Cranky Talk – Russia Invades Ukraine
We did things a bit different this week. We started recording last week, and then we realized things were changing so fast in the Russia/Ukraine situation that we just stopped. I’m glad we did, because a whole lot changed between now and then… and honestly, more has likely changed between the time we recorded this and time you actually listen to it.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is nothing short of a humanitarian disaster, and though we were tempted to veer into broader discussion, we did our best to keep this on topic with airlines, aircraft, and everything else in that world.
Email Dave here and ask him why he hasn’t volunteered to go fight for Ukraine yet.
Download Cranky Talk here or listen below.
4 comments on “A New Cranky Talk is Live – Russia Invades Ukraine”
“Graffiti your nearest airplane lavatory with a 5-star rating for this podcast. We endorse airplane vandalism.” — Dave and Brett, Cranky Podcast
I have to give y’all credit for finding a creative (albeit largely unrelated to the topic at hand) way to find some levity to end a podcast on a war.
Also, I see “DAVE’S ARMY” (with a picture or stylized image of Dave’s head) T-shirts as being a fun item for your next charity auction. Maybe do a parody on the old British show, “Dad’s Army”?
/Who am I kidding, I will almost bet money know that someone will show up with Dave-themed shirt(s) at your av geek event the Saturday after Labor Day.
Thank you everyone for the helpful feedback today. This is the best constructive commentary we’ve received, and we really appreciate it.
Initial efforts at frivolity were misplaced. This was a podcast about war after all. Not that this was match point, but it was an unforced error. Fortunately, you did rally and offered useful insights on pre-sanction behavior of airlines, distinctions among levels of cooperation (interline, codeshare, alliance), and who can fly through which airspace. Would have been nice to hear more about impacts of the airspace decisions, The Finnair example was helpful, but you understand this at a deeper level than most and, for example, could have explained what the schedule changes mean for aircraft utilization and, therefore, the impact on fares. Great analysis of Alaska announcement re oil pricing and jet fuel costs. More of this, please. Points like this are where you have an advantage over other news outlets/commentators. More of this would probably result in more people listening to Cranky Talks.
Alaska is short pilots… this fuel costs is an excuse. Their pilot attrition is high… their contract is lagging most of the other airlines.