On behalf of the entire Simple Flying team, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a happy holiday season. While 2021 has seen the aviation industry undergo significant recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to throw challenges, such as the recent emergence of the Omicron variant.
The year started fairly bleakly. After the emergence of the Alpha and Beta variants in late 2020, it seemed as if the summer recovery had been lost. Travel restrictions had been reinstated between many countries, while the UK stopped all non-essential travel for a decent portion of the first half.
As time passed, the vaccination campaign gathered pace around the world, leading to much simpler travel for many in the second half of the year. The increased demand was a boon to the entire industry, and this was particularly the case when the United States finally reopened to Europe.
A return to travel also meant a return to events, which saw members of the Simple Flying team able to get out and meet some of you at the industry’s big events. Our Deputy Editor Summit found himself at the MAKS airshow in Moscow during the summer, while more recently Jake and Justin were at the World Aviation Festival. Of course, some online events remained, with the team hosting the first edition of the Future Flying Forum.
Our Managing Editor, Jo, was able to fly on the inaugural Helvetic Airways E190-E2 flight into London City Airport, as well as try out the new Emirates premium economy cabin on the way to the Dubai Airshow. I was also fortunate enough to fly to Dubai, where we were finally able to set foot on the Boeing 777X.
Finally, we were fortunate enough to be able to bring a large portion of the team together for a social event in London in mid-September! While this already seems impossible again given the current situation, we hope to do it soon again.
Next year we hope to continue to provide you with the level of aviation coverage that you’ve grown to love. Right at the start of the year, we’ll publish the 100th episode of our popular weekly aviation news podcast that I host with Jo.
A year ago, Jo wrote about our 100,000 subscribers on YouTube award. As I write this, our main channel sits at 199,000 subscribers. Long Haul by Simple Flying has also gone from strength to strength, with our first documentary filmed at New York’s JFK airport going live in July.
Across the team, we all hope that Omicron will be just a blip in the aviation recovery, with plenty more to come as we move into the warmer months of 2022. Whatever happens, Simple Flying will be there to bring you the latest news in an accessible format.
Tom Boon – Content Manager
