A few days ago, I wrote about how controversial airline vlogger Josh Cahill got into a spat with Air Côte d’Ivoire. I shared my take on the incident, and then received an email from his PA asking to interview me, and telling me to put my money where my mouth is, whatever that means in this context.
I asked you all for feedback on how I should handle this situation, and I very much appreciate all the thoughts people provided, so I want to report back on the approach I’m taking…
In this post:
My response to Josh Cahill, plus an invitation of my own
In response to the email I received from Josh’s PA (see my previous post), here’s my email to Josh:
Hi Josh,
I received the email from your PA, asking to interview me, in order to confront me about the smear campaign you believe I’ve been running against you, with screenshots of private conversations that I’ve reportedly had about you.
I think it goes without saying that we share a passion for aviation. I appreciate the unique variety of airlines you fly, and I also respect your general mission of holding airlines accountable, as there’s no denying that many airlines don’t do a great job at managing expectations.
I’d like to think that I call things as I see them, because just as I’ve had posts taking issue with your content, I’ve also had posts in support of you, including with your Aero Dili and Qatar Airways situations. That’s not to say that I’m always right — I’m definitely not — but I do my best to be honest, and to admit when I make mistakes.
With the size of your following, I think you also owe it to your audience (and to the industry) to be honest, balanced, and transparent, and it seems to me like that is increasingly becoming a problem that’s getting out of hand.
I’m not here to tell you how to do your job, but I think you know the things I’m referring to — your Legend Airlines situation (it seems you recently deleted the video?), constantly featuring people in videos and portraying them in a negative light without their consent in violation of airline policies (and often in violation of local laws), and also encouraging your audience to “spam” airline social media pages when you feel you weren’t treated correctly, while not sharing the full story.
I’m more than happy to sit down and have a good faith conversation with you, but I’m not confident that you’re looking for the same, given the provocative tone of your PA’s email, plus your desire to “present” to me “screenshots from group chats and personal conversation on camera.”
This sounds like more an ambush than anything, and not like a good faith attempt to have a dialogue. For that matter, I genuinely don’t recall ever having *any* negative conversation about you in private, so that makes me even more skeptical of the motive here.
It’s hard to have the basis of a conversation be something that I don’t believe exists. I’d absolutely encourage you to share publicly what you believe I’ve said about you in private, because if it happened, I’d of course own up to it and apologize.
So yes, I’m happy to have a conversation with you, but it would need to be a little more balanced than what you’re proposing. I’d also like to extend a good faith invitation to you. I’d be happy to let you publish a post on OMAAT for you to share your perspective, including anything you believe I’ve said about you that’s not accurate.
Regarding the Air Côte d’Ivoire situation, I also think there would be value in you setting the record straight on a few details, because if I was wrong in my analysis, I’d like to apologize to you. Could you actually explain how you booked your Air Côte d’Ivoire ticket? How much did you pay? When you booked, what fare class did the ticket show as? After booking through a third party, did you check with Air Côte d’Ivoire to select seats, and confirm everything was correct?
Furthermore, your ticket was reportedly canceled prior to travel, and you were rebooked in economy. Did you receive notice of that cancelation, and if so, how far in advance? Let me be clear, I completely agree with you that airlines need to own up to their mistakes, and it’s possible that Air Côte d’Ivoire did make a mistake. However, you’re not sharing the whole story, and I think that’s a problem, especially when you’re a travel expert who should know better.
I look forward to your response.
Best,
Ben
The double edged sword of giving people attention
I do want to address one further point. Some people have expressed disappointment that I’m giving him any attention at all. I see where those people are coming from, because Josh definitely seems like an “any publicity is good publicity” kind of person, so maybe I’m playing into his strategy.
Historically, I’ve once in a while written about Josh’s flight situations because he brings out the extremes of airlines. Like, it’s pretty newsworthy (in our world) when a vlogger gets banned from an airline over a review. But it’s also noteworthy how Josh sometimes acts, and treats airlines unfairly.
So perhaps I’m better off just not covering him at all. At the same time, the way I view it, it’s important to sometimes provide a balanced perspective on things, so that we don’t normalize certain behavior too much. Broadly speaking, a lot of “tough guys” online have pretty fragile egos, and they can dish it, but they can’t take it.
I understand the point of just ignoring him, but I think the problem is all too often that it’s him vs. the airline, and the airline often isn’t able to share things publicly, due to privacy regulations. So some other balanced person calling out this behavior is worth it as well.
I assume Josh recently deleting his Legend Airlines video is a clear reflection of him at least acknowledging some of those issues, even if he won’t otherwise admit it. And at a minimum, given the email he sent me (and which I shared here), I do want to share my response, in the interest of transparency…
Bottom line
Josh Cahill wanted to “interview” me, which sounded more like an attempted ambush based on something that doesn’t exist, to my knowledge, rather than an attempt to have an honest discussion. So while I’m happy to have a good faith discussion with him about what we do, and how it’s fair to go about it, I’m not down for some sort of a one-sided video with a questionable basis.
In many ways, I think the way he (or his PA, I suppose) approached me is pretty reflective of how he approaches many airlines. So Josh, if you’d like to interview me, I’m open to it, but it has to be on agreeable terms. Meanwhile I also invite you to share your unfiltered opinion in a guest blog post. I won’t try to ambush you, I invite you to share your take, and if I’m wrong, I’ll own up to it and apologize.
Fair enough?
PS, I am in no way saying that my country is perfect, but he clearly has a bias against my country and I’ve been watching him for years but no longer will and he also has an edge and an attitude about him that is very disconcerting. He doesn’t really talk about the fact that he’s German, and they have quite a grim history.
During the Dubai airshow, Josh walked past a bunch of American aircraft and called America the war machine, but prior to that he walked past several Russian aircraft and praised and drooled and just couldn’t be more complementary so he clearly has an issue with United States and of course I have an issue with people who bash my country.
Why the actual hell does ANYONE give this charlatan any airtime at all? And judging by the comments, against all suggestions...this absolutely reeks of typical A********* attention seeking and main character syndrome. FFS.
This guy is a genuinely unpleasant person and is really not worth your time Ben.
Your response does set some sort of a trap for the counterpart, but it presumes his full disclosure of the facts...
From what you described, he doesn't sound like a person who would be like that...
If he engages, but you feel he's still playing with such facts, just stop there, please...
It is not worth of your time..
FFS Now you offer him your platform for his nonsense-arguments? That is clearly not your audience response!
Ben, great response to him, but tbh when have we ever found trolls to be receptive to logic or politeness? A brand that apparently exists for large-scale trolling isn't going to respond to it, but may use the attention to its benefit.
Also, since he deleted the original video, in the online world that's usually an admission of a mistake or illegality. Since he didn't post a separate explanation (I presume you would have mentioned,...
Ben, great response to him, but tbh when have we ever found trolls to be receptive to logic or politeness? A brand that apparently exists for large-scale trolling isn't going to respond to it, but may use the attention to its benefit.
Also, since he deleted the original video, in the online world that's usually an admission of a mistake or illegality. Since he didn't post a separate explanation (I presume you would have mentioned, I'm not going to give him more views by looking myself) we can assume he BOTH knows he was wrong and doesn't care to be honest about it. So, he's a little attention seeking troll that has gotten wealthy with his misbehavior. Gross.
Agree with others. It is a well written response but the fact that you have multiple posts about this situation just draws the attention more and is also unnecessary. The fact that you ask for your audience feedback just fuels it too.
Ignore this idiot. Do not engage. There’s no reason to except you are then also appearing to milk it.
The guy is an oxygen vampire, like trump.
Dont engage, dont write about anything he does.
Hi, Lucky,
NOT about this content, but YES about your use of gerunds (for example, "I assume Josh recently DELETING his Legend Airlines video is.... "). It helps clarify for the reader if you use the genitive case before it. This case is generally accepted before gerunds in English, but I am not sure about German usage.
So "I assume Josh's recently deleting his Legend Airlines video is ...."
Thanks for reading, as they say!
Dr. Stan
CDMX
Just ignore the guy. Now you risk becoming another version of him and how he throws shade at Sam Chui in every single one of his videos.
Sam Chui deserves it. He's just as arrogant, full of himself, and an ambassador of privilege, entitlement, and audacity.
A very thoughtful letter from you, Ben. I join others in urging you to not go further with Mr. Cahill.
Thanks
I used to enjoy Cahill's posts. Not anymore, he sounds like looking for a smear campaign one too many times, and we should wash his smirky smile off his face, by unfollowing him on YouTube and other channels. My 2 cents
Ben, please don't feed the troll(s). Sensationalist vloggers and giggling influencer bimbos are best left alone. Oh, and please, please don't switch OMAAT to a video format. You have a great writing style that many of us have enjoyed since your Diet Coke days.
I wouldn’t engage with him. You’re giving him exactly what he wants. Publicity and attention. In his mind no publicity is bad. Let it be and move on. It serves no purpose.
Perfect reply Ben. Don't expect him to answer truthfully though as it would simply expose him
Very well penned message. Good on you for taking the high road. With that said (and as others have said) I hope you don’t give him any more of a forum here.
There is a template in this world's culture that he is using and we should all acknowlege how to stop it dead in its tracks. That is to not give it fuel. Ben it will not stop here and it will only grow once he gets more out of you. Please see it for what it is down the road which will be an annoyance you regret even being polite to this man. Please look ahead. With respect to you Ben.
Each travel blogger has their quirks and bias. Cahill always looks for the bad in every situation.
This is getting silly. Cahill is not a good faith actor. Engage further at your peril. In my opinion he's best ignored.
Beer summit. In an onsen. In Kyoto. In summer.
Just curious. Why wouldn’t Josh reach out to a well known aviation enthusiast like Ben directly? It’s a bit fishy that so called PA sending messages, if there ever was one.
Because he's too important and busy to write the email himself of course! It's quite amusing, isn't it!?
The PA reminds me of Trump's alter ego John Barron.
I agree. It's possible this "PA" may not even be associated with Josh Cahill and could just be someone looking to stir up drama.
@ Hiro and others -- Just for those asking how I know that the PA email isn't a prank, the email address from which it was sent was actually Josh's email. So the PA doesn't have their own email address, apparently, but just works out of Josh's inbox.
Er, this sounds like "some people are telling me" (people inside his head)
i.e. is Mr Cahill sending it trying to create some plausible deniability?
That was a good and fair response, nice job,
I would not engage with him without him disclosing what he has claimed you wrote. You would be extraordinarily naive if you think he's not going to set you up with claims that are unsupported but that all his followers will believe are true.
We no longer live in a nation where truth and transparency trump the day (no pun intended). You must insist that he publish on his own website, and provide to...
I would not engage with him without him disclosing what he has claimed you wrote. You would be extraordinarily naive if you think he's not going to set you up with claims that are unsupported but that all his followers will believe are true.
We no longer live in a nation where truth and transparency trump the day (no pun intended). You must insist that he publish on his own website, and provide to you, anything he says you wrote about him, before you even consider engaging with him.
He will walk away because he has nothing. But not having anything will not stop him form making money off your naïveté.
And if he publishes things that are fabricated, you should sue him for every penny he's worth. That is the only thing that will stop people like him from doing things like this. I will help fund your legal suit. I am really tired of this stuff.
My best to you Ben. I write in total sincerity. Good luck.
Hahaha literally no chance the email was written by his PA. Or that he even has one. But typical of his self aggrandising delusions.
I still would suggest to you that no response is the best response, but as far as indulging him goes, this is about as good as it gets.
I have no idea who this person is..why would you even consider writing about him. Seriously just forget him
How do we know that the person that wrote the email to Lucky claiming to be Josh Cahill's PA is actually who he/she is claiming to be? Could have just been some random person looking to cause drama?
No matter how 'classy' you may present yourself to a pig, the fact is, he's still a pig. And pigs don't get 'class'. Just stay well clear of him, because if you engage, you're doing exactly what the pig wants by playing his piggish games. BTW: I'm referring to Herr Aljoscha Wendhole, not @TravelinPenis
Please. Don't.
Josh Cahill is an annoying jealous hater.
I've read this blog for nearly a decade. It's stayed classy and above the fray almost the entire time.
Let this be the last piece OF ANYTHING you publish related to this person. I don't care if he sends you death threats. If you stoop to that level and continue down this clickbait rabbit hole you've turned into TMZ. Enough.
Ben - how did you know the email from the PA was legitimate? Could you have been trolled?
Not sure if you (Ben) will read this and if I'm right or not, but I understood the points regarding "sharing screenshots" in the PAs email as sharing screenshots of his recent trip with Air Cote d'Ivoire, not some blackmail about you.
Ben, you went against just about everyone's advice and gave him what he so desperately craves: an audience. That keeps his game alive. I not faulting anything you said: your response was well written, reasonable, and to the point. I'm only faulting you for sending it in the first place. You conduct yourself and your business at a much higher level than him. Try not to take the bait next time.
Don't feed the trolls. He's baiting you, and any friendly response he gives here is more bait until he finally cashes it in. If you saw an airline exec getting baited by him like this, you'd wave all sorts of red flags!
Kind of like folks who engage a certain poster who seems to think EVERYONE wants to know what he thinks about everything across multiple travel blogs, and has to be the first to opine on every article.
Indeed, I have to stay out of the comments on Gary's site - the offenders blather is constant.
It’s now not just VFTW, he has now spread to here and LALF, among others.
Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler staged one of the greatest fake feuds in entertainment history, maintaining the illusion of genuine animosity so convincingly that audiences believed it was real for years. What Josh Cahill does - the dramatic titles, manufactured controversies with airlines, and provocative confrontations - could most charitably be described as kayfabe, the wrestling term for presenting scripted conflict as genuine. This has enormous potential to be an epic rivalry in the aviation...
Andy Kaufman and Jerry Lawler staged one of the greatest fake feuds in entertainment history, maintaining the illusion of genuine animosity so convincingly that audiences believed it was real for years. What Josh Cahill does - the dramatic titles, manufactured controversies with airlines, and provocative confrontations - could most charitably be described as kayfabe, the wrestling term for presenting scripted conflict as genuine. This has enormous potential to be an epic rivalry in the aviation content space, with Ben as the measured professional and Josh as the provocateur, each playing their role to perfection while driving massive engagement for both. If you two aren't already collaborating on this behind the scenes, you absolutely should be.
Although it’s extremely well written and polite, unlike his email, I would not have stooped to his level as the majority of comments implied. He doesn’t deserve it. As for having a PA, it’s either a fake email, he’s writing in the third party or he got a friend to do it.
Confident Josh either doesn't have a PA and is writing it himself, or he's contracted an ultra cheap PA from a country with a lot of IT support hubs who is using ChatGPT.
Well written. Should you decide to meet with him/them, make sure you take someone with you and record the entire 'interview' - that's what he will do.
What a waste of your time and brain power, Ben.
When you get bitten by a mosquito, you ignore the itch and get on with your life. Why is this different?
I can't believe you are giving him this attention and potentially sending viewers to his posts. He will continue to use this (and you).
While I certainly prefer Ben's content over Josh's, let's be clear, in 2025, for better or worse, Josh actually has more subscribers and views (840K subscribers, 165 total video views) than Ben (+1 impressions million/month, then again, apples-to-oranges, because different mediums); it would be interesting to know the behind-the-scenes financials for a more accurate comparison (who's making more off their respective ventures); so, technically, this may be helping Ben more than Josh; that said, we...
While I certainly prefer Ben's content over Josh's, let's be clear, in 2025, for better or worse, Josh actually has more subscribers and views (840K subscribers, 165 total video views) than Ben (+1 impressions million/month, then again, apples-to-oranges, because different mediums); it would be interesting to know the behind-the-scenes financials for a more accurate comparison (who's making more off their respective ventures); so, technically, this may be helping Ben more than Josh; that said, we are all very supportive of Ben, and also even though such silly faux-conflict is far more Josh's style than Ben's style. Either way, go Ben!
Honestly, it will help both. A lot about vlogging (and I guess blogging?) is to have drama. If Ben meets up with Josh for the interview, he will certainly make a video about it. Many OMAAT people (I will for sure!) would watch this video, and on the other hand people from Joshs cloud will come here. Even if they just write angry comments it will be good for googles page rank and I'm sure...
Honestly, it will help both. A lot about vlogging (and I guess blogging?) is to have drama. If Ben meets up with Josh for the interview, he will certainly make a video about it. Many OMAAT people (I will for sure!) would watch this video, and on the other hand people from Joshs cloud will come here. Even if they just write angry comments it will be good for googles page rank and I'm sure some will like what Ben writes and come here, growing his audience. I can understand not wanting to give Josh a plattform, but financially it will help both.
Very well written email. He (josh has also had issue with Sam Chui, but then I can't stand sam chui, as he gets so far up into flight attendant's asses it comes out of their mouth and I am sure the MEA pay him to protray their airlines as the best
Just do it or don't. This is the third news article this week about Josh Cahill.
At some point, you're milking the drama the same way you accuse him of. Better to just get it all over with in one go or don't speak about it at all anymore.
Couple of awkward German geeks arguing about who said what and who is to blame for something-something or other.
Sorry. I won’t be watching that YouTube.
You would.
(And I respect your decision to do as you wish. See, not hard, sir.)
Ignore the dude, he needs the extra attention, you do not. Focus on your blog
Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk to trash cans?
Sorry Ben, but you apologized way too much in advance. If you really feel you have done nothing wrong, there was nothing for you to apologize. It just puts you in a weak situation. The guy is definitely not worth of you wasting your time.
All I think Ben is doing is suggesting that he will apologise if indeed there is anything to apologise for. He's not "apologising in advance". Indeed, he's invited Josh Canhill to come up with the receipts to refute his claims.
Fair enough but knowing Ben I think we all know there is nothing he did wrong. The guy is just using this platform to get more publicity.
What's sad is that I liked Josh once, but after the Malaysian Airlines incident, something snapped, and he realised he'd get so much more attention from bad or dramatic reviews. So, from then on, his YouTube video reviews were all titled with CAPITAL LETTERS with words like "SCAMMED", "DANGEROUS" or "WORST EVER" used liberally.
It's a terrible way to live. Call out genuinely bad service or poorly-maintained aircraft, but don't over-dramatise every tiny thing in...
What's sad is that I liked Josh once, but after the Malaysian Airlines incident, something snapped, and he realised he'd get so much more attention from bad or dramatic reviews. So, from then on, his YouTube video reviews were all titled with CAPITAL LETTERS with words like "SCAMMED", "DANGEROUS" or "WORST EVER" used liberally.
It's a terrible way to live. Call out genuinely bad service or poorly-maintained aircraft, but don't over-dramatise every tiny thing in the hope you'll make the news again.
That said...Ben, why don't you do a ridiculously overblown and dramatic review sometime (or perhaps rewrite an old review), just to give us all a laugh here. Write about you were "SCAMMED" at meal service because they didn't offer you a second bread roll, or how the crew was the "WORST EVER" because they forgot to refer to you by name just once. It would certainly be entertaining as a once-off.
Being captured by the audience is an omnipresent threat, especially if one becomes overly invested in their subscriber and view counts.
I give Ben credit for (at least by the standards of the broad blog/vlogging profession) resisting this. I don't really see Ben changing what he posts about to get views (the topic mix seems to be about the same as ever and you could even argue that the ad money not being what it...
Being captured by the audience is an omnipresent threat, especially if one becomes overly invested in their subscriber and view counts.
I give Ben credit for (at least by the standards of the broad blog/vlogging profession) resisting this. I don't really see Ben changing what he posts about to get views (the topic mix seems to be about the same as ever and you could even argue that the ad money not being what it was is indicative of this admirable resistance, too).
A few of the vloggers have posted about how obsessive they have to be about optimization (which ends up being most of what the job is when you make YouTubing a full-time job), and it's really not that different from celebrities who are known for their looks always "getting some work done".
Fair response, but also... I think time to put this to rest. The Real Housewives of Miami cast is full, and Josh's manufactured drama and your posted updates will only feed the beast.
I think you are giving him entirely too much airtime, despite your well thought out reasonings for doing so.
However if you really are going to meet with him, I suggest you get it in writing that you can also film the entire encounter, and then post it unedited. It takes all the power away from him. If he is truly being honest and forthcoming, he will agree. But if he gives you pushback, that tells you everything you need to know, and I would not engage.
I think your response is good and kind. You demonstrate humanity and good values which I admire!
No need to join a debate with Kirk, I mean, Cahill.
You are giving him way too much time and attention!
Ben , you are wasting your time with inconsequential matters .
You're the most balanced blogger in the aviation world Ben.
Very classy answer Ben.
The sass of "Maybe Josh and I can meet on a Qatar Airways flight to Cairo? "..... Oh so brilliantly good.
You take the high road, and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland afore ye...
You're a class-act, Ben.
No good deed goes unpunished; this remains an ambush; regardless, you are likely to gain more support, followers, cross-overs, etc. So, ultimately, in-tandem with your recent ('I'm doing just fine financially, but, like should I do a subscription model? post'), your choice to engage (already) fits perfectly with the rage-bait, attention-economy of 2025.
Wishing you the best here. Go Ben!
Man this is wonderful, what a great letter! Good for you.
Crush him and you become one of the almighty travel influencer gods that rule the eternal land of the internet.
Did I mention just ask for his birth certificate?
Now go exterminate John, I mean Josh.
Gott der Benjamin!!!!!
Yikes... let's please not 'exterminate' our fellow human beings, regardless of difference of opinion.
Not a bad response. The ball is in his court now. I actually think that in strict privacy you both would get along really quite well. Especially over a few bottles of Dom Perignon. And both agree that Sam is a devious deceitful narcissist.
The difference between Ben and Josh is a difference of class. Ben has it and Josh doesn't. But he should recognize it when he sees it.
I loved your email, @Ben. It's extremely straightforward and transparent, which feels likes fresh air in the internet world, and even more so outside of it.
@Ben, good luck and godspeed with this.
You have responded to and handled this situation admirably, while also acknowledging the tactics that this YouTuber tends to employ. There are many of us who read this blog and enjoy the content - keep it up.
it would/will be a juvenile ambush no matter what
hey, Jon, less.
Of course, I'm kidding; I do enjoy your updates, and thank you for sharing your 'insider' info. But, please, your attempted gatekeeping of others, is silly. Let'em speak. Ignore or engage.
--From another NYC-resident who travels a bunch, often luxuriously.
First!
Oh boy the comments section here will be juicy (if you're a trash person who thrives on drama of other people who don't even think about you at all)
To be clear by "trash person" I'm talking about the commenter who has so little going on in their lives that they have to COMMENT ON A POST LIKE THIS
"other people" = Ben Schlappig and Josh Cahill, both of whom are enormously wealthy, ironically BECAUSE OF THOSE TRASH PEOPLE who (doubly ironically) themselves have no wealth
Is everybody having a good Friday?
not as drunk and painfully awkward as you, apparently, but a good friday otherwise.
You may be taking the "If you're not first, you're last" a bit too seriously.
Good Friday to you, too. Hi MaxPower.
Take Ford to record so there will be an accurate record.
@Gen Yinjing Youguan, aren't you the most fitting person to the descriptions you wrote?