Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

An exclusive for you today. After five years of closure to tourists, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will receive its first Western visitors this week. As Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours has been telling me, only a small and remote region, Rason, will initially open.NB: The Foreign Office warns against visiting North Korea.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.

Mind the gap – between what train drivers on London's Elizabeth line have been offered, and what they believe they deserve. The employers have offered a 4.5% raise which would take their annual salary above £75,000, but the members of the train drivers' union, Aslef, have voted overwhelmingly to strike on four days in February and March. Are they pushing their luck?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.

Network Rail wants passengers to stay safe at stations – not running for their trains – and to avoid delays to trains at London King's Cross, the hub for the East Coast main line. So it is trialling removing trains from the departures board three minutes before departure.In response, I have been trialling how long it takes to walk from the concourse to the mysterious platform 0.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.

After a trip involving six intercontinental flights, I have arrived back at Birmingham airport over an hour behind schedule. The sequence since leaving the UK two weeks ago goes: Cancelled, Late, Cancelled, Late, Late, Late.Don't put too much store by the airlines' schedules.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.

On Travel Desk Tuesday, I’m talking to Annabel Grossman, global travel editor for The Independent, about Lonely Planet’s selection of alternative romantic destinations for 14 February.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.

In an unprecedented and coordinated attack, the airlines that use Heathrow airport – as well a prominent hotelier – are demanding lower charges and higher standards. Virgin Atlantic, British Airways’ parent IAG, the Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee (AOC) and the Arora hotel group say the current way that charges are set by the Civil Aviation Authority are not fit for purpose.Heathrow says it wants a better long-term arrangement, but that expansion – in the form of a third runway – must be paid for.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.

When do airlines give upgrades, and who are the beneficiaries?Spoiler alert: it will help if you marry a captain. But I wonder if upgrades are actually worth a huge amount? My very limited experience of business class travel suggests they may be overrated.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.

Michael O’Leary has been chief executive of Ryanair since 1994, and over the past three decades he has taken the carrier from a small and unprofitable regional airline to the biggest in Europe in terms of passenger numbers.Today he’s talking about Heathrow’s third runway, Air Passenger Duty and his plans to base aircraft in Ukraine when the skies reopen to passenger flightsThis 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.

At the very end of 2024, British Airways revealed comprehensive changes to its loyalty programme, which will mean access to its top tiers will be aligned with high spending on the airline and its holiday operation.After 43 years, the BA Executive Club is to be renamed The British Airways Club from 1 April, 2025.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.

Access to most areas of China is getting easier, with a new light-touch online visa and an extension of the valuable "transit without visa" option. With travel to Asia surging, I have been talking to top tour operator Wendy Wu. She says her firm, Wendy Wu Tours, can untangle the red tape.Also: why a visit to China right now will prove especially rewarding.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.