162 LAX - Premiumization in the Front, Shrinkflation in the Back: The State of Air Travel Today with Hakan Yilmaz

Hakan Yilmaz is an airline management and operations consultant, and a longtime listener to the show.

He returns to the podcast to share everything relevant in aviation today, what he sees through his work and travels.

Notably, we discuss the trend of the enhancement (and increase) of the premium part of the flying experience, as opposed to an apparent worsening of flying in economy, including what is the perceived value of premium versus the actual value (including the hiccups of seat certification).

We also debate whether low cost airlines' glory years are behind them (Ryanair being the exception), whether AI is more than a buzzword for airlines (besides those pesky chat bots), how narrow bodies are creating new opportunities for medium to long haul travel (is United the de facto third Japanese carrier?! Will they ever have a Pokemon livery then??), and what is the future global outlook for air travel.

Does Finnair have the best business seat there is? Can Kirby make United an Emirates? Other good questions we touch on (plus quoting Sir Tim Clark, the Emirates Almighty, is often a good idea).

Hakan can be found on Twitter:

https://x.com/LAflyr

The Lufthansa book we mention:

https://www.amazon.com/Lufthansa-First-Years-Hartmut-Berghoff/dp/3791393898

The seat map site that is taking over the world:

https://www.aerolopa.com

Hakan appeared in episodes 124 in 2023, and 140 in 2024.