Hello everyone,
Bertrand and I wish a happy new year to all our readers on the blog and followers on social networks, both on a family and professional level, but especially a year rich in travels and various adventures around the world. Whether TravelGuys can help you plan your travels or get an overview of your future flights or hotels, or simply keep you up to date on airline news.
New: launch of TravelGuys TV
A new year means a new concept on TravelGuys!
Did you used to follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook in addition to the blog? Discover now our YouTube channel, and our new TravelGuys TV concept!
You will find there our air and hotel experiences lived by Bertrand, myself, or both of us, but also TGTV The Show our monthly program that deciphers the traveler experience. And of course, special formats to discover throughout the year.
Remember that this is not our professional activity, and that we are just starting out in video. All your kind advice will be welcome.
But now it’s time for the editorial!
A year of concern in terms of safety in 2020
When we talk about security in the airline industry, we often refer to airport security, which we experience, which you experience every time you travel by plane.
The security escalation began decades ago, after the 9/11 tragedy, with the banning of liquids in the cabin in most parts of the world, and continues to grow stronger by the day, with the banning of certain lithium batteries, which generate potential cabin fires.
Nevertheless, some states are smarter than others by profiling travelers in a more intelligent way to check only those who could be of concern, as evidenced by the TSA Pre program in effect in the United States for almost a decade.
This program allows for streamlined screening for frequent travelers, and faster airside access at some U.S. airports. Pretty smart.
But the problem of the moment is more serious, less controllable by the authorities. It was sadly illustrated at the beginning of the year by the shooting down of a Boeing 737-800 of the airline Ukraine International, Flight PS752, on January 8th. As can be expected in such cases, all 167 passengers and 9 crew members perished in this explosion which, for the moment, is qualified as a human error, a missile having been fired by mistake on this plane considered by the military as a threat.
And this is not the first time this has happened… Everyone still remembers the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which completely disappeared from circulation and was never found… A few days later, flight MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in Ukraine… Sad coincidence!
These two disasters have one thing in common… It is that no solution, or international procedure is in force and for good reason: nothing can govern the military procedures at the international level… Stay tuned!
The year of the return of the Boeing 737 MAX 8?
In terms of safety, 2019 has not been a great year for Boeing either… Between the investigation related to the crash of Lion Air Flight 610, which already highlighted design problems with the aircraft, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 in early 2019, which was very similar to that of Lion Air, Boeing has suffered a lot in 2019, especially following the global decision to stop operations of the 737 MAX 8 after these two crashes.
Boeing has even chosen to stop production… Faced with such a fiasco, the Chicago firm even had to start storing planes in the employees’ parking lot at the Seattle plant.
How will Boeing manage the return to favor of its aircraft? Give us your opinion in the comments!
Bankruptcies, who’s next?
We talked about it recently: air transport is a fragile industry, directly linked to the political and economic context, but now as dependent on the price of oil as on the cost of labor.
And in particular, Alitalia, which the latest buyer, Ferrovie Dello Stato, has just dropped.
Will 2020 mark the end of Alitalia as we have known it to date? Maybe… Even if the hope of a takeover by Lufthansa remains (we would love it!)
Bottom line
A note of hope in conclusion: the efforts made by the airlines in terms of ecology are salutary. They are finally communicating about their real impact, and it’s good to see that air travel is finally starting to change!
Ciao, Greta !
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