium’ customers on luxury jets. We’ll go behind-the-scenes to hear how the experience is shaped and delivered in order to exceed the expectations of customers who have spent well into the six figures to be a part of a bespoke TCS World Travel experience. 

So, get ready to delve into the fascinating world of TCS World Travel. Discover the magic behind the extraordinary adventures!

[Corinne]: Ryan, thank you for joining us. How are you today?

[Ryan]: I'm great. Thanks for having me.

[Corinne]: Yeah, really excited to have a chat and catch up and hear all about the exciting stuff that you've been up to. Anyway, well, let's dive right into it for our guests. So just to give a bit of background, I think we've known each other for I've lost count of how many years, but it's probably only 13 or 14. You know, I first got to know you back in, at United Airlines, where we started working together in Product many, many years ago. And I believe you were, if my memory serves me correctly, you did a bit of a stint in the brand team, but then the bulk of your career was in inflight entertainment. And we met when you were curating content for the inflight entertainment systems, the seatback, and also the birth of the streaming entertainment. I think if my memory serves me correctly, you were the one that christened the streaming entertainment product with, what was it?

[Ryan]: Personal device entertainment.

[Corinne]: Personal device entertainment. You think I wouldn't forget that one? That has come a long way. And I know we've you know, worked together for many years up until your departure from United a couple of years ago. And now you're at TCS World Travel. Really interested and excited to hear more about TCS World Travel, and for our listeners out there, can you kind of give us some insight like I hadn't heard of them until you started working there, so can you share a bit about what they do and what their goals are for our audience?

[Ryan]: Yeah. So TCS World Travel, they're a relatively small, smaller company, about 80 people. They're based in Seattle. They're leaders in this field. They're kind of the first to create private tours for guests on a private jet. And along with the private jet becomes a very exclusive, personalized experience on the ground as well. So they, they work with a charter airline to for aircraft and crew. And they also plan all the itineraries on the ground and the experiences that guests have. When I say private, it is open to the public, to anyone who is willing to pay the fee. You can go to their website and the trips are all for sale. The key thing is, is just this very exclusive experience. They fly in and out of mostly private airports or smaller airports, so you don't have the problem of dealing with hubs and layover time that commercial airlines would do so because of that, you can be very efficient with your time going from point A to B to C. And so one of the core product offerings that TCS is known for is their ‘Around the world’ tours 24, 25 days around the world. You start in the US and you kind of work your way to all these different locations around the world and you can only do it that quickly and that efficiently when you're flying a private airline, jet. So the Jets are two Airbus A321neos There are 52 seats each with lie flat. What TCS also does, TCS also partners with other brands such as Four Seasons and private organizations to create trips for them as well. So if you go to TCS or the Four Seasons website, you'll see they're selling the same trips. But those trips in the case of Four Seasons is operated by TCS. So it's a partnership. They work together to kind of elevate the experience even more that you would normally see on a TCS trip.

[Corinne]: Wow, sounds wonderful. I have visited the website and looked at some of the tours and it's going to places that are not very easily accessible through commercial travel. And I think obviously the price, there's a price tag that comes with that and probably say it's about 10 to 20 times more than a premium seat. But you are getting the whole travel experience, the whole tour, accommodation and, and meals and all of that.  

{Double chime sound}

[Corinne]: In terms of your role at TCS World Travel. So you're the in-flight digital experience manager. Correct me if I'm wrong, so you're really responsible for the whole inflight entertainment experience and digital experience are similar to the role you had at United in Inflight entertainment and connectivity. And I guess I'm really fascinated to hear you’re really dealing with a different type of clientele here when you're planning your inflight experiences to what we would have been used to at a commercial airline. Are you able to kind of elaborate more on what the tastes and the differences in kind of viewing experiences and how you curate content for this kind of what I call ultra-premium customer?

[Ryan]: So aboard these aircraft, we do have a streaming entertainment system. And we utilizing the Airbus OSP system that came off the line with these aircraft. And so we partnered with an vendor to create a very custom GUI interface as well as streaming content to iPad Pro 12.9in and Bose noise cancelling headsets. So, every, every guest on the trip has one of these, an iPad and a headphone at their seat. I was brought in to kind of operationalize this, this, this product offering and it was already selected when I walked in. And so it was a matter of, okay, the first trips are coming. This was after Covid two had taken a break for about two years. And during that time they had kind of worked to get this new system together on board. So we do work with the CSP. It's a very small team. So we don't we don't have the team they know sift through all the movies and watch them for ourselves. But we do work with the CSP to provide suggestions on our clientele as well as we also partner with Titan Airways on the content because they also have a say in the content. So we kind of share that pool of content. We definitely, you know, coming from United, our budget is much different than what we had at United in terms of, you know, all kind of major deals and just, you know, thousands and thousands of titles. But I mean, we have about, you know, we have a good mix of Hollywood new releases, but there is a there's a focus also more on destination content, particularly where where you're going on the trip. We work with the CSP to make sure that there is destination content, whether it's taken place or about or some sort of relation to some of these destinations that we go to. We focus in on that and we try to highlight that content in the GUI. when you go to that section of the interactive that talks about the destination. So the inflight digital experience and is extremely customized. It's one of the most customized GUIs I've seen in terms of displaying information related to the flight. The work that goes into creating the GUI content aside from the entertainment selections, it's about a month and a half to two months prior to the actual trip launch you because all the information for the trip is actually loaded on the iPad. All destination maps, things to do while you're there, even though the agendas are already determined for them, it's kind of like a one on one destination content we put on there. And so it also has content about the accommodations. So as you can see, it's very specific to the trip. There's new GUI content loaded for every single trip, and so it's highly customized in that way. Also, it's customized in the sense that our Chefs also have access to the CMS on board because TCS Chefs are often working at the last minute as to what the menu items are for each leg of the trip, because they're working with local, local hotels, local resources, local ingredients to create the food on board. A lot of people have a part in the GUI and entertainment wise. Like I said, you know, everybody joys, I think the same baseline kind of new release stuff. But there is more of a focus on destination content, whether it's like Peruvian music, if you're going to Peru or some movies about Africa because we're going to a lot of African destinations. And also one thing is that our demographic, our demographic is average around 60 plus years old, and they are a lot of them are retired or they're working professionals at that age. So we tend not to put like kids material on there. We save that slots like that for something else we think is more appropriate for our demographic. So we don't have a wide, wide range of stuff like a commercial airline would. It's definitely highly curated, not only from the content perspective, but also from just GUI content.

[Corinne]: That's interesting. So given that you say the bulk of the travelers on that are taking these kinds of tours are probably 60 onwards, I was of the understanding that there is also the option to customize a trip for anyone really that has the, the funds to be able to afford it. But you're saying some of the pre-planned ones that are sold are really targeted towards that kind of 60 plus retired group.

[Ryan]: Anyone could take it. Like I know that people in the the product development group, these are the groups that are responsible for creating trips, for planning trips. There's been a focus on trying to create some agendas that would more appealing to a younger crowd. But it's not it's not like intentional. It's just kind of the way it is, is that generally the demographic that purchases these trips is, you know, 60 plus, possibly retired, you know, CEOs, CFOs or very successful entrepreneurs. So it's a it's a whole new world. I didn't know this world existed until I was kind of exploring opportunities professional opportunities in came up. There are other players in this field. We're not the only one, but we're definitely one of the most established ones in the field.

[Corinne]: So a couple of things. I just want to kind of go back and touch on. So from a hardware perspective, you know, obviously these aircraft are operated by Titan. You mentioned on the A321s, you mentioned that equipment was Airbus OSP. Are you able to tell us a bit more about that?

[Ryan]: So we actually are one of the launch customers using Airbus OSP. Basically it's it's like off the rack entertainment system, streaming entertainment system installed from the plane. It is servers are already built into the plane and as well as wireless access points when it comes off the line. So an IFE vendor is not providing equipment. You know, when you when you work with the customers OSP, they're providing software at this point. Another element that makes us really unique is that the, IFE software also has to support a presentation system. And this is probably the really the unique aspect of a private airline, I won't say private airline, but a private tour operator versus a commercial airline is that the selection of the IFE vendor was heavily dependent upon its ability to create a presentation system. When I say presentation system on these flights, these flight legs for these guests, we have we call ‘Experts’. They are, you know, professors, specialists in a lot of fields that come in lecture on the destinations that the guests are headed to or some sort of topic related to the destinations. And so, you know, when they're flying, they're not just enjoying themselves and, you know, laying back. They're also getting enriched by content and trying content related to the destinations that are going to by some very well-known people in fields such as archaeology, art history or related to the destination. So the IFE software on OSP also had to support a streaming presentation system. It's a, it's a very holistic experience from the time you step into airport number one, you know, when the trip starts to you get on the plane, it's, you know, TCS really aims to make it not, not only enjoyable, but, you know, an enriching experience where, you know, maybe you learned a lot of things about these destinations that you never thought. And so and on the ground, you know, highly works with highly curates what goes on the ground and works with a lot of reputable local agencies, local tour guides to bring that once in a lifetime experience. So, yeah, I mean kind of the goal. A lot of the presentations on board is to psyche psyche guests up you know for the next stop. And and not only that I've noticed, I've been on a couple of these trips myself, you know, and observing that, you know, these guests not only form bonds with each other, but they're also forming really good friendships and bonds with the experts. You know, they really they really get to know them and they really befriend them. And I just I think that adds a very special element to the trip where, I mean, if you think about it, you go on your own trip. If you had a more or less, you know, expert, let's say you're going to Egypt and you know you're traveling with an expert on the pyramids, it's it's pretty it's a pretty cool relationship and experience to go through. And, you know, TCS very much has we call it enrichment, you know, when we bring experts on board and try to you know, it's an additional element to the trip. Um, you know, we get a lot of great feedback on the experts and the experts also enjoyed themselves. So it's quite a win-win for the enrichment aspect of TCS.

[Corinne]: Wow. So you're saying that someone, someone out there that has expertise in a certain topic is getting paid to take a private tour on a private jet to exotic destinations, being fed by chefs, experiencing the best of everything and that somebody's job?

[Ryan]: Ah, yeah. I mean, it's. It's a pretty nice gig. Um. Now, it's hard. Not everyone can do it because you got to have the schedule right, because these trips are weeks. Most, most of these people are retired professors or experts in the field that they can have the time to take a three week trip off. You know what I mean? A lot of them are repeat experts that come on board, so it's like they'll do one trip and two months later they'll do another. Yeah, I mean, I don't know the actual like search process. I know there are people dedicated on our staff who who's whose job is to find experts. That would be a good fit for us. But they're lovely people. I mean, yeah, it's it's a it's a good gig.

[Corinne]: How do you get to become an expert? Can I be an expert on Sydney or Las Vegas?

[Ryan]: This is this is probably the area where some others in my department are probably better suited to answer. But from what I know, there are partnerships that we have with certain organizations that provide the experts.

[Corinne]: Wow. You know, once once this episode goes live, I imagine you're going to get inundated with requests. 

{Double chime sound}

[Corinne]: It's such a different way to travel and one that we normally wouldn't have considered. We all love to travel in commercial aircraft. We all love to sit at the front and have that experience. But this goes so, so much way beyond not just getting from point A to B, but the whole experience of, you know, air and ground tied together. You said you've been on a couple of trips. Have you visited anywhere kind of exciting or unique where you can't really access it via commercial travel?

[Ryan]: Yeah. So I participated in part of one of our our what I call classic around the world trips is is known for these around the world trips we have multiple around the world and they're usually sold out. I would say some of the really interesting places I've been is Machu Picchu in Peru. I think you can still get there commercially, but just as just one of the places I, just loved. And kind of one of the more interesting places I've been to is Easter Island. Easter Island is quite remote, and I think most most people don't say, I'm going to go to Easter Island for my vacation. That's it. You know, the places that TCS puts on its itinerary are not only enjoyable, but they're quite eye opening places a lot that you wouldn't maybe pick on your own. But when you get there, it's it's kind of like, wow, I can't believe that more people aren't coming here or what a great surprise. Yeah, I would say Easter Island is one of the more interesting and wonderful places I've been to. It's just kind of in the middle of just middle of nowhere. But getting there is, is is such a thrill. It's such a treat to be there. And yeah, we definitely in terms of IFE content, we try to look definitely look for stuff that highlights some of these really special destinations. So yeah, TCS does tend to avoid, you know, the big, the big commercial cities that everyone tends to go to. They like to select a little more off the beaten path, but not but they do it very well. I mean, again, the accommodations are top notch and the experiences and the way you spend your time on the ground is, is is really once in a lifetime. But yeah, I would say Easter Island is is really interesting in the Moai statues that I think everyone has seen. So it's been fun. Yeah.

[Corinne]: Yeah. That would have been quite an experience. So our listeners listening to this, they're probably all going to go to the website now and think, Oh wow, I'd love to book one of those tours, but I think we should warn them that the price tag there is quite a hefty price tag that comes along with this, but not what you'd probably be used to as a commercial traveler, even flying in a first class cabin. Yeah, I mean, you're paying for a whole experience. And, you know, just on that point in terms of the in-flight entertainment and the whole digital experience, it's not traditionally what we would know from a commercial perspective. It sounds like it's really immersive. It's really about the whole tour. It's about the destination. So and if I understood correctly, they're not on that plane to enjoy the comforts of it and kick back and watch some Hollywood stuff on their way to their destination, they're there to immerse themselves in that whole tour in the places they're visiting, the culture and sounds like the cuisine is also complimentary to that as well.

[Ryan]: Yeah, I definitely don't want to paint a picture that nobody is watching movies on board. I think what's great about the IFE approach that has taken with their system is, you know, it suits everybody for what they want to do on the plane. You know, if you want to watch movies and relax, that's available. And lots of guests do that. And lots of guests have told me this is it's kind of one of the only places they have downtime. The agenda is quite packed, you know, to to visit around the world in 20 something days and see all the things it needs to be booked. So a lot of times on the plane it's just time to relax and watch a movie. But at the same time, if they if they choose to watch or participate in the presentation, they can do it as well. So it's it's either one, you know, if you want to be enriched and a lot of guests just chime in just because they're curious and they find out it's more interesting than they ever thought it would be. The IFE system is dual purpose. It's, you know, to kick back, relax because people do want to see movies on these flights. But yet if you don't if you don't want to and you'd want to try something different and listen to a expert first hand on your flight that you're that you have at your disposal, I wouldn't say disposal, but you have readily available on this trip and engage with them. You can do that, too. There's always different options for what you want to do on a trip and TCS also does it as well on the ground. A lot of the activities are together, but then again, there's a lot of breakout sessions or places to go that you can pick from depending on what you want to do. So yeah, so TCS just really is trying to make digital onboard experience a real integral part of the trip as a whole. And I think they're doing a very good job doing that.

[Corinne]: It just got me thinking. When you think of some of those, I won't say five star because I think too many in that category when you're talking six seven star commercial carriers that would really want to offer that experience on a commercial level, that would be really, really hard. I'm just thinking off the top of my head to maintain that kind of information and the ability to change it per flight. It sounds like this is something that and I'm sure as technology progresses, they'll find a way to do it. But for the moment, this is something that could really only be supported in this ultra private tour kind of environment.

[Ryan]: So a lot of the work is, you know, yes, I oversee in project manage the whole process of getting the content into the plane. But every trip that we have the work for populating the content into the GUI starts about two months prior to the trip. So you got to make sure your timelines are very well set out because a lot of the work is obtaining the accurate information to go into the trip. And a lot of times you're working against the clock because you got to send it off to a vendor for integration work and you need to have all the information in there before it's sent off because once it's loaded on the plane, it cannot be changed unless someone logs into the CMS on the plane, which you can There's the ability to, you know, connect to the Wi-Fi through a URL and get into the CMS. The problem is most of the people on the plane aren't trained in the CMS. So if there are content changes, they need to be done at the last minute, we kind of evaluate them. How critical is it to the guest experience? If we get ample time of the update, we could do updates remotely and have a packet sent to the plane. So there's, a there's a lot of work to make sure you get the most accurate information, which is I've learned it's hard to nail that down so far in advance. So that's one of the biggest challenges too, is making sure that when you send it off for integration, that it's the best it can be. And if there are changes after that, how are you going to update it? You know, who's going to update it and what is the best place to do it.

[Corinne]: Now, you would be you wouldn't have that drama. You could push your updates over the over Wi-Fi if there was integration.

[Ryan]: It's a roadmap item. But for for a system this bespoke, it would be nice to be connected. Because that information is very fluid. Some of our partnerships actually utilize connectivity to bring up content in the GUI. So for instance, an example that would be if we list a menu for a restaurant, we don't want it to be outdated, but we want them to see what's on at the restaurant. We rely on a URL, so there's where connectivity is important, not in the works sense, but for for us.

[Corinne]: Oh. So do your iPads connect to the Internet on board?

[Ryan]: Yes, they can. Yes. Yes.

[Corinne]: Do you offer free access? Are you able to share that or..?

[Ryan]: Yes. 

[Corinne]: For that price, I imagine you'd have to, can’t make them pull out a card to pay ten bucks to buy Wi-Fi. Yeah. So your iPads are connected to the internet and you leverage that to get more up to date information.

[Ryan]: Which is the only reason why people usually don't use their own devices. Because usually for leisure travel you just want to check things here and there. They'll just use the device that's there unless it's, you know, some people do like using their own devices. But again, a lot of our guests are leisure travelers. They're retired. They're not in the hub bub of the day to day of a job. I'm not saying that for everybody.

[Corinne]: But so really fascinating stuff there to hear how that works. And, you know, I think it's something that's really unique to that environment and that kind of experience that you won't find commercially just yet, I think, as technology. But, you know, sounds like there are some constraints on your side because you've really only got two aircraft. And if you were to, you know, wanting to get some type of customization in in your process or your product, for two aircraft to be tough to get priority and resourcing to support that, I guess pros and cons on both sides. I also wanted to ask you about this presentation system that you had you had mentioned. So when you speak of a presentation system, is that, you know, can you kind of help me picture it out? Is it a broadcast to all devices? Is it similar to how, you know, a safety video would be just pushed to all the seatback or the devices or what makes it a presentation system?

[Ryan]: The presentation system is very important to the product, like many competitors. And do give presentations on board and they do utilize part of the IFE system to do it.

[Corinne]: So it sounds like it's kind of like screen sharing technology to be able to educate and present throughout the flight. Wow. That's really interesting.

[Ryan]: I mean, it makes us happy that, you know, what we're providing and what we've invested a lot in is appealing. And they want to use it because, you know, we've invested a lot of research in making sure we provide the best digital experience, not from a software and GUI standpoint, but also just from like a equipment standpoint. So that's that's nice to know that generally most people like to use it, but we're not against anyone using their own device. We just can't guarantee certain things, like if they're using their own device and they want to watch the presentation and it's not working, well, it's optimized for use on the iPad.

[Corinne]: Also, you can't connect your personal device to the server and see the GUI and everything like that as well. Okay. Yeah. Okay, cool. But it's not guaranteed. But you know, it does work on the iPads that you provide. Okay. Interesting. Right?

[Ryan]: Right. Because that's the only thing we test on.

[Corinne]: Okay. Because then you don't have to worry about all the different versions of operating systems and different devices. Yeah. Do you have any input into the Wi-Fi portal? So I know you said it's managed by Titan, but do you have any branding or any kind of say in the design and what's presented to the customer?

[Ryan]: So there are just there's just a reseller that we work. I was just involved in a project to redo it, to make it more user friendly because too many complaints came.

{Double chime sound}

[Corinne]: The analytics that you would get in terms of, you know, the experience on board. Are you are you getting that from your vendor also from the hardware provider and then from the WiFi provider? Or is it kind of aggregated?

[Ryan]: It's not aggregated at this point. It's separate. So we need to go to the separate vendors when we want to get the the data from them.

[Corinne]: Oh, okay. Would you say that a lot of your decisions in terms of the experience and what you're creating for the passengers is very data driven or are the trips so unique and it's so different and it's it could be potentially be a different demographic, whether it's the whole leisure group over 60 or you've got a professional organization that you can't really use that to enhance the experience because the experience is so tailored.

[Ryan]: There's definitely a lot of. Review and feedback and data that goes into making improvements in these programs. I know some of some of these trips are. You know long time and tested ones of TCS. And so there's a lot of history that they know what works and what doesn't. I know we definitely have an analytics group that surveys guests after trips and this is all tallied and reviewed and lots of notes from all the people on the trips to consistently make sure that we have a seamless experience for guests on board. In terms of IFE um, yeah, we there's analytics that come from, you know, viewing stats and feedback from guests on board and that's, that's always taken into consideration to continually improve the product. Um, I'm excited that a lot of the vendors we work with are improving kind of the data tools that are available to get even deeper into a lot of this information we'd love to know. So yeah, definitely TCS is data driven, but also I think a lot of it just comes from experience, what they've done with guests in the past and talking to them first hand. So it's a good combination of both.

[Corinne]: So I'm just curious does TCS have a loyalty program or is that something that because of the nature of the product, the costs?

[Ryan]: Not a loyalty program. I think so. Much like a typical airline loyalty, they have benefits and perks for repeat customers. Very useful loyalty club because many of our guests are repeat customers. So…

[Corinne]: Interesting. Yeah, but I'm sure they don't have any partners or anything. I'm just trying to think if I can use some of my points to, to get on one of your trips.

[Ryan]: Oh, yeah. There's no there's no point redemption or anything like that. You can get on there. Unfortunately, there's no alliance or, you know, you don't gain points, you don't earn them. You can't use them. Yeah, it's not like.

[Corinne]: Aaahhh, Maybe that's some feedback you can take to your leadership. 

[Ryan]: Yes. 

[Corinne]: So just pivoting to a fun part of the show so we get to know you a little bit better and might learn from some of your experiences. And I know you've you've travelled quite a bit. Do you have a favourite aircraft type?

[Ryan]: I think the A380 is just kind of fun because it's so big. I just think it's just another testament to the marvel of aviation. I mean, the fact that that thing gets up in the sky is able to get off the runway, being, you know, in the air for God knows how long and then land with some grace on pavement is pretty amazing I think. I will be very honest, I wouldn't say I'm Avgeek by definition. I enjoy travel, you know, in the aviation industry, obviously, because I've been here for a while. I'm definitely more in tune about experience and what happens from the minute you buy your ticket to getting on the plane and getting off the plane. I’ll draw a comparison, Right. I'd rather have great service and great food on an older plane than horrible service and horrible food on a new plane.

[Corinne]: Oh, that's a good way to put it. So you obviously fly a lot of long haul, short haul and more commercially because not everybody has had the privilege of flying. You're one of those private tours. But from a commercial perspective, what do you like to do on short haul versus long haul flights? Watching movies, sleep music, podcasts, games, eat? I think I know you enough to know, eat. {chuckles}

[Ryan]: {chuckles} I do like to eat on a long haul trip. Usually on long haul flights. I. I used to be really into entertainment, but actually now I tend to to want to go to get a good rest on the plane. A good rest is really important to me. But on short haul I will watch entertainment more. Definitely.

[Corinne]: Okay. What's your favorite genre?

[Ryan]: I like murder mystery type stuff.

[Corinne]: Really.

[Ryan]: But more of kind of like the old school whodunits.

[Corinne]: Recently, has there been an experience that kind of exceeded your expectations when you've been flying commercially, whether it be short haul or long haul out of the US? And it's an opportunity to kind of give a team a pat on the back because, you know, when we've been in this business, we don't often get people that, you know, see the work that we do and, and appreciate all the hard work. So this is an opportunity to do that.

[Ryan]: Actually, think of three really quick ones. Like the first one was a recent flight domestically. I took Alaska Airlines. I do have status on one world, but not through not through Alaska's loyalty program. So when I booked, I don't expect any recognition. I you know, other than they give you like, oh, you can board earlier. But on one particular flight, I thought they were only calling out their own Elites. But I was in the exit row and they have their mobile device, like all flight attendants do these days and have information about the passenger. And they actually addressed me by name and said, you know, thank you for flying with us and your your loyalty. And it was a little gesture was like a little piece of chocolate. And I think it was a drink coupon maybe, but I thought that was pretty amazing, not being a high roller in their own loyalty program just through the alliance, because I know most airlines, I don't think they do that where they, you know, give recognition to every single person, whether they're in the alliance or not. So I thought that was nice. In terms of just experience, I've always been impressed by my experience in Qatar, um, just consistently delivering, um, great customer service, great food and great experience. From the minute you buy your ticket to the minute you come home. It's been I've always thought that they did a really good job with it. The third one is, is a funny one. Maybe you'll think this is funny, but I had been on Jal, I was in their lounge in Tokyo and, you know, we we went through some of the lounges, right? You've seen a few of them and some good ones and some sketchy ones maybe. But it was the first time I actually saw a sushi bar manned with sushi chefs making it on the spot. Like it wasn't like lined up sushi like that was been sitting there like you would see, you know, it was literally like going into one of those sushi bars, like a restaurant. And you walk up to the counter and the guy makes it from scratch. And they had full time guys sitting there making sushi from scratch. It's not like they were behind, you know, a wall and someone orders it and goes, it was one of those on display ones where they wanted to show you a spectacle, too. So I think that was pretty remarkable in terms of offerings in the lounge.

[Corinne]: Was that a first-class lounge?

[Ryan]: It might have been a first-class lounge. I think it was, because it was status. I think that status got me in there. That sounds really pretentious, but I think at that time, yeah, I mean, my my oneworld status was high enough to get into the first lounge.

[Corinne]: Thank you for naming three. I think it's, you know, really great to hear what others are doing out there and to recognize the people behind that. And I think for our listeners as well, you know, to kind of share those experiences that you might not necessarily read about. Okay. And then finally, you're from Chicago, Illinois. I've lived there for a few years and but want to hear it from you. I think you're born and raised there. So for our listeners and you know, everybody's in this space, some of them are just travelers or just people wanting to learn more. With Chicago, what would you recommend to anyone visiting for the first time that they try and see and anything that they should try and eat?

[Ryan]: Well, I think I'll start with the eat first. I mean, it's kind of stereotypical, but I love Chicago Deep dish pizza. It's like pizza cake, essentially. Um, but I. I love Lou Malnati's in particular. I'm a fan of Lou Malnati's. In terms of stuff to do, I mean, I, I love art and I love architecture. So, you know, Chicago is one of the great art museums in the world, The Art Institute with a very great collection. I think they're known for their impressionist collection. But aside from that, there's there's there's so much to see there. Also, there's there's some really great architecture tours in the city that you can take.

[Corinne]: Yes. There's one that goes down that river. 

[Ryan]: Yes. There's a boat tour one and then there's also one you can just take like I think you can take one on the bus in the summer. But Chicago has so many really interesting buildings and there's such a interesting story behind the history of these buildings. And I think it's just really interesting when you learn about all these stories behind the buildings that you would just normally walk by and you can you know, once someone points out these things, it's like, oh, yeah, yeah, I could totally see that. So, I would recommend that.

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[Corinne]: You know, with your experience from a commercial background and now in like private jet tours and to get some insight into that and the the inflight entertainment experience, the digital experience, the Wi-Fi, and to understand how that all comes together, it's been really, really fascinating. [Ryan], thank you. It's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you so much for joining us and for sharing those insights. And I'm sure that's given our listeners some really great insight into TCS the world of private jet travel and tour travel. And hopefully we can all start saving our pennies to try and get a ride on there or become an expert. So thanks again and all the best. 

[Ryan]: My pleasure, Corinne, thank you for having me.

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