AvTalk Episode 158: JetBlue’s surprise bid for Spirit

On this episode of AvTalk, CNBC airline reporter Leslie Josephs joins us to discuss JetBlue’s surprise bid for Spirit Airlines. Plus, we pull up a beach towel and take a good long look at Condor’s new livery. NTSB helping download China Eastern flight recorders Chinese investigators sent at least one of the data recorders from China Eastern 5735 to the NTSB lab in Washington last week. Recorder specialists there are working to retrieve the data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder to understand what happened to the flight. Listen to our interview with NTSB recorder specialist Sean Payne   Condor Condor unveiled its bold new livery. And it’s bold. And new. We decide how we feel about the new color scheme and give Condor a few suggestions for improvement. AF11 An Air France 777 on approach to Paris—Charles de Gaulle deviated from its approach as pilots struggled with the aircraft not responding to commands. After disconnecting the autopilot the crew performed a go-around and landed safely not long after. The French BEA is investigating. We discuss what we know so far. Ingenuity wins the Collier NASA’s Ingenuity won the 2022 Collier Trophy. The trophy is awarded by the National Aeronautic Association for “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.” JetBlue’s surprise bid for Spirit In an attempt to understand what in the world JetBlue is thinking, we turn to CNBC airlines reporter Leslie Josephs for some much needed context as the airline makes a much larger bid for Spirit Airlines than rival Frontier. What does JetBlue hope to get out of a merger with Spirit and what are the potential hurdles to getting approval from the government? Thai airline apologizes for April Fool’s joke An April Fool’s twitter joke by Thai VietJet has led to a complaint to the police, a public apology, and staff being reprimanded. 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.