Josh Cahill
Josh Cahill (born June 17, 1986) is an German-Czech airline and travel vlogger known for posting airline reviews on his YouTube channel, some of which were met with media attention. He is also a blogger.[2]
Josh Cahill | |
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Born | |
Nationality | German-Czech |
Education | BA (Bachelor of Arts) |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Occupation | Travel vlogger, airline critic |
Years active | 2005–present |
Partner(s) | Seraphina Yong[1] |
Website | gotravelyourway |
Josh Cahill | |||||||
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YouTube information | |||||||
Location | Worldwide | ||||||
Years active | 2015–present | ||||||
Genre | Vlogs | ||||||
Subscribers | 352,000 | ||||||
Total views | 58.4 million | ||||||
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Early life
Josh Cahill was born to a German father and a Czech mother in Germany. He grew up in Mildenau, Saxony, Germany.[3]
He worked in the hospitality industry, and was regarded as "one of the world's most experienced couch-surfers" by the Gulf News.[4]
Career and controversies
Cahill started traveling in 2005 with his first trip to Lithuania.[5]
In 2009, he hitchhiked from Germany to Iran, stating that "Getting lost in Iran" has changed his life as well as his perspective on the media.[6] In 2013, Cahill founded his Award-Winning Blog Go Travel Your Way with a strong focus on airline reviews and exotic travel destinations. He received some media attention for travelling Afghanistan as a tourist in 2015 as well as North Korea in 2017, which he described as one of his most exciting trips to date.[7][8][9]
In July 2015, Cahill posted his first flight review on his YouTube channel and ever since received over 70 Million views, making him one of the most watched flight reviewer on the internet. He flies at an average of 150 times per year, and has travelled to more than 60 countries. His most-watched review has over 16 million views.[10][11][12]
The Mashable news website once described Cahill as "The award-winning blogger-turned-vlogger [who] is best known for posting honest, fair, and balanced reviews on flights he has taken."[2]
AsiaOne called him the "Guru of Air Travel".[13] In 2018, Cahill won "Best Airline Channel" at the TBC Asia Travel Blogger Awards.
On December 22, 2020, Cahill was part of the historical delivery of Uganda Airlines first Airbus A330-800neo from Toulouse to Entebbe led by General Katumba Wamala, the then Ugandan Minister of Works and Transport and received by Uganda's President Yoweri Musaveni.[14][15]
Malaysia Airlines
"Nobody [on that flight] deserved to wear that beautiful uniform, because I've had greater flights and better experiences with Malaysia Airlines before."[16]
In 2018, Cahill posted his criticism towards Malaysia Airlines. He called the food "filthy," and complained the zero response towards his complaint that the inflight entertainment system (IFE) wasn't working. He used the inflight Wi-Fi to post an update on Instagram. Soon after, he received a message by someone from Malaysia Airlines saying that their Head of Customer Experience read the post, asking if he has anything that "has transpired so far." After the post, the crew did not serve him, followed by a prohibition to film.[17] The crew approached him and asked stiffly "Who did you message?"[16] A Malaysia Airlines policy has prohibited it before if the passenger "fail to comply with any instruction of the crew." Cahill said that the crew were "unfriendly."[17]
After he landed, a public relations worker met with him and had a civil conversation.[17] He also received an apology email from CEO Izham Ismail; Cahill said that it was a "template email," and that "it was clearly to prevent me from getting more footage and create a bad review on my YouTube channel." He said that "This is not only an insult to the people of Malaysia, but this is an insult to the entire country of Malaysia, because Malaysia is a country [that’s] all about hospitality and great, warm-hearted people."[16]
Malaysia Airlines responded with:
"We pride ourselves on the quality of our service and regret if the passenger felt standards were below expectations on this occasion. Unfortunately, we were unable to accommodate his request for an upgrade as the aircraft was at capacity in first and business class. As soon as we were made aware of Mr. Cahill’s grievances, we contacted him directly and offered a full refund for his journey. We are taking his accusations seriously and conducting a review into what happened."
Singapore Airlines
On January 7, 2020, Cahill posted an 11-minute review of his Singapore Airlines (SQ) flight from London to Singapore. He said that the cabin crew was "the biggest let down" of the flight," specifically that they had "zero engagement policy." He said that it was "not worth a dollar," but reassured that "it's a brilliant product."[18]
The video caused Cahill to face backlash on the Internet. Some asked him not to "judge or make conclusions based on one flight," while another one recommends business or first class for a more personal crew. He has also received racist and abusive comments,[18] among them was by someone claiming to be a Singapore Airlines crew calling him an "Ang mo piece of s***, if I see you onboard SQ again, I will cut your throat and s**t on your head, you entitled s***. Our cabin crew f***ing hates you."[19] There had been over 100 abusive messages on social media as quoted by Today. Cahill responds with, "All I provided was honest feedback based on my experiences." Cahill said that he had gotten in touch with proper authorities asking for the account holder giving him a death threat to be tracked. The authorities responded by saying that if the allegations are true, "appropriate actions will be taken."[18]
It was then revealed that Cahill's girlfriend Seraphina Yong is a Singapore Airlines crew; she has also been messaged asking if she is really sure to continue engaging with Cahill.[20] She said that there is "nothing wrong with speaking the truth".[19][21]
Must Share A News, a news publication, said that the backlash was due to "Singaporeans having a misplaced sense of nationalism" over their flag carrier. It also suggested that Singapore Airlines should not be overambitious with their airline.[22]
Tunisair
In 2020, Cahill flew onboard a Tunisair Airbus A330, and shared his "unpleasant experience" at its lounge at Tunis-Carthage International Airport as well as onboard. Central director of communication Sami Blidi said that certain services were closed to the public amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Blidi also criticized Cahill for not wearing a face mask as part of health protocols, and said that the lounge isn't open until 5am.
Cahill then took to Instagram to criticize Blidi's allegations, saying that he entered the lounge at 5:15am. Those claims were later backed by the online news channel AJ+ which published screenshots that showed Cahill inside the lounge at 5:17am. He demanded for a better flag carrier from the "beautiful" country. He received great support on the Internet for exposing the airline.[23]
Later on, Tunisian actor Dhaffer L'Abidine joined Cahill's efforts by posting a video on his Instagram channel too, showing a broken and dirty seat. He posted "the best way to fight this incompetence and corruption is to reveal the truth".[24]
Awards and recognition
2018:
References
- https://www.mustsharenews.com/josh-cahill-death-threats/amp/
- months, Sukhbir Cheema 10; Weeks, 2 (January 17, 2020). "Travel vlogger gets death threat after giving Singapore Airlines an honest review". Mashable SEA. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Weltenbummler auf Zeitreise | Freie Presse - Schwarzenberg". www.freiepresse.de (in German). Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- "Driving to the poles to raise awareness on climate change". Gulf News. May 28, 2011. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- "Reiseblogger muss auf dem Boden bleiben | Freie Presse - Annaberg". Freie Presse (Saxony) (in German). Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- "How getting lost in Iran changed seasoned traveller Josh Cahill's life forever". NewsComAu. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- "What it's like in Afghanistan, the place Australians are warned not to visit". NewsComAu. March 18, 2015. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- "Weltenbummler auf Zeitreise | Freie Presse - Schwarzenberg". www.freiepresse.de (in German). Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- McMah, Lauren (November 22, 2018). "Video airline doesn't want you to see". Sunshine Coast Daily.
- "Review: Qatar Airways Airbus A350XWB - The Business Class Experience - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- "Man leaves bad review of airline during flight and it only made things worse". indy100. November 22, 2018. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
Cahill flies around 150 times each year obviously knows a thing or two about what makes a good flight and although the staff acted unprofessionally he'll perhaps think twice the next time he is compelled to post a bad review during a flight.
- "Reiseblogger muss auf dem Boden bleiben | Freie Presse - Annaberg". Freie Presse (Saxony) (in German). Archived from the original on October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- "Foreign travel vlogger considers Singapore Airlines cabin crew a 'letdown'". AsiaOne. January 9, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- "Uganda Airlines erhält modernen Airbus A330-800 für Langstreckenflüge | reisetopia". reisetopia.de. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- "Uganda Airlines gets new Airbus". The East African. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- Khor, Samantha (November 22, 2018). "Malaysia Airlines Responds To YouTuber's Claims That He Was "Bullied" Throughout A Flight". SAYS. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- Powell, Sebastian (November 25, 2018). "Malaysia Airlines Are Digging Themselves A Hole After Feud With Airline Blogger Who Accused Them Of Inflight Bullying". LoyaltyLobby. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- Ong, Justin (January 16, 2020). "Airline vlogger faces backlash, including a death threat, for his negative review of Singapore Airlines". Today (Singapore newspaper). Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- Chen, Johnny (January 14, 2020). "YouTuber Josh Cahill Admits GF Works In SIA, Both Find Nothing Wrong With Saying The Truth". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- "YouTuber Josh Cahill Admits GF Works In SIA, Both Find Nothing Wrong With Saying The Truth". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. January 14, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- "YouTuber Josh Cahill Admits GF Works In SIA, Both Find Nothing Wrong With Saying The Truth". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. January 14, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- Mak, Asher (January 11, 2020). "We Should Embrace Criticism Of SIA, As It Can Help Them Be Best Airline In The World Again". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- Hana, Rim (August 25, 2020). "Tunisia-Travel vlogger slams Tunisair claims following a video review on the Flag carrier". Tunisia News (in French). Retrieved October 26, 2020.
- "ما الذي قاله يوتيوبر ألماني ودفع ظافر العابدين للمطالبة بإصلاح الخطوط التونسية؟ ـ (فيديو) | حسن سلمان". القدس العربي. August 26, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
- "Mildenauer gewinnt Blogger-Award | Freie Presse - Annaberg". Freie Presse (Saxony) (in German).
- "Alvinology wins Best Airline Blog at the TBC Asia Travel Blogger Awards". Alvinology. January 3, 2018. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.