Monday, November 17, 2025

The Professor’s Minute Minute — November 18 Edition





Six stories. One quirky twist. Sharp edges intact.

If the Dubai Air Show used to be a circus, this year it feels more like a polite shareholder meeting — fewer fireworks, more calculus. That set the tone for the whole day: everyone pretending things are “stable” while quietly trying not to say the word downturn too loudly.

And yes, we still managed to squeeze in a gadget, a market shock, a passenger-experience fiasco, and a Quirky entry so bizarre it reads like airport-themed performance art.

Here we go.

Dubai Air Show: The Volumes Aren’t Voluming

Link: Leeham News

The Dubai Air Show used to be the Olympics of order announcements — billions flying in every direction, Airbus and Boeing throwing elbows.

This year? Polite clapping and carefully-worded optimism. The 777X may see orders, but the swagger is gone.

The mood tells the truth: confidence is fragile, and the industry knows it.

Airbus Still Clinging to 75 A320s/Month

Link: The Air Current

Airbus insists it can still get to rate 75.

Engine makers, supply chain realities, and physics all raise an eyebrow.

As always: ambition is free, execution is not.

If production goals were airline seats, Airbus just announced “no-middle-seat-blocking” again.

When the Magnificent 7 Catch a Cold, the Market Gets Pneumonia

Link: KillerCharts

The data doesn’t lie: when the Magnificent 7 stub a toe, the entire market face-plants.

Earnings growth, the darling metric of 2023-2025, is now wobbling.

Travel, tech, AI — everyone gets pulled into the turbulence whether they earned it or not.

Need Sleep on a Flight? These Gadgets Tried Their Best

Link: Health Insider

Five sleep gadgets. Five months of testing.

The verdict: none of them turn economy class into a spa, but some at least make the nightmare survivable.

Useful takeaway: invest in anything that stabilizes your head. Gravity remains undefeated.

Wheelchair Assistance Has Become… a Drama Genre

Link: IndianEagle

Wheelchair-assistance abuse has reached peak OTT melodrama in India’s airports.

Perfectly able passengers requesting wheelchairs for faster processing is now a full-blown operational crisis.

Airports are overwhelmed, staff are exhausted, and genuine passengers are suffering.

It’s the worst version of “life hack” culture.

Quirky: The Jetway Jesus

Link: WheelchairTravel.org

A man who pretended to be disabled so he could escort passengers through jetways — blessing them as he went.

Yes, seriously.

Somewhere between bizarre performance art, fraud, and the world’s weirdest airport religion.

Perfect Quirky material.


#travelnews #aviation #airlines #markets #Magnificent7 #DubaiAirShow #A320 #supplychain #passengerexperience #sleeptech #quirkytravel #ProfessorSabena

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