I keep seeing articles about this Alex Macheras kid, seriously he's late teens, popping up all over the place going on Airbus delivery flights etc. He's on Twitter as @AlexInAir but how can anybody take him seriously when he seems to have done nothing in the industry except for schmooze up to airlines and do some TV spots in the UK?

More power to him, everyone has to start somewhere.

I keep wandering who is he? he popped out suddenly and I am seeing him everywhere! How credible is he? He appears in interviews, he meets airline CEOs and he shows up on most delivery flights!

neomax wrote:

More power to him, everyone has to start somewhere.

I agree, he's done incredibly well for someone so young. Achievement should be applauded in my book!!

Julie77W wrote:

neomax wrote:

More power to him, everyone has to start somewhere.

I agree, he's done incredibly well for someone so young. Achievement should be applauded in my book!!

Looks rather synthetic afaics. ( compare to some fake pbulishing from my bedroom you tube personalities ).

He is criticised quiet heavily on twitter. He's analysis is usually regurgitating a press release. Apparently he has a connection to the Qatari Government or Royal Family (when questioned about his background on twitter he blocks you). He defended Qatar very heavily during the issue about intercepting the UAE planes.

Good luck to him. He's done well considering he has no experience in the field and is 20 something year old. but it's questionable whether he actually has any idea what he is talking about.

Yeah I just don't know that I can take anybody who claims he is an 'aviation analyst' seriously when he's barely out of his teens and doesn't seem to have studied any aspect of aviation or anything related to it, doesn't even have blog to his name. Seems rather vacuous.

He cannot be worse than Saj Ahmad

CraigAnderson wrote:

Yeah I just don't know that I can take anybody who claims he is an 'aviation analyst' seriously when he's barely out of his teens and doesn't seem to have studied any aspect of aviation or anything related to it, doesn't even have blog to his name. Seems rather vacuous.

His youtube channel is from 2007 11 years old.
But everything else is "insta pop up" from turn of the year 2016/2017 spring.

perfect full blown media presentation... full of fluff. and no learning curve.
This smells so very synthetic ..

compare to one Jon Ostrower

Is this that dorky guy I watched two days ago or so on television? It seems to me he’s just an airline critic and scores his way into first class suites just for advertising the airline, while he acts like some hot shot. A buddy of mine said something hilarious that made me spit my drink out while watching. Not sure whether it’d be suitable for me to share it

By all accounts he a bit of a "spoofer" and most of what he says either has no substance or is a regurgitated press release. I think he comes across as quite a "insert swear word here" on Twitter, but on the flip side, millions of people BS their way trough life so credit to him.

He's being misrepresented as an "Aviation Analyst" and going on BBC and other media and being feted as such. Actually he has never worked in the industry and in no fair minded way is he analyst. he's a rich kid who's daddy paid his way through life to fly up front in airlinersn and as a media savvy kid built up a huge social media following.

In short he is a self promoting creature of the media, and has a habit of going on TV to talk about matters of which he knows nothing. He was presented as an aviation expert and invited onto talk about air safety on a couple of crashes while the bodies were still warm. Watching his breathless self promotion as the emergency services worked turned my stomach, he's 20 years old and that's not something a vlogger should be front and central on mainstream media talking (rubbish) about. He is well out of his depth in such matters but has that self promoting drive that will take him far.

He is the Mo Ansar of the aviation media world.

He blocked me on twitter when I asked him some pointed questions, something he does with any other real analyst who challenges his inane witterings.

Anyone know if he's on here?

It's astonishing how lazy the media is that he's their new go-to guy for aviation analysis!
To be clear, never held down a real job, and has no industry creds whatsoever. He's literally a just-out-of-school boy amateur, and we all have to start somewhere but this guy is WAY out of his depth. His inane excitement on twitter as he worked to raise his profile on social media the night Monarch closed down made me genuinely angry.

I saw this kid on a UK tv show the other week 'The World's Most Luxurious Airline' or words to that effect. I took him at face value to begin with as an 'aviation analyst' but as the show unfolded it became apparent he was no more than what in the music business we used to refer to as a "ligger". He reminded me a bit of Martin Halstead and his phoney exploits, at least though he wasn't pretending to run a Richard Branson backed airline...

Well heres what my friend google has to say

Analyst
"an(ə)lɪst"
noun: analyst; plural noun: analysts
a person who conducts analysis.

Analysis
"əˈnalɪsɪs"
detailed examination of the elements or structure of something.
"statistical analysis"

Huh, so now a 20 year old is conducting statistical tests. Wonder who gives him access to all those data. And if that is wrong, wouldn't that be a breach in the government?
I think the Media should stick to Aviation Blogger, suits him better.

I follow him on Twitter and all he seems to do is review business class and first class! Nice life if you can get it!

Hmmm.. His accent is really not quite up there really.... I wouldn't call it a 'First Class' accent.

I think this is the issue with social media nowadays. Anyone can claim to be anything and the media can lap it up. Apparently this Alex was invited into LBC at the age of 14 to analyse something. How anyone can ‘professionaly’ analyse something at the age of 14 when you haven’t even left school is beyond me, but like I say, we have social media to thank for that.

What also made me laugh is that on ‘the worlds most luxurious airline’, apparently this Alex holds ‘a lot of influence with 17000 followers’. 17000 is nothing by today’s standards, I mean, there’s a guy on YouTube with 1 million followers for just playing on claw machines!

I'd love to see his academic qualifications to justify his self proclaimed job role.He's just been on the new Qatar A350-1000 delivery blogging every single second. Interestingly a couple of other Instagramers were invited along also in the guise of media. And how old are these instagramers? 16 and 18 (ages on profiles). How the heck is that Qatar's target market for their brand new Q suite? Did Qatar realise they'd organised a school trip? Very much a case of who you know. I know social media goes along way these days, but looking at the breakdown the majority of my Instagram followers are from the 18-24 category which is surely not Qatar's target market. Well, I hope they enjoyed their freebie business class ride (I'm only jealous a tiny bit).

Could be someone's attempt (Airbus) to promote the brand to younger audiences? Can't hurt. Meaning, you/we old people of A.net aren't the target here.

His the total dweeb...

Classical YouTube / Instagram / Whatever-Social-Media self-proclaimed expert. Talking shit everyone knows already and trying to make his babbling appear as the big news. But if we wanna rank him, he sure is the king of all self-proclaimed teen aviation experts. You know, just wearing the 50 dollar suit makes him number one.

But there's some other nerd, who's name I forgot, who always wears a hat and think that's cool. He's also got a tiny wooden desk in his kids room with a glas full of pens. That makes him look important of course. Not.

The BBC used to use people like David Learmount from Flight International and a retired BA 747 Captain... they knew their stuff and were always worth listening too.

So why do we now we have this irritating kid?
He just tends to state the obvious and regurgitate press releases.
.. and I wish he would get his stupid hair cut as well !

To be honest, I don’t give a damn what credentials the kid has as long as he’s there. Studying the market trends doesn’t mean shit, because if it did, half of A.net would be on that plane. But they’re not, and that means this kid is doing something right, regardless of how he got there. I sure as hell appreciate his coverage of the inaugural a lot more than some of the crap spewed over here.

I find the term 'Aviation Analyst' laughable - what he does isn't analysis. At best he is an aviation journalist, but even then that is stretching the definition.

I agree that people like David Learmount at least had some practical experience to be able to add insight to often complex situations. Although annoying you could also add Simon Calder to that list.

I would sooner listen to the opinions and views of David Learmount,Eric Moody,Chris Yates and even to a certain degree Simon Calder than this so called expert as Sky News likes to descibe him.

An analyst is someone who produces reports based on extensive original research.

I’ve never seen him do any such thing.

As has been mentioned he will block anyone on Twitter who questions what he does.

There is a lot of embellishment of what he does. For example, claiming he is meeting with an airline CEO when he’s just attending a press conference.

No-one begrudges anyone trying to forge their own career but don’t pretend to be something you’re not. And if you’re going to put yourself in the public eye you have to be prepared for public scrutiny.

He doesn't break my leg, or pick my pocket. Reminds me of a lot of stormchaser anoraks/mom's-basement types who create their own forecasts (borrowing heavily from the Storm Prediction Center and passing it off as their own analysis). The internet has lowered the barriers to entry something fierce.

Plenty of bitterness & jealousy towards this kid here, stay classy A.net

Probably is jealousy to be honest, wish I could travel the world in first class on false pretences.

These days everyone can be named "analyst" or "expert" I guess.

At least he got himself on selfie with Al Baker.

He was actually criticised by BALPA for giving media commentary on a plane crash last year. He also caused a lot of upset for Monarch staff with some of his tweets before the airline went into administration.

If he called himself an enthusiast, then fair enough. And with profile comes responsibility and the need to know your own limitations.

If QR want to show off those Q suites they would have done better inviting along those that can provide the passengers for it, ie, travel industry professionals, tour operator airline contractors and those responsible for corporate travel decisions.

On the flipside, there is a kid on this site who works at Travel Update for the Boarding Area (I think his name is max757 or something) that I do respect for his passion and interesting/exclusive reports such as the one that claimed AA will not be doing midsized city TATALs.

KarelXWB wrote:

These days everyone can be named "analyst" or "expert" I guess.

At least he got himself on selfie with Al Baker.

What a couple of terrapins!

Both are living on another planet, and at someone else's expense.

Some background here

https://twitter.com/pauls_trips/status/ ... 2458648582

skipness1E wrote:

Some background here

https://twitter.com/pauls_trips/status/ ... 2458648582

I did see that earlier on. Like mentioned in the twitter thread - he may of possibly bought followers in the past.

Anyway, while he seems to lead a more interesting life than me, I wish him all the best and if he can do it because of his connections then so be it.

He gets a lot of flack on twitter and sometimes from the odd BA pilot or two. I have to question how you can make a living from taking on free delivery flights and turning up on the BBC once or three times per year.

Arion640 wrote:

skipness1E wrote:

Some background here

https://twitter.com/pauls_trips/status/ ... 2458648582

I did see that earlier on. Like mentioned in the twitter thread - he may of possibly bought followers in the past.

Anyway, while he seems to lead a more interesting life than me, I wish him all the best and if he can do it because of his connections then so be it.

He gets a lot of flack on twitter and sometimes from the odd BA pilot or two. I have to question how you can make a living from taking on free delivery flights and turning up on the BBC once or three times per year.

Probably helps that he lives with his mum in a fairly large house so probably doesn't have any responsibilities like bills or a mortgage.

CraigAnderson wrote:

Yeah I just don't know that I can take anybody who claims he is an 'aviation analyst' seriously when he's barely out of his teens and doesn't seem to have studied any aspect of aviation or anything related to it, doesn't even have blog to his name. Seems rather vacuous.

You've come to the wrong website...

LOL I watched a programme about first class flights the other day. The programme was wildly sensationalist about the products and the price of those products (the old $20,000 first class ticket claim) and then this guy Alex Macheras pops up.

Both my wife (who doesn't follow aviation) and I were dumfounded as to how this kid got any airtime. He was obviously buttering up to airlines / Airbus and then it showed you his bedroom at his mums house. Sorry Alex you can't lord yourself around as a credible analyst and then show your bedroom with your model airplanes and your mummy making your bed.

This whole influencer nonsense is why I take a lot of things with a pinch of salt. Even Sam Chui who I have followed for a number of years is obviously getting comps from airlines. He is very gracious but you can't say that everything is the best without loosing credibility.

Sandyb123

Frankly his age isn't the biggest problem, some young people have already serious experience behind them, but indeed if you want to be called an analyst, you need to produce something more substantial than video reviews.

As for why QR invited him, well, airlines do want to sell high end tickets to anybody, including young people with money. Or parents' money. If the latter, then the parents would also buy seats, win win.

The people over at The Points Guy love him, yes I’m jealous but the love fest is too much. I would agree that the sensationalism around these young followers is getting out of control. I say this as a 25 year old who works in social media and brand marketing.

-Rowen

res77W wrote:

The people over at The Points Guy love him

Of course they do, they are americans after all.

So, in summary - a social media “star” that nobody over the age of 30 has heard of?

A lot of hate for a young guy. Getting on a delivery flight is not that easy, so kudos to him. Times are changing, so obviously not everything new will be to everyones liking.

I think he's working with Airbus's corporate communications - from the looks of things his exclusive access seems to be of Airbus customers only

http://nordic.businessinsider.com/best- ... am-2017-1/

So disappointed - I had to turn the show off after a few minutes. Fair play to the guy he's got his moment in the spotlight, but so irritating. Not, IMO, objective views of your average premium traveller.

I think much of the criticism against Alex is unfair. He could tone it down a notch with Qatar Airways and the selfies but 95% of his work is quality. Let's be honest, he is participating in inaugural flights and airline events that most on A.net would love to attend. Are you complaining because you do not agree with his style or because you don't enjoy seeing someone younger than you accomplishing more than you?

I am not sure of his age (probably low 20's) but I can say for certain that his aviation knowledge is well beyond his years and he is working hard to expand his knowledge. Where his knowledge lacks his work effort picks up.

Shouldn't we support and appreciate the fact that there are young aviation enthusiasts who wish to share and analyze the industry with others? Let's not be keyboard warriors and take cheap shots and people we do not even know.

CraigAnderson wrote:

Yeah I just don't know that I can take anybody who claims he is an 'aviation analyst' seriously when he's barely out of his teens and doesn't seem to have studied any aspect of aviation or anything related to it, doesn't even have blog to his name. Seems rather vacuous.

No idea who that guy is, but this logic seems a little strange. Not trusting someone simply because he's 20? There are PILOTS in UK that are younger than that. Age shouldn't be an inhibitor to trust. That said, in my personal book, anyone who says he is an "aviation analyst" and is not Gregory Feith, is a fraud.

CraigAnderson wrote:

I keep seeing articles about this Alex Macheras kid, seriously he's late teens, popping up all over the place going on Airbus delivery flights etc. He's on Twitter as @AlexInAir but how can anybody take him seriously when he seems to have done nothing in the industry except for schmooze up to airlines and do some TV spots in the UK?

I checked him online. He has a miniscule amount of followers on Twitter. He had a few appearances on TV, mostly with stations that nobody watches, and his eight videos on YouTube raked up about 100 views each. He is one big nobody. So I have to ask this. Are you actually Alex Macheras and are you trying to use Airliners.net to promote yourself?

BravoEchoNov wrote:

I think much of the criticism against Alex is unfair. He could tone it down a notch with Qatar Airways and the selfies but 95% of his work is quality. Let's be honest, he is participating in inaugural flights and airline events that most on A.net would love to attend. Are you complaining because you do not agree with his style or because you don't enjoy seeing someone younger than you accomplishing more than you?

I am not sure of his age (probably low 20's) but I can say for certain that his aviation knowledge is well beyond his years and he is working hard to expand his knowledge. Where his knowledge lacks his work effort picks up.

Shouldn't we support and appreciate the fact that there are young aviation enthusiasts who wish to share and analyze the industry with others? Let's not be keyboard warriors and take cheap shots and people we do not even know.

I don't have an issue with his success and going on the inaugural flights but that isn't what an analyst would do. He is an aviation enthusiast with a social media following. There is never any criticism of the carrier he is with so its basically an advertisement for them. There is nothing wrong with that but it should be shown not made out that this is a fact. Plus his comments surrounding air crashes are usually completely wrong.

When he tweets out news there is no analysis of the news. Its just the press release from the airline. So in effect he is a PR man. There is a big difference. I.e. A PR man wouldn't be asked to comment by news channels when an airline goes bust or there is a plane crash. An analyst would be.

seansasLCY wrote:

He is criticised quiet heavily on twitter. He's analysis is usually regurgitating a press release. Apparently he has a connection to the Qatari Government or Royal Family (when questioned about his background on twitter he blocks you). He defended Qatar very heavily during the issue about intercepting the UAE planes.

Good luck to him. He's done well considering he has no experience in the field and is 20 something year old. but it's questionable whether he actually has any idea what he is talking about.

First of all he doesn't get money from Qatari government or Qatar and does no publicity for Qatar Airways. He has equally travels on EK and other airlines.

He defended Qatar during the so-called interception of the UAE planes because Qatar DID NOT intercept these planes. UAE planes fly over Qatar daily, and there is NO proof to suggest any interception.

But I agree, good luck to him and his work.