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PODCAST

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast

The Independent

Simon Calder is the Independent’s travel correspondent, the UK’s leading travel journalist. From news updates to discussions with experts, Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast will bring you all you need to know from the world of travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

society & culture places & travel

All Episodes

4:56

April 3rd - Luton gets the go-ahead for expansion

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/04/03

London's fourth airport is to expand by 90% in the next 15 years. I've been looking back at its history – and forward at possible long-haul expansion.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:51

April 2nd - Heathrow – what went wrong on 21 March?

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/04/02

MPs on the Transport Select Committee spent the morning grilling Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of London Heathrow, about the decision to close down Europe's busiest airport following a power outage. A lively session, and you can hear some of it here.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:11

April 1st - Busy week for budget airlines in...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/04/01

Yesterday I was at Southend airport for the opening of a new easyJet base. Today the target is Luton airport where Jet2 has opened a new base – at the home of easyJet. Steve Heapy, chief executive ofJet2.comand Jet2 Holidays, says the customer will be the winner.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5:39

March 31st - Exclusive interview with Michael O’Leary

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/31

Ryanair has just announced it has carried 200 million passengers over the course of a year. A good moment, then, to catch up with Michael O’Leary, who has been chief executive for the past 31 years. We talked about his quest for “intergalactic domination”, fares and delays this summer, cabin bag size and the new Ryanair Prime subscription offer.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

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5:26

March 28th - CNN's Richard Quest warns travellers to...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/28

US immigration is going to be looking more closely at everybody coming through the border. How this translates into travel and decision making, we don't know yet, but you cannot ignore these very high-profile cases and ask yourself what is the effect going to be?This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4:07

March 27th - Ryanair has launched a loyalty scheme of...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/27

"Ryanair Prime" costs £79 a year, and its benefits are – to be polite – modest. Rob Burgess, founder of the excellent Head for Points frequent-flyer website gave me his expert assessment as we walked together in Toulouse, southwest France.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:08

March 26th - Diversionary tactics: should the UK do...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/26

“Passengers don’t deserve to end up on random Atlantic islands,” says Matt Purton – group aviation services director at Air Charter Service – after last Friday's closure of Heathrow. He says we must have a national conversation about how to cope better next time.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5:45

March 25th - London to Sydney nonstop via the North...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/25

I'm talking today to Vanessa Hudson, chief executive of Qantas, about Project Sunrise – connecting London and Sydney nonstop.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5:10

March 24th - Heathrow: what went wrong?

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/24

I've spent the weekend covering the airport shutdown. Around a quarter-million passengers who were due to fly to, from or via Heathrow on Friday and over the weekend saw their travel plans wrecked when the airport closed for nearly 24 hours.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:50

March 21st - Taking the temperature of UK tourism

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/21

Today the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions has released its figures for 2024 – showing a "slow but steady" increase in visitor numbers. But the backdrop is tough times for attraction providers, exacerbated by successive governments putting up the barriers to foreign visitors.I'll been catching up with ALVA director – and top tourism thinker – Bernard Donoghue.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast

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5:25

March 20th - Electric ferry for pedestrians and...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/20

I've been talking to Sean Collins, chief executive of Uber Boat by Thames Clippers, about his shiny new ferry – and how it will transform travel across the river downstream of Tower Bridge in London.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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4:50

March 19th - Visit this museum to understand divided...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/19

Today, the German capital is a busy, fun and coherent city. But I first knew Berlin when the Wall carved through its streets, dividing families. Some of those oppressed in East Berlin were allowed to leave – along with curious tourists like me.The main way out was at Friedrichstrasse station, where the Tränenpalast – or Palace of Tears – is now the most powerful reminder of division.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox

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5:46

March 18th - Welcome to Liechtenstein

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/18

Cheese dumplings, the castle of the princely family, a national trail and some excellent skiing. That’s some of the offering from one of Europe's blink-and-you-miss-it countries: Liechtenstein, a mountainous crumple of territory measuring 15 miles by four.I have been talking to tourism spokesperson Claudia Agnolazza.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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8:10

March 17th - Five years on from the first UK Covid...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/17

Hope you don't get flashback anxiety – I have been looking back with many a shudder at the extraordinary tangle of travel restrictions that blighted our movements for two years from 17 March 2020.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:25

March 14th - Is April the new August?

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/14

This year Easter is unusually late ... and that spells a very different holiday pattern for many people, especially families. Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive, Advantage Travel Partnership, tells me some are swapping an August fortnight in Mallorca for two weeks in Thailand at Easter for much the same price.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5:07

March 13th - Game fishing from the Algarve shore

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/13

I'm in Portugal, and talking to Captain João Melo about the prospects for serious fishing 40 miles off the coast of the Algarve –and how the tuna are tagged and released, rather than eaten. Sounds one heck of a day out (and, forgive my maths error, the cost is €258 per person based on six sharing the vessel).This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:36

March 12th - Etias postponed yet again

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/12

BREAKING NEWS! British travellers will not need an online permit to visit the European Union and wider Schengen Area until April 2027 at the earliest.In this episode, I break down the full timeline of what we can expect from the rollout of this new service over the coming two years.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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6:00

March 11th - Could you soon be skimming along the...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/11

I am talking to Mikael Mahlberg of Swedish e-ferry manufacturer Candela. His firm makes theelectric hydrofoil that darts between the islands of Stockholm and will soon be gliding across Lake Tahoe. He explains how a low-impact ferry can transform urban transport.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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5:33

March 10th - Could the post-Brexit rules we demanded...

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/10

One of the many triumphs of the Brexit agreement was that British travellers to the European Union are now counted as “third-country nationals” – limited to stays of a maximum of 90 days in any 180 days.But Steven Jolly, of the France Visa Free group is campaigning for friendlier relations between the British government and the EU.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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7:02

March 7th - "We want to make cruising sexy again"

Simon Calder"s Independent Travel Podcast ·

2025/03/07

Explora Journeys might sound like an overland adventure company, but in fact it is an upmarket cruise line.The president of the organisation, Anna Nash, told me how it differs from mass-market cruise firms, and says she welcomes competition from land-based companies such as Ritz-Carlton dipping a toe into the water and offering voyages.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

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421 results

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