Airplane Geeks Podcast

We talk with Skúli Mogensen, CEO of WOW air, the low cost carrier from Iceland. Also, Miami Rick from the Airline Pilot Guy show joins us and gives us his insights on flying the Boeing 777 Long Range Freighter. We talk about commercial pilot salaries, pilot training, the Convair F-106 Delta Dart, and flying the Falcon 7X at the Reno air races. Guests Skúli Mogensen Skúli Mogensen is the CEO and majority owner of WOW air, an Icelandic low-cost airline. WOW air flies to Iceland from a number of European cities the whole year round, and they recently started flying to North America. The airline was founded in November 2011 and its inaugural flight was to Paris on May 31st 2012. WOW air is committed to providing the cheapest flights to and from Iceland, but doing so with a smile and providing a memorable service all the way. Skúli is a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in high-tech, specifically the mobile communications sector. He cofounded multiple companies including Arctic Ventures, a VC firm in Stockholm that invested in high tech companies in Scandinavia, and Islandssimi, which merged with Vodafone Iceland and is today the second largest Telco in Iceland. He also cofounded Montreal–based OZ Communications, which specialized in consumer mobile messaging technology used by Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile and other mobile operators. Oz was sold in 2008 to Nokia. Skúli  is chairman of CAOZ, Ltd., a 3D computer animation and digital design company located in Reykjavík. He sits on the boards of a number of tech companies in North America and Europe including MP Bank, Carbon Recycling International, and Redline Communication. In 2011, he was named Iceland's Businessman of the Year. WOW air operates four Airbus A320 aircraft for short haul flights between Europe and Iceland. For flights to North America, WOW air operates the Airbus A321. Miami Rick Miami Rick flies a Boeing 777 Long Range Freighter for a multinational airline holding company based in Santiago, Chile. He flies mainly between the Americas and Europe. Rick tells us about the differences between the passenger version and the freight version of the Boeing 777, and why it’s important to him that he understands the aircraft’s systems. We talk about training, flying passengers compared to flying cargo, and even the challenges of flying livestock. Miami Rick has been a "freightdog" for about the last 5 years. Before his career moving boxes, he flew for the passenger division of his airline flying the Boeing 767-300ER. Rick provided passenger service for 6 years on routes between North and South America and Europe. Rick’s perspective and contributions to the Airline Pilot Guy show are primarily those of a long-haul, heavy aircraft pilot. However, he is also a simulator instructor on the B757/767, and feel like a pilot really learns his craft when he is able to teach it and explain it simply and clearly because of the constant study and preparation that this involves. Miami Rick started his flying career from a purely civilian background, learning to fly in general aviation aircraft in South and Central Florida, and flew countless types of light aircraft delivering them throughout the US. If that wasn’t enough, Rick also instructs new private, instrument and commercial pilots. News United Offers Pilots 13% Raise in Bid to Find Labor Peace United Continental Holdings is reportedly offering pilots a 13% raise in 2016, followed by 3% and then 2% in the following two years. This comes from unidentified sources who are familiar with the negotiations, but not authorized to speak about them. JetBlue Shakes Up Pilot Hiring by Training Them From Scratch U.S. airlines hire pilots with flight experience. JetBlue Airways has a different idea and proposed to the FAA that the airline hire potential commercial pilots and provide them with ab initio training. JetBlue wants to start with a trial program called Gateway 7 for 100-seat Embraer SA E190 ...