John Walton
@thatjohn.bsky.social
Editor in chief of @theupfront.media: in-depth independent aviation journalism for the digital age. Subscribe today!
Journo, Japan travel expert, bon vivant, lover of gardens, fan of 22°C, crocheter, Champagne enthusiast.
Big 🏳️🌈 w/the 🏳️⚧️, 🇫🇷 in 🇪🇺, he/him.
Journo, Japan travel expert, bon vivant, lover of gardens, fan of 22°C, crocheter, Champagne enthusiast.
Big 🏳️🌈 w/the 🏳️⚧️, 🇫🇷 in 🇪🇺, he/him.
Pinned
Happy New Year, friends!
One of my resolutions for 2026 is to avoid infinite-scroll short video (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) as much as possible.
I'm genuinely convinced the dopamine jolts involved in mindless scrolling are bad for my brain.
So I'm trying to watch more 10-30 minute video instead…
One of my resolutions for 2026 is to avoid infinite-scroll short video (TikTok, Reels, Shorts) as much as possible.
I'm genuinely convinced the dopamine jolts involved in mindless scrolling are bad for my brain.
So I'm trying to watch more 10-30 minute video instead…
I know a fundamental concept of Britishness is the separation of social classes, but come ON, this curtain is bonkers.
Good evening and welcome on board British Airways flight BA495, with nonstop service from Gibraltar to London Heathrow.
It’s an older A320 today, and we’ll arrive into LHR T3 instead of T5. So is this flight from a UK enclave to the UK proper a domestic or international flight? Or is it both?
It’s an older A320 today, and we’ll arrive into LHR T3 instead of T5. So is this flight from a UK enclave to the UK proper a domestic or international flight? Or is it both?
January 18, 2026 at 6:15 PM
I know a fundamental concept of Britishness is the separation of social classes, but come ON, this curtain is bonkers.
no but really, how do you LOSE MONEY and GO BUST running AIRPORT HOTELS, literally the easiest moneymaker in the entire bloody world
Die Revo Hospitality Group ist insolvent. Die Hotels dürften einige kennen. Es sind mehrere Flughafen-Hotels betroffen, die unter den Marken Holiday Inn, Mercure, Mövenpick, Ramada oder Vienna House gebucht werden können.
#hotel #hospitality #insolvenz #luftfahrt #flughafen
#hotel #hospitality #insolvenz #luftfahrt #flughafen
Viele Flughafenhotels in Deutschland und Europa von Revo-Insolvenz betroffen
Viele Flughafenhotels in Deutschland und Europa sind von der Insolvenz der Revo Hospitality Group betroffen. Zahlreiche Marken wie Mövenpick und Accor ...
www.airliners.de
January 16, 2026 at 7:33 PM
no but really, how do you LOSE MONEY and GO BUST running AIRPORT HOTELS, literally the easiest moneymaker in the entire bloody world
Definitely not beating the allegations that @theupfront.media Update is several feature stories inside one beautifully designed, easy to read and occasionally bitingly sarcastic trenchcoat…
OUT NOW: Update #29!
A surprise reveal of Emirates’ new business class seats and bar, what’s inside IndiGo’s first of 50 A321XLRs, ill-considered problems with ailrine bans on power bank usage — plus United’s plans for shorthaul economy food pre-ordering…
theupfront.media/update-29-em...
A surprise reveal of Emirates’ new business class seats and bar, what’s inside IndiGo’s first of 50 A321XLRs, ill-considered problems with ailrine bans on power bank usage — plus United’s plans for shorthaul economy food pre-ordering…
theupfront.media/update-29-em...
Update #29: Emirates’ new business and bar, inside IndiGo’s A321XLR, banning power banks, and United’s mandatory food pre-order
A surprise reveal of Emirates’ new business class seats and bar, what’s inside IndiGo’s first of 50 A321XLRs, ill-considered problems with bans on power bank usage — plus United’s plans for shorthaul ...
theupfront.media
January 16, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Definitely not beating the allegations that @theupfront.media Update is several feature stories inside one beautifully designed, easy to read and occasionally bitingly sarcastic trenchcoat…
As the "Blue Monday" press releases intensify this week, a reminder that:
a) Blue Monday is a marketing ploy by the travel industry
b) it is understandable that there can be mental health impacts from dark winter periods, especially in parts of the world where it is especially dreary right now
a) Blue Monday is a marketing ploy by the travel industry
b) it is understandable that there can be mental health impacts from dark winter periods, especially in parts of the world where it is especially dreary right now
January 16, 2026 at 10:30 AM
As the "Blue Monday" press releases intensify this week, a reminder that:
a) Blue Monday is a marketing ploy by the travel industry
b) it is understandable that there can be mental health impacts from dark winter periods, especially in parts of the world where it is especially dreary right now
a) Blue Monday is a marketing ploy by the travel industry
b) it is understandable that there can be mental health impacts from dark winter periods, especially in parts of the world where it is especially dreary right now
Reposted by John Walton
Wednesday is TRANSPHOBES ARE TRASH DAY!
Congratulations to those who celebrate this wonderful day.
Also, every other day is also Transphobes are Trash Day, I forgot to mention that.
Congratulations to those who celebrate this wonderful day.
Also, every other day is also Transphobes are Trash Day, I forgot to mention that.
January 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Wednesday is TRANSPHOBES ARE TRASH DAY!
Congratulations to those who celebrate this wonderful day.
Also, every other day is also Transphobes are Trash Day, I forgot to mention that.
Congratulations to those who celebrate this wonderful day.
Also, every other day is also Transphobes are Trash Day, I forgot to mention that.
Sometimes people marvel that I drive my Berlingo from France to the UK.
Today my rental car demanded to shut down for "at least one hour", doors locked, in order to update its software. Like some sort of hybrid Victorian heroine on an internet-equipped fainting couch.
Naturally the update failed.
Today my rental car demanded to shut down for "at least one hour", doors locked, in order to update its software. Like some sort of hybrid Victorian heroine on an internet-equipped fainting couch.
Naturally the update failed.
January 14, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Sometimes people marvel that I drive my Berlingo from France to the UK.
Today my rental car demanded to shut down for "at least one hour", doors locked, in order to update its software. Like some sort of hybrid Victorian heroine on an internet-equipped fainting couch.
Naturally the update failed.
Today my rental car demanded to shut down for "at least one hour", doors locked, in order to update its software. Like some sort of hybrid Victorian heroine on an internet-equipped fainting couch.
Naturally the update failed.
Unsafe power banks are a safety risk, yes, but airlines that do not offer onboard power charging at every seat — yet insist passengers use fully mobile travel processes (boarding cards, streaming entertainment to devices, etc) — should not be allowed to ban the use of all power banks on board.
January 14, 2026 at 10:06 AM
Unsafe power banks are a safety risk, yes, but airlines that do not offer onboard power charging at every seat — yet insist passengers use fully mobile travel processes (boarding cards, streaming entertainment to devices, etc) — should not be allowed to ban the use of all power banks on board.
Re: Delta 787-10 order: as widely expected. It would be unwise and unusual for an airline Delta's size and shape to rely on a single widebody airframer, which it has since retiring its 747-400 and 777-200LR fleets.
It also has a *lot* of old 767s and A330ceos to replace at the turn of the decade.
It also has a *lot* of old 767s and A330ceos to replace at the turn of the decade.
January 13, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Re: Delta 787-10 order: as widely expected. It would be unwise and unusual for an airline Delta's size and shape to rely on a single widebody airframer, which it has since retiring its 747-400 and 777-200LR fleets.
It also has a *lot* of old 767s and A330ceos to replace at the turn of the decade.
It also has a *lot* of old 767s and A330ceos to replace at the turn of the decade.
Re: Lufthansa and Starlink: "we have just signed up our entire airline group to the satellite internet run by the guy who brought you hits like 'Nazi salutes', 'Rhodesia was right' and 'non-consensual intimate image manipulation abuse, including of children'" is certainly quite the move.
January 13, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Re: Lufthansa and Starlink: "we have just signed up our entire airline group to the satellite internet run by the guy who brought you hits like 'Nazi salutes', 'Rhodesia was right' and 'non-consensual intimate image manipulation abuse, including of children'" is certainly quite the move.
This was a really fascinating chat with Cristian Sutter — how aircraft leasing companies that most passengers have never heard of are changing what air travel looks and feels like inside the airplane, plus much more.
OUT NOW: our latest podcast of aviation conversations and trends:
- the importance of lessors on #PaxEx
- the growing focus on seat customisation, deliverability & remarketability
- key areas of concern in the industry
- and, for Business subscribers, even more.
theupfront.media/listen-now-4...
- the importance of lessors on #PaxEx
- the growing focus on seat customisation, deliverability & remarketability
- key areas of concern in the industry
- and, for Business subscribers, even more.
theupfront.media/listen-now-4...
Listen now: 40,000 Feet podcast #11: Lessons from lessors, at RedCabin and beyond
Delving deeper into industry conversations and trends, including the growth in the importance of lessors, the growing focus on the customisation-deliverability-remarketability of seats, the key issues...
theupfront.media
January 12, 2026 at 3:38 PM
This was a really fascinating chat with Cristian Sutter — how aircraft leasing companies that most passengers have never heard of are changing what air travel looks and feels like inside the airplane, plus much more.
So apart from usual nightmare airport Lisbon, paragon of efficiency Rome, and five-buildings-in-a-trenchcoat Brussels, has EES’ sensible stepped approach actually been a problem?
Or is airport trade association ACI just banging on for more subsidies again?
www.politico.eu/article/airp...
Or is airport trade association ACI just banging on for more subsidies again?
www.politico.eu/article/airp...
Airports and EU clash over new border control rules
The new Entry-Exit System now requires over a third of non-EU nationals entering the Schengen area to provide additional data at the border.
www.politico.eu
January 12, 2026 at 1:51 PM
So apart from usual nightmare airport Lisbon, paragon of efficiency Rome, and five-buildings-in-a-trenchcoat Brussels, has EES’ sensible stepped approach actually been a problem?
Or is airport trade association ACI just banging on for more subsidies again?
www.politico.eu/article/airp...
Or is airport trade association ACI just banging on for more subsidies again?
www.politico.eu/article/airp...
Reposted by John Walton
Your weekend read: the Up Front Update!
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Update #28: PAL’s A350 and safetynovela, BA’s breakfasts, Viva x Volaris, and premium Euro-leisure
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, British Airways is in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC, and notes from the road on the European leisur...
theupfront.media
January 10, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Your weekend read: the Up Front Update!
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Genuinely, the Philippine Airlines safetynovela had me chuckling — and it's a great example of how to both go viral with a video and clearly show important airline safety messages.
Your weekend read: the Up Front Update!
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, BA's in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC — and notes from the road on the European leisure market aboard sort-of-Iberia.
theupfront.media/update-28-pa...
Update #28: PAL’s A350 and safetynovela, BA’s breakfasts, Viva x Volaris, and premium Euro-leisure
Philippine Airlines marks A350 3-4-3 shift and creates fab new safety video, British Airways is in hot water over hot breakfasts, a new Mexican mega-LCC, and notes from the road on the European leisur...
theupfront.media
January 10, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Genuinely, the Philippine Airlines safetynovela had me chuckling — and it's a great example of how to both go viral with a video and clearly show important airline safety messages.
Take it from someone who has lived in France at the fracturing of the equivalent of the national speed limit at départemental level (from 90km/h to 80 to "80 or 90, depending on county-sized area"): this is the sort of consistent rule that should be decided nationally, not by local local government.
TLDR: DfT to devolve decision making about pavement parking to highest tier of local authority (mayors, unitary, county). No national ban.
bsky.app/profile/holy...
bsky.app/profile/holy...
2020 pavement parking consultation: government response just dropped at last. www.gov.uk/government/c...
January 8, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Take it from someone who has lived in France at the fracturing of the equivalent of the national speed limit at départemental level (from 90km/h to 80 to "80 or 90, depending on county-sized area"): this is the sort of consistent rule that should be decided nationally, not by local local government.
My poor French phone is so confused at Geneva Airport, which is right on the border with Switzerland. I have been here ten minutes and have received five “welcome to Switzerland! you’re now roaming!” / “thank you for roaming with us and welcome home!” texts.
January 7, 2026 at 8:03 AM
My poor French phone is so confused at Geneva Airport, which is right on the border with Switzerland. I have been here ten minutes and have received five “welcome to Switzerland! you’re now roaming!” / “thank you for roaming with us and welcome home!” texts.
It's odd to me when people are surprised that I've never been to Vegas and have no interest whatsoever in going.
Las Vegas Convention Center WiFi pricing continues to make 6-to-5 blackjack, the $3 surcharge to pay for a taxi here with a credit card, and the "CNF" junk fee on bar and restaurant tabs all look like consumer-friendly bargains in comparison.
January 6, 2026 at 5:32 PM
It's odd to me when people are surprised that I've never been to Vegas and have no interest whatsoever in going.
Any Bobby Sixfingers translation should by law have to be read out only in a comedy stereotypical accent. Full on Allô Allô “good moaning”, “I was pissing by ‘is bedroom”, no objectives.
Translation is a delicate work that requires deep knowledge of both languages. Nuances and subtleties—two aspects of writing AIs are notoriously terrible at—can be lost or deranged if not carefully considered during the translation process.
HarperCollins Will Use AI to Translate Harlequin Romance Novels
The publisher is teaming with a company that claims its proprietary AI can ‘provide 2 to 3 times higher quality translations’ than other large language models.
www.404media.co
January 6, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Any Bobby Sixfingers translation should by law have to be read out only in a comedy stereotypical accent. Full on Allô Allô “good moaning”, “I was pissing by ‘is bedroom”, no objectives.
@x626.bsky.social @kjcharleswriter.com I’m not saying that this is oracular in some way, but please be careful…
January 6, 2026 at 1:58 PM
@x626.bsky.social @kjcharleswriter.com I’m not saying that this is oracular in some way, but please be careful…
Reposted by John Walton
We're back — and our first feature of the year is a meticulous dissection of "Jetway Jesus", the "airport wheelchair miracle", and the people who perpetuate this insidious and persistent myth.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 11:05 AM
We're back — and our first feature of the year is a meticulous dissection of "Jetway Jesus", the "airport wheelchair miracle", and the people who perpetuate this insidious and persistent myth.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Yep.
I will not click on your S*bstack.
I will not share your S*bstack.
You being on S*bstack makes me think less of you, not least because it is SO EASY to use something that does not, again, literally funnel the proceeds of your work towards Nazis.
I will not click on your S*bstack.
I will not share your S*bstack.
You being on S*bstack makes me think less of you, not least because it is SO EASY to use something that does not, again, literally funnel the proceeds of your work towards Nazis.
Bravo. I held firm in not reposting (and sometimes blocking) anyone linking to content hosted on SS through 2025. Get off that nazi noise or you are legit part of the problem.
If there is one resolution I want for journalists this year: it is to get off S*bstack and use Ghost or any other indy publishing platform that does not fund literal nazis instead.
January 5, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Yep.
I will not click on your S*bstack.
I will not share your S*bstack.
You being on S*bstack makes me think less of you, not least because it is SO EASY to use something that does not, again, literally funnel the proceeds of your work towards Nazis.
I will not click on your S*bstack.
I will not share your S*bstack.
You being on S*bstack makes me think less of you, not least because it is SO EASY to use something that does not, again, literally funnel the proceeds of your work towards Nazis.
Reposted by John Walton
Having literally been one of those passengers today I really appreciate this article. I can hobble around in an airplane but if I had to walk through Heathrow and then Hong Kong airport today I would be spending the next week pretty much immobilised from pain and various injuries.
This 2,500-word feature article — and all our writing on disability and accessibility in air travel — is open to all for free on @theupfront.media.
An enormous thank you to our subscribers for funding our work.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
An enormous thank you to our subscribers for funding our work.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Having literally been one of those passengers today I really appreciate this article. I can hobble around in an airplane but if I had to walk through Heathrow and then Hong Kong airport today I would be spending the next week pretty much immobilised from pain and various injuries.
Reposted by John Walton
Another thing here - requesting support also takes a bunch of stuff out of your control - you aren’t in control of being at the right gate, for example a that makes (for some of us) flying even more stressful.
We're back — and our first feature of the year is a meticulous dissection of "Jetway Jesus", the "airport wheelchair miracle", and the people who perpetuate this insidious and persistent myth.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 12:17 PM
Another thing here - requesting support also takes a bunch of stuff out of your control - you aren’t in control of being at the right gate, for example a that makes (for some of us) flying even more stressful.
Reposted by John Walton
I can't stand long, especially in the "boarding - not boarding" walkway situation, either for my back or for my own personal version of claustrophobia. My only solution recently was to request a wheelchair I don't need so I could get through all this without pain.
We're back — and our first feature of the year is a meticulous dissection of "Jetway Jesus", the "airport wheelchair miracle", and the people who perpetuate this insidious and persistent myth.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 12:18 PM
I can't stand long, especially in the "boarding - not boarding" walkway situation, either for my back or for my own personal version of claustrophobia. My only solution recently was to request a wheelchair I don't need so I could get through all this without pain.
Reposted by John Walton
I've one to add to the list of why we sometimes walk off – the cabin crew guilt trip us into doing it if they know we're not paralysed. Often the lift or chairs are not brought to the landing aircraft, which has a tight turnaround. Waiting will result in delays for which the airline gets penalties.
January 5, 2026 at 11:54 AM
I've one to add to the list of why we sometimes walk off – the cabin crew guilt trip us into doing it if they know we're not paralysed. Often the lift or chairs are not brought to the landing aircraft, which has a tight turnaround. Waiting will result in delays for which the airline gets penalties.
Reposted by John Walton
Our big look at why clickbait articles on accessibility at airports are ill-informed or wrong and, frankly, often tinged with racism.
The air industry has a duty to call this out, and admit it contributes to the perception by creating airport environments hostile to even minor mobility issues.
The air industry has a duty to call this out, and admit it contributes to the perception by creating airport environments hostile to even minor mobility issues.
This 2,500-word feature article — and all our writing on disability and accessibility in air travel — is open to all for free on @theupfront.media.
An enormous thank you to our subscribers for funding our work.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
An enormous thank you to our subscribers for funding our work.
theupfront.media/disabled-pas...
Disabled passengers, airport wheelchairs and the pernicious myth of “Jetway Jesus”
Clickbait hacks aside, perpetuating inaccuracies about disabled passengers and wheelchair users is wrong — and counterproductive for aviation
theupfront.media
January 5, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Our big look at why clickbait articles on accessibility at airports are ill-informed or wrong and, frankly, often tinged with racism.
The air industry has a duty to call this out, and admit it contributes to the perception by creating airport environments hostile to even minor mobility issues.
The air industry has a duty to call this out, and admit it contributes to the perception by creating airport environments hostile to even minor mobility issues.