Ep 63: The Challenges of Reconnecting the World, with Dirk Singer, SimpliFlying

About This Episode

1 Apr 2021 β€’ 35m00s

This week’s episode takes on the complex task of reconnecting global air travel with Dirk Singer, Research Director of SimpliFlying, an aviation marketing and solutions firm founded by Canada-based Singaporean Shashank Nigam.

From his London base, Dirk discusses the white-hot aviation, airline, airport, travel and tourism issues that are confounding policymakers in Europe, North, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Will vaccines eliminate the need for quarantines - and, if so, when? Can Green Zone travel actually work? How will vaccine passports be issued and accepted worldwide? What is a Vaccine Hierarchy and why does it matter? What are the specific challenges for intercontinental air hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai? Will European borders reopen this summer? What is the 50:50 Trigger? And, will the lessons of COVID-19 enable airlines to future-proof themselves against ‘the next pandemic’?

Fascinating stuff.

Resources

SimpliFlying: https://simpliflying.com/

SimpliFlying’s COVID-19 Resource Hub: https://simpliflying.com/guidance-airlines-covid-19/

View All Episodes

Latest Episodes Catch up with the pods you may have missed

Play
16 Oct 2026 β€’ 26m01s

Ep 323: Singapore's Tourism Spending Slump, Scam Centres in Luxury Hotels & Resorts & Are Australians Starting to Adopt Vietjet?

As we march through Q4, upbeat news is in short supply across the region’s travel industry. This week’s round-up of South East Asia’s top talking points takes Gary and Hannah to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Australia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia. With markets abuzz about earnings season, Singapore reports downbeat spending and arrivals numbers, and the best-case scenario for the Philippines in 2026 is flat versus 2025. Meanwhile, regional governments issue travel safety warnings for Saudi Arabia and airlines cancel flights after the deadly attack on Riyadh airport.
Play
9 Oct 2026 β€’ 23m31s

Ep 322: Phu Quoc Fuels Vietnam's Tourism Rocket Ship, Thailand Moves Closer to Taxing Tourists & Russia's Rising Influence on South East Asian Tourism Planning

“Vietnam is riding a tourism rocket ship, and is on a totally different trajectory to the rest of South East Asia.” As we accelerate through October, this was another week packed with hot travel and tourism topics to discuss. To kickstart the weekend, Gary and Hannah journey across ASEAN and beyond with stopovers in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Laos, Russia and India. We assess Phu Quoc’s dramatic tourism surge to already surpass its 2026 visitor target.