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"Mm," I say.

I do not say anything else. But I note it. Very carefully. In the filing system I maintain for information that will be useful later.

Patrick goes back to the game. His arm is around me and I have my phone and the third quarter is starting and I am, I tell myself, simply gathering information.

I am also, I find, already thinking about something.

I do not say it yet.

But I file it.

CHAPTER TWENTY

PATRICK

The Bali videos did something. I've been making videos for three years and I know, more or less, what performs and what doesn't — the approach breakdowns do well, the day-in-my-life content does well, the technical explainers have an audience who find them and stay. I understand my channel. I know its shape.

The Bali videos changed the shape.

The plane spotting terrace clip — Jan identifying the 737 MAX by its winglets, me filming him without him noticing, the A350 debate, me turning the camera on myself and saying I'm a 787 man, Jan is apparently an A350 man, I may need to look into a type rating — that clip alone got two hundred and forty thousand views in the first week. Comments ran to four figures. My subscriber count went up by thirty thousand in a month.

People like Jan.

This is something I already knew, but the algorithm has confirmed it.

What they like is Jan being precisely, unapologetically Jan. The delivery. The pauses. The way he says the 787 is a fine aircraft like he is granting a very moderate concession.

I think about this sometimes.

The airline ranking video is my idea. Jan's expertise, my format.

I pitch it to him on a Sunday morning over breakfast. He listens with the expression he uses when he is deciding whether something is reasonable.

"You want me to rank airlines," he says.

"By passenger experience," I say. "You fly more than almost anyone I know. Business class, economy, long-haul, short-haul. You have the data. My audience wants to know which airlines are actually good from a passenger perspective, not a pilot perspective."

He looks at his coffee. "I have opinions," he says.

"I know."

“But…” He pauses. "It's your channel. Your audience follows you for aviation content. Not for me."

"Jan."

"I'm not being modest," he says, precisely. "I'm being accurate. They know your face. They know your voice. They trust your authority on the subject. Why would they want to watch me?"

"Because," I say, "they've already seen you. The Bali clip. The airline rating you gave in passing last month when you got off a flight and I was filming. The comments on every video you've appeared in." I look at him. "They don't just tolerate you. They specifically ask for more of you. You have… you have a credibility with them that I don't have in this area because I work in the industry. You're the passenger. The actual, frequent, high-volume passenger who has strong documented opinions and delivers them without sentiment."

He is quiet.

"Also," I say, "you're funny on camera and you don't know it, which is the best kind of funny."

He looks at his coffee for a moment.

"I'd need to structure it properly," he says. "Categories. Cabin comfort, seat configuration, food, service, punctuality. Weighted by frequency of use."

"Obviously," I say.