Welcome back to the Black Box Aviation Podcast, where Tom, Mike, and special guest Travis dive deep into aviation history, industry news, and the stories that shape the world of flying.

In this episode, we cover two very different but equally fascinating sides of aviation—modern airline consolidation and the brutal realities of World War II bomber operations.

We break down the reported Allegiant–Sun Country merger, what it means for the low-cost leisure market, and why consolidation may be unavoidable for airlines like Spirit and Frontier.
• Leisure airline business models explained
• Why fleet commonality (737 vs Airbus) matters
• Are mergers the only path to survival for ULCCs?
• How politics and regulation affect airline consolidation

The heart of this episode features Travis sharing the remarkable story of his grandfather, a WWII bomber crew member in the legendary 100th Bomb Group — “The Bloody 100th.”
• Discovering an original WWII flight logbook
• Missions flown over Europe in the B-17 Flying Fortress
• The brutal loss rates of daylight bombing missions
• Nine-month pilot training pipelines during wartime
• Pathfinder missions, early radar bombing, and the Norden bombsight
• Survivor’s guilt, crew camaraderie, and the human cost of air combat

We also connect these real stories to the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air, explaining what the show gets right—and how close it hits to the real experiences of bomber crews flying unescorted over Germany.

This episode is a powerful reminder of how aviation evolves—from life-or-death combat missions in WWII to corporate strategy and survival in modern airline operations—and how the people behind the controls are always at the center of the story.

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🛫 Airline Industry News: Allegiant & Sun Country🪖 Aviation History: A WWII Logbook Comes to Life