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Quest Means Business
Spain And Portugal Hit By Unexplained Power Outage; Trump Nears 100 Days In Office With Sinking Poll Numbers; Russia Claims Recapture Of Kursk Border Region; Canadians Vote Under Shadow Of U.S. Tariff A Takeover Threats; Flying From Guam To Honolulu On United Island Hopper Route. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired April 28, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:08]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs Asset Management are ringing the
bell, and here we go. Time to hit the -- go on, sir. Oh, good. Get on with it. Put us out of our misery. Yes. Three gavels. Market is up, it had been
down during the course of the session. Those are the markets and these are the stories we are following today.
Power is starting to return in Spain and Portugal, but still no word on what was the cause of today's massive power outage.
A new CNN poll shows only 39 percent of Americans are approving of Donald Trump's handling of the economy, his supposed strong point.
And join me on board the Island Hopper. An aviation experience as I cross the Pacific like none other.
Live from London, it is Monday. It is April the 28th. I am Richard Quest and in London as elsewhere, I mean business.
We begin tonight, good evening, electricity slowly but surely being restored in Spain and Portugal following a massive power outage. For three
quarters of a million customers, power is now back on in Portugal, according to the country's energy network.
So the major blackout was right across the Iberian Peninsula. There was enormous traffic build up as traffic lights broke down on highways. Things
just ground to a halt and there were long lines of cars right across Madrid.
At the Madrid Open, play was suspended. Grigor Dimitrov and Jacob Fearnley's were forced off the court in mid-game. And at travelers at
airports and train stations, there were widespread delays.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, says the cause is not yet known.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We still don't have conclusive information about the reasons for this outage. So I ask the
public, as we have done in past crises, to seek information through official channels. It is best not to speculate. We will find out the
causes.
We are not ruling out any hypothesis, but now, we must focus on what's most important, restoring power to our homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Atika Shubert is with me.
Amazingly, the power is holding and the telephone connection remains strong, so as long as it does, Atika, tell me, how widespread has this been
in Spain? And what's the current situation?
ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST: The whole country was affected. I mean, it was surreal, Richard.
I was actually here. I am right in front of my house and the reason I am here is because this is the only place I can be guaranteed that there is
Wi-Fi at the moment.
Neighborhoods are coming in and out. Some of them do have full power now and internet, but no mobile service, for example. So it is still quite
patchy.
But it happened just at 12:30. Lights went out, I looked outside, everybody was kind of talking from balcony to balcony, wondering, is it just this
building? Just this neighborhood? And we were all amazed that it wasn't just Valencia, but the entire country and Portugal, too.
The worst part, of course, was that nobody could communicate with anybody, so nobody knew what was really happening. I went to the train station.
Everything closed. Police could only tell me that it would last for at least six to 10 hours, and it did.
QUEST: And the cause? There seems to be a growing acceptance that it wasn't cyberattack or nefarious, which is good at one level, but it also raises
the question, what led to everything falling over?
SHUBERT: Yes, I mean, this is what is really puzzling. No one has ever seen a nationwide outage like this and how it could have impacted every single
part of the national electricity network. This is what's really shocking people.
And I think as a result, no one is really convinced that the power is still really going to hold on. In fact, here in Valencia, they've said, look,
power is returning, but everybody just stay at home, don't travel for the moment. It is why its super quiet right now in my neighborhood, because
they just don't know what the cause of this is or if it could happen again.
QUEST: And the mayor in Madrid has called on the Spanish government to deploy the Army in some cases to help. I mean, is there any suggestion of
looting, civil unrest or anything that requires a greater law enforcement force?
SHUBERT: I think there was fears of that, and in Valencia, I have not seen any indication of that. If anything, people have just kept to their homes
and tried to figure out what's going on.
[16:05:10]
I did hear reports of looting in some parts of Madrid, for example, and I think that's maybe where those calls come from. But at the moment, people
are just happy that the electricity is back, wondering if it is going to stay on and wondering how long it is going to last.
I don't think there is a lot of confidence right now because again, the government hasn't come out with a specific reason for why this happened.
QUEST: Well, well done, Atika. You found somebody Wi-Fi, so well done for that and you will keep talking to us in the hours ahead. Thank you.
Now, talking of mayors, the mayor of Lisbon told Isa earlier that in Portugal and in Lisbon, he was preparing for a busy night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CARLOS MOEDAS, LISBON: As the Mayor, I've been on the street, all the police, and the firefighters, and everybody is helping each other.
I think the situation is calm and serene. We are working with the people, but we don't have any metro or tube stations, they are closed. We have our
buses and we have really to take care of the people that are in need.
And so we are on the street, but the situation is okay. For the moment, we are just looking forward to the next hours because the night will come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Right now, with me, Guillermo del Palacio, an economics reporter with the Spanish newspaper, "El Mundo," he joins me now.
And as long as the power is with us, we will keep talking. We don't know what the cause is, but it is fascinating, this idea that it might be
variations in temperature or delay. I mean, all sorts of reasons are being given. What more can you tell me?
GUILLERMO DEL PALACIO, ECONOMICS REPORTER, "EL MUNDO": Well, hello. Red Electrica, Spain's OTS just released a statement. They still don't know
what happened, but they think it might have been a problem with the offer of the generation of electricity and the demand of electricity, but they
are still working out the cause. However, it -- no, sorry. I was just going to say that it does not appear to have been a cyberattack.
QUEST: I guess, what's extraordinary is the size and the scale of this. The way in Portugal and in Spain, the cascading nature that there doesn't seem
to be anywhere that this was going to stop, it just rolled on and on.
DEL PALACIO: Yes. The Spanish system actually disconnected from the European one. So in order, I think, not to carry it on. And yes, it was
widespread. The whole peninsula, the whole Spain, not the islands, not the Canary Islands, nor Balearic Islands, but Portugal was affected as well.
You have to understand, both systems are quite connected.
Spain normally exports electricity to Portugal.
QUEST: So what have you got at the moment? What's the situation? Youve obviously got some sort of power because we can see you and we can hear
you. But as Atika said, everybody is worried it is not going to last.
DEL PALACIO: Yes, well I think actually, it is more like when it is going to be fully restored because we have power, we've had it for a while, but
at first we didn't even realize, actually, because we have generators. So it was just like, as if the lights blinked and we didn't realize what was
going on until a few minutes later.
But right now, I think it is quite a tense calm, you can say, like we think it might be over by the time we all wake up, but we don't know for sure.
That's certainly.
QUEST: I imagine that the authorities across Europe and in Spain, obviously in, in Portugal, are going to be looking very closely, not only on
investigating as to the actual cause, because things happen and things go wrong, but that why it wasn't able to be arrested and prevented and stopped
sooner or recovered quicker.
DEL PALACIO: Well, once it fell it was bound to fail. You have the -- when the system collapses, it takes a lot of time for it to be working again.
Both Morocco and France started immediately giving us electricity in order to restart the systems that produce electricity to expand the tension
throughout the whole peninsula. And there is also hydroelectric dams that start automatically when something like this happens, but it has to spread
throughout the, the whole of Spain.
QUEST: I am grateful to you, sir. Thank you. We can hear you. We can see you, and I wish you good power in the night ahead as you write your stories
and continue working. Thank you.
Now it is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight in London.
[16:10:10]
In Canada, voting is brisk in the election that will determine the next Prime Minister. The campaign that's been overshadowed by Donald Trump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Now shortly, President Trump is to host the Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles at the White House. They, of course you'll remember
back in February, they handily defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the game.
When the team first won their first title back in 2018, it declined the President's invitation -- President Trump's invitation. Most of the team is
going there except the quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and the White House, says the Super Bowl MVP had a scheduling conflict.
Tuesday will also mark President Trump's 100th day in office. The President's approval rating has fallen substantially since the Inauguration
on January 20th.
A new CNN poll puts it at only 40 percent -- 41 percent, the lowest approval rating for a president at a hundred days in at least 70 years.
Just 39 percent of Americans approve of how he is handling the economy, down nearly five points from early March. And remember, the economy was
supposed to be his strong point. Mr. Trump's trade war appears to be unpopular with the public.
David Chalian is in Washington. Two -- two premises for my question, David.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yay.
QUEST: First, yes, sir. He was never very popular to start with. I mean, actual numbers in terms of how much he won by. I mean, he was never hugely
popular in that sense. But more importantly, Americans got what they voted for. I mean, this is what they wanted, and now they are saying caveat, you
know, buyer's remorse in many cases.
CHALIAN: Well, I don't know about buyer's remorse because his voters, the people that voted for him, are still really with him and Republicans, his
party is largely with him. He is clearly in these polls lost the political middle right now. Independents have sort of fled from him, if you will,
Richard.
But I would just note this. You are right that he wasn't hugely popular at the outset, but he had his own highest poll numbers when he took office in
January of his entire political career.
So not only is the honeymoon over now, but he is also taking on water here. And as you noted in that 39 percent approval on the economy, on the issue
that is most important to voters and the issue that you noted is a strong suit for him, he is really suffering.
[16:15:04]
We have a new poll out today digging in on the economy, 28 percent of Americans in that poll say current economic conditions are good, 71
percent, seven in 10 Americans in this poll say they are poor.
QUEST: Now, the people who will be most worried about, this is not the president in a sense, because, you know, "A" term limited or let's not get
into that, but you know what I mean, "A" term limited. The people who will be worried about this are the midterms next time around, the Republican
Party, because far from coattails, this looked like it could be concrete sinking.
CHALIAN: Yes, I mean, just imagine if you're a Republican in a battleground district, meaning it is pretty closely aligned in your district, or just
say one of the three Republicans who sit in districts that Kamala Harris won in November despite losing the election. You look at his 31 percent
approval rating with Independents and you start saying, hey, this is a problem.
Now, what we've learned over eight years of covering Donald Trump, it doesn't necessarily mean that those Republicans are going to start
abandoning the President. I mean, one of his -- one of the things he has in place now, Richard, that he didn't have eight years ago, is a much more
supportive party on Capitol Hill from his own team. It is much more in his image. But you are right, these numbers, especially on the economy, will
cause concern for Republicans in tough districts.
QUEST: So does it matter, David, in the sense that there is -- because we are talking about to your first answer, we are talking about a relatively
middle ground that got him there, but that middle ground is also saying, as I've seen from polls, well, he -- you know, we like the fact that he is
doing something. We like the fact that we have a President who is actually keeping his word.
And I guess we really are now moving into the very, very small numbers that would make the difference here, aren't we, in that middle area?
CHALIAN: We are, and you can see even when we asked them the economy on this, Richard, I think you'll find this interesting on tariffs. You know,
we you see here 59 percent say that Trump has affected U.S. economic conditions by worsening them. That's his impact right, 27 percent improved.
But on tariffs, his argument that you're going to have to have short term pain for long term gain actually does resonate with a swath of Americans.
So you noted overwhelmingly, people say, hey, his policies are causing short term pain and that goes down to yet a slim majority, he still has
work to do that believe, 53 percent say there will be long term pain as well, but it is dramatically different and lower than those who say the
pain is at the front end.
His argument to give him some time is still resonating with not just his supporters, but some folks open to the argument that he can succeed here,
but I don't know how much time the American people will give him on this.
QUEST: Now, that brings me -- because our poll taken with The Times/Siena poll the other day -- New York Times/Siena and all the others.
And if you're the Republican National Committee, what are you thinking tonight?
CHALIAN: You are thinking that two things -- Donald Trump is not as strong as we are going to need him to be politically. Luckily, the election is not
until November 26th. Number two, if I am the RNC Chairman, I am thinking, it is not like Democrats are gaining or benefiting from Donald Trump's
trouble right now. Democrats and the brand of the Democratic Party, they also have a lot of work to do on their side of the equation.
QUEST: This is out of left field, plead the fifth, if you will.
In my weekend reading, I was seeing a lot of talk about Pritzker of Illinois, the Governor of Illinois. Do you think -- I mean, he is in New
Hampshire at the moment. Is he going to run?
CHALIAN: Why do you think he is in New Hampshire? Of course, he is going to run. Yes, I think he is going to run.
QUEST: David, good to see you, sir.
CHALIAN: You, too.
QUEST: You and I have so much to talk about over the days and months ahead.
CHALIAN: Take care, Richard.
QUEST: Thank you.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight. Russia is declaring a unilateral three-day ceasefire. It is set for early next month. Vladimir Putin says all military
actions in Ukraine will be suspended from the eighth until the 11th. There are skepticism by Ukrainian officials.
Meanwhile, Mr. Putin claims Russia has recaptured the Kursk Region from Ukrainian forces congratulating the Russian Forces in Kursk, which includes
troops from North Korea.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow for us tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A once concealed relationship now celebrated by the Kremlin. Russian state
media releasing this video of North Korean troops training inside Russia, shooting rifles and firing grenade launchers after Vladimir Putin praised
the North Korean troops for helping Moscow oust Ukrainian Forces from Russia's Kursk Region.
(VLADIMIR PUTIN speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN (voice over): "Congratulations to the entire personnel, all soldiers and commanders on the success and victory." Putin said.
[16:20:09]
" Thank you for your courage, heroism, and service to our Fatherland and the people of Russia."
Even though Kyiv claims they still have forces inside the Kursk Region, Russian and North Korean soldiers were pictured celebrating together after
taking back one of the last Ukrainian held villages. Putin personally thanking North Korean strongman, Kim Jong-un for supporting Russia's
military efforts.
Moscow and Pyongyang have dramatically expanded their military and economic ties in the past years. Putin receiving a hero's welcome when he visited
North Korea in 2024. North Korean T.V. now for the first time, acknowledging Kim Jong-un personally ordered his forces to help the
Russians on the battlefield.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
PLEITGEN (voice over): "Under the order of the head of state, the subunits of the Armed Forces of the Republic regarded the territory of Russia as one
with their country and proved the firm alliance between the two countries, North Korea and Russia," state T.V. says, citing North Korea's Central
Military Commission.
And Putin says the victory in Kursk could set the stage for further military advances, while also declaring a unilateral ceasefire from May 8th
until May 11th.
PLEITGEN (on camera): Vladimir Putin's unilateral ceasefire is set to go into effect around the celebrations commemorating 80 years since the defeat
of Nazi Germany, but it also goes into effect as President Trump's diplomatic initiative seems to be hitting a roadblock.
PLEITGEN (voice over): While the Russians say they are also ready for direct talks with Kyiv any time without preconditions, with no peace deal
in sight, President Trump, now acknowledging his efforts to end the conflict are struggling.
REPORTER: Do you trust President Putin?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'll let you know in about two weeks.
PLEITGEN (voice over): The Russians say they, too want an end to the conflict, but the Kremlin has vowed they won't sign on to any agreement
that could hurt what the Kremlin says are Russia's core national interests.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, I want to take us back to our top story tonight, the blackouts in Spain and Portugal, which have led to sudden delays at airports and
train stations. One traveler at Lisbon Airport told CNN there was no running water in the bathrooms. The Portuguese Airline, TAP told passengers
to avoid heading to the airport, and train travel in Spain that came to a halt. The National Rail Company normally runs more than a thousand trains a
day.
The actor, Fabio Massimo Bonini was on his way to Milan when his flight was disrupted, and hopefully the power is on and he can now join me from an
airport hotel in Lisbon.
Fabio, are you with me? Can you hear me?
FABIO MASSIMO BONINI, ACTOR (via phone): Yes, I can hear you, Richard. Thank you for having me on the show. We were coming from Miami, actually,
so it was a pretty long trip. And we arrived 6:00 in the morning. I am very, very tired. Our connection was supposed to be around 12:40 or
something like that, and right when we were going to go through the gate, every light went off, like in a movie and was really, really scary in the
beginning and even worse afterwards.
QUEST: So where were you ultimately -- you come from Miami, and where were you are ultimately going to?
BONINI: I was here in through Milan. I had the connection to Milan Malpensa.
QUEST: And so you're now stranded. What are you going to do? Besides have a drink?
BONINI: Well, many drinks, by the way and we've been very lucky because we had kind of a feeling that something bad was going to happen even worse
than just, being there, doing nothing. So we decided to call and book a hotel room, and I fortunately made it online.
But when we arrived at the hotel, there was already a line of people that was asking for a room, and the hotel was already fully booked.
So it was really was really a bad moment, but luckily we made it.
QUEST: What would you say, I mean, besides frustration, what would you say is the mood of people? Because it is -- one of these things that's always
interesting when you sort of parachute into a crisis like this, you know, you're on a plane. Everything is normal and then suddenly you find yourself
there.
Would you say people are irritated? Annoyed? worried? How would you describe the mood?
BONINI: Well, everybody was like normal. I mean, something like that, because in the beginning, we didn't know yet about the big blackout. And so
everybody was waiting, and the light goes back that we couldn't get a coffee, we couldn't go to the bathroom. Everything was not usable because
there was no energy anywhere.
[16:25:10]
But suddenly the light came back, so it was a moment of, wow, we made it and everybody was clapping. But then it was a false alarm, there was just
probably some generator that went on and gave the light back to the situation.
But when we left the hotel, everybody was pretty clear, they were saying that they were canceling flights and they started to cancel flights. So
basically we found ourselves with already pretty big number of people that were leaving the airport, walking out and it was like in a movie.
It was like, you know those movies or those actually sad moments of war when you see all the people they want to leave -- get to the airport and
leave, and nobody allows you to get into the airport to leave or to get to a plane. So basically, it was the same situation with the difference that
we were going out and, and the people were not allowed to get in.
QUEST: So what's your plan? What are you going to do?
BONINI: Well, as I said, we've been very lucky because we found a room at the hotel. Somebody told us that the energy is already back, so we hope
tomorrow that we would be able to catch a flight. But what really got us pretty badly was that the city, they didn't do anything.
We had really -- I would say hundreds and hundreds of people, sitting on the road, sitting on the grass and they didn't even show up with water,
with nothing. We had families with kids. They were actually laying on the soil on the street, so that was very sad to see. And the traffic was
completely stuck, completely everywhere.
But the thing that comes out and I believe all you guys from the press, the question is why and who did it? So I really hope we are going to soon have
real answers about this, because this is really weird. It is something very, very strange what happened.
QUEST: Those are the investigations.
Final quick last question. Fabio, is it true you're the voice in Italian -- you're the voice of United Airlines in Italian? Is that true?
BONINI: Yes, yes, yes I am. If you fly -- if you fly United from the United States to Italy or vice versa, the voice that welcomes you on board is me
with my accent.
QUEST: With your accent. Thank you. Very grateful. Thank you very much for joining us, Fabio. The reason I --
BONINI: Thank you, Richard. Thank you.
QUEST: The reason I mentioned that, of course, is later in the program, we've got United Airlines. I will be on the United Airlines Island Hopper,
which goes across the Pacific. I don't think Fabio's voice was on it, because it was in the northern part of the world. But just -- there we go,
what a coincidence.
When we come back, Paula Newton is going to be with me. Canadians are heading to the polls, and in a moment we will get an assessment on how
things are as two candidates stand up to Donald Trump.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS live tonight from London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:28]
QUEST: Canadians are voting at the moment in the country's national election. The Prime Minister Mark Carney is hoping to fend off the
challenger from his conservative rivals, led by Pierre Poilievre, they both focused their campaign on standing up for Donald Trump, who decided to be
incendiary and provocative, saying that Canada is meant to become the 51st U.S. state.
Paula Newton is in Ottawa. Voting is brisk, as we always say. It's going to be quite -- I mean, the early voting was extraordinary. I'm not sure what
Donald Trump hopes for with his social media message, because who does it benefit?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: It benefits whoever stands up to Donald Trump. In fact, I can tell you, this does not cut along party lines, as you likely
know, Richard. Canada is dead set against -- most people in Canada, I should say, dead set against becoming the 51st state. It was definitely a
troll and not appreciated by most Canadians. It is a betrayal what he's been talking about, and that has been the center piece of this election.
Richard, it's really come down to a two man race, Pierre Poilievre with the conservatives, or Mark Carney. You know well who is best to lead Canada
through what is sure to be a very challenging period with its neighbor to the south.
QUEST: If Carney is the largest party, that is quite an achievement in itself. Is there a fee -- does he have -- assuming he is the largest single
party, does he have enough coalition potential partners that would give him an absolute majority?
NEWTON: He likely would, and that would come from the NDP, Jagmeet Singh, who is the leader of that party. That's what happened in the last two terms
that Justin Trudeau had in office.
I think it is going to be a long night in Canada. British Columbia, the western most province, is right now a tossup, and that may be what will
define what kind of government we get.
But getting back to the history of all of this. Listen, in speaking to pollsters, Richard, what Mark Carney has been able to pull off is historic
in political terms, full stop, not just in Canada. This party was basically on its knees. Mark Carney resurrected it, and we will see whether or not
that means he will indeed continue to be prime minister for the months and years to come.
QUEST: Is it likely we get a result tonight? You know, the way the polls close in the West, the results have come out from the east. When would you
expect that we'll have a good indication?
NEWTON: Again, if we do not get a result this evening, that again would be historic. We -- brisk voting, we have brisk results in Canada, normally,
starting at about 10:00 p.m. Eastern, between 10:00 and about 11:00 or 11:30 p.m., we should know who will be the next prime minister of Canada.
QUEST: Which is early morning -- early morning hours in Europe and the Middle East. I'm grateful, Paula, thank you.
Now, the process for electing the next pope is beginning nine days from now. The successor to Pope Francis will be the new leader for 1.5 billion
Catholics around the world. Barbie Latza Nadeau has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: The conclave to elect the next pope will begin on May 7th, in the Sistine Chapel inside Vatican City behind me.
There are 135 eligible Cardinal electors, but we won't know if they will all make it for the actual conclave until closer to the event. Those who do
make it will be sequestered with no access to phones or news from the outside world until they reach a two thirds majority.
[16:35:07]
In the meantime, the Cardinals are holding congregations to lay out priorities for the church after Pope Francis. And the workers are busy
preparing the Sistine Chapel by installing the stove and famous chimney.
Once the Cardinals are locked inside, they vote up to twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. Each time they fail to agree, the ballots will
be burned with a chemical to turn the smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel chimney black.
When they do agree, a chemical will be added to turn the smoke white, telling the world that the Catholic Church has a new leader.
Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: It was 20 years ago since I covered the conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II.
Now, one of the many countries, of course, once visited, and over the years, I've had the chance to fly just about every sort of flight, except
to space. I've been on the longest flights in the world. I've been on test flights, for example, Operation Sunrise from London, nonstop to Sydney.
For years, though, there was one flight I had never done. It is known as the United Airlines Island hopper. It starts in Guam and it stops at five
islands, right the way across the islands of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to Honolulu. For #AvGeeks like me, this is one of the holy grails
of airline routes.
And last month, couple months ago, on my way back from Asia, I realized I finally got the chance to fly the island hopper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (voice over): The sound of music makes it clear this will be a special trip.
QUEST: Time to board.
QUEST (voice over): And that's even before I've got on board.
QUEST: Morning. Good morning. Good morning all.
QUEST (voice over): As I step onto the plane, I know the rain in Guam will not dampen bright spirits.
QUEST: These are my colleagues and friends for the next how many hours?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 12 hours.
QUEST (voice over): I'm promised better weather down route. The proper name for this island hopper is United 155, the flight takes 16 hours. It'll stop
at six islands on the way connecting remote communities as we wend our way across the Pacific.
There are four pilots on board, all choose to fly this route, which has to have special regulations because it's so long.
JUSTIN SCHUCHAT, UNITED AIRLINES PILOT: This isn't like any other plane you can do back in the mainland, where all the runways are two miles long, and
you're on final approach for 20 miles. And this is just very unique.
As you can see, there's not a lot of other traffic out here. It's just us.
QUEST (voice over): That much is clear as we make our first stop the island of Chuuk, it's a quick turnaround. Within 45 minutes, we're back in the
air. Next is Pohnpei, and then Kosrae. We're making good progress.
Wherever we land, there's always a tremendous welcome.
QUEST: What do I do with these?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those are love sticks.
QUEST: Who am I marrying? Hello. Welcome on board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me too?
QUEST (voice over): The plane itself is a Boeing 737-800, trusty and reliable.
Even so, the island hopper crew has its own on board, mechanic who must inspect the plane at each stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of like a flow, follow the shape of the airplane and we're on an island, so make sure we didn't hit any birds that were
coming in. That's a common thing.
QUEST (voice over): The friendliness and warmth of the Pacific Islands is everywhere. As the passengers get on and off, I am reminded that UA 155 and
154 are more than just going from A to B. Since 1968 these flights have been a vital link for the Marshall and Mariana Islands.
JOHNSON ASHER, CONGRESSMAN, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA: A lot of people here rely on this airline to commute to Guam on one end and unite -- and
Hawaii on the other end.
QUEST (voice over): OK, six hours into our flight, and I'm starting to lose count. Is this landing number three or number four?
QUEST: This is such good fun.
QUEST (voice over): And on this journey, there's a new definition for beverage service.
[16:40:04]
QUEST: So, we're now refueling, getting ready to go to the next stop, and the captain came up to me and gave me a drink. Now, that's what you call in
flight service.
I have now crossed the International Date Line and jumped back 24 hours. The sun is setting as we approach Hawaii and land in Honolulu. What a
journey.
QUEST: I'll just remember the warmth, the charmingness (ph), the kindness. The island Hopper has really served its practice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST (on camera): I've just got back from a trip to Oman, those of you who've been following me, and it marked the 100th country that I've
visited. That's, by the way, the cave which you'll see in the next edition of -- or one of the exhibitions of WORLD OF WONDER. It's the cave known as
Majlis Al Jinn, which actually stands for the meeting place of the spirits. 300 foot drop down there. And needless to say, it was all -- anyway, here's
a map of the rest of the places in the world that I have visited. You will have noticed it.
By the way, it has taken me the best part in nearly 35, 40 years to do all of this. And you'll notice there are some large parts. Yes, before any of
you write to me, tell me, there are large parts of Africa in here that I have not yet visited. These parts of the areas I have not visited, most of
Europe, of course, most of Asia, and there's so much more of the world still to see.
It's a Century Club, and there's another 95 countries somewhere in there. I'll be coming to visit you before too long. And as always, it's one of
those things that just magnificent when we get to travel and go out and see.
Oh, hang on a second. Stay where you are one minute. Don't go anywhere. I forgot. Hang on. It's all that Century Club I couldn't do without this,
could I?
Because that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard crest in London, wherever you're traveling and whatever you're doing, I hope it's
profitable.
Coming up next, WORLD OF WONDER in Manila.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:39]
QUEST: Oh my goodness.
QUEST (voice over): I'm Richard Quest. I love traveling the world, and I'm not done yet.
It's time to embrace new adventures.
QUEST: This is magnificent.
QUEST (voice over): Seize the moments in this world of wonder. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You mean like this.
QUEST (voice over): I am a stranger in a foreign land, and yet, as they say, here, tuloy po kayo. Welcome. Please come in.
Because here in the Philippines, there are no strangers, only future friends you've not met. I'm clearly fitting right in with no fear or it
seems any shame. Embracing being part of a family of which I've only just been introduced. How quickly it all happened.
When you say you're going to Manila, high brows often raise. Tourists normally only go through this city on the way to the beautiful resorts of
Cebu or Boracay.
But I've always believed, after a while, one tropical getaway looks pretty much like another.
QUEST: This is the jeepney.
QUEST (voice over): So, give me a bustling, energetic capital city alive with its own rhythm and dance.
QUEST: What's the most famous thing to have here?
QUEST (voice over): And now, throw in some delicious Filipino fried chicken.
"KRANKY" KEV: Well, he's demolishing that chicken.
QUEST (voice over): Shared between myself my cameraman, Kranky Kev.
"KRANKY" KEV: That's a lot of chicken.
QUEST (voice over): Now, we're talking. I've always wanted to explore Manila.
QUEST: It's a family day out.
QUEST (voice over): In the suburbs, I get to grips. We are shopping for a feast called kamayan, which we'll have with our producer, Yas's family.
QUEST: I do need money.
Let me stop the traffic for you, ate.
QUEST (voice over): Ate means big sister.
QUEST: Good morning. Mary (ph) is in charge, leading us through a local market. Here, there's every ingredient we'll need.
MARY: And we're going to make some barbecue, chicken barbecue, fish barbecue.
QUEST (voice over): And probably lots that we won't.
QUEST: Why is this a different color?
MARY: It's salted egg.
QUEST: Salted egg?
YAS, CNN PRODUCER: Yes.
"KRANKY" KEV: Salted? Not assaulted.
YAS: You can try now.
QUEST: ok, FINE.
YAS: You can try now.
QUEST (voice over): Travelers' diplomacy dictates I smile and move on.
"KRANKY" KEV: How is it?
QUEST (voice over): I very quickly discover that hear a smile and that selfie --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a dream come true.
QUEST (voice over): -- go a long way in a country where hospitality is the very watch word.
QUEST: Well, these are a bit --
YAS: No, it's not good.
QUEST: Not good? Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Sorry, sorry.
"KRANKY" KEV: What's up with them?
QUEST: I think I just offended them. I thought I said very loudly, it is all good. And the guy was listening.
YAS: The eggplant is not nice.
QUEST: You didn't like it?
YAS: It's just too small.
QUEST: Too small?
YAS: Yes.
QUEST: You don't want too small eggplant.
QUEST (voice over): Mary may smile, but she's all business. And were be tired me getting in the way.
MARY: It's talbos, it's sweet potato leaves.
QUEST: Oh, so, potato leaves.
MARY: Yes.
QUEST: Thank you.
MARY: Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, how are you.
QUEST: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to see you.
QUEST: What's going on? They're all shouting.
MARY: You are famous. See, even the tilapia is happy because they are seeing you. Even the tilapia.
QUEST: Even the tilapia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's still alive.
"KRANKY" KEV: Is it fresh?
QUEST: Yes, it's so fresh, it's still jumping around, watch. But it might be too fresh.
QUEST (voice over): Kamayan is the traditional Filipino feast.
[16:50:01]
QUEST: He's cut all the scales off?
MARY: Yes.
QUEST: Excellent.
QUEST (voice over): They tell me it'll be a meal with a difference, assuming I managed to get all the right ingredients.
QUEST: Now, we're looking for eggplant, aren't we?
MARY: Two pieces.
QUEST: Only two? Don't worry about the price.
MARY: No, we need to have discount. We need to ask discount.
QUEST: I've committed the cardinal sin, I was about to pay retail.
One of the reasons I always love to visit a market is because you get to see, obviously, what's available, what people are buying, how much they're
paying, the freshness of the fruit. And that tells you a huge amount about the place, what people can afford, how busy it is.
I mean, there's just tons of stuff here, and people are buying and they're bargaining. Come on, let's bargain.
MARY: We're done.
QUEST: What?
MARY: We're done.
QUEST: We're done?
QUEST (voice over): The shopping is now on board and home to do battle in the kitchen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST (voice over): Traffic in Manila isn't for the faint hearted.
So, to keep you company during the morning commute, there's only one answer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, here we go. Monster RX 93.1 time for the top 10 for today.
QUEST (voice over): It's The Morning Rush. A radio show with commuters at its heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, join in at any point.
QUEST (voice over): Chico Garcia has been hosting this show for decades at an institution in Manila. Today, the tables are turned. I am the guest, and
I'm being questioned. I'm not sure I like it.
QUEST: Great. I was feeling really good this morning.
MARKKI STROEM, CO-HOST, THE MORNING RUSH: This is off air conversation. CNN has this on camera. Will you just stop it?
QUEST (voice over): Markki Stroem is the co-host. It's him I've come to visit.
STROEM: I've only been on the show for six years.
QUEST (voice over): Markki is a man of many talents, radio host, actor, singer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Philippines.
QUEST (voice over): And true to the Philippines, he's also a beauty king.
STROEM: Mabuhay, Markki Stroem.
QUEST (voice over): In 2024, he represented his country at the Mr. Universe Pageant. He was the fourth runner up.
So, when I asked him to do an interview, he chose the location, a place that inspired part of his pageant costume.
STROEM: Pageantry in the Philippines is like the Super Bowl. My national costume, which won best national costume, was a tikbalang, a mythological
creature that joined forces with Mother Nature, that protected places like this.
QUEST (voice over): It is the Masungi Georeserve.
Markki's brought us here because of its importance to the Philippines. And he shares his love of this place with Ann Dumaliang, whose family has
dedicated their lives to defending this refuge of biodiversity.
ANN DUMALIANG, CO-FOUNDER, MASUNGI GEORESERVE: What it is is a 60 million- year-old limestone cars formation that rose from the depths of the sea to where it is now.
QUEST: Gosh, this is breathtaking, isn't it?
DUMALIANG: It is.
STROEM: Gorgeous.
DUMALIANG: When we first got to this place, it was a barren landscape, and so I saw it recovered through time.
QUEST (voice over): Masungi covers thousands of hectares, and this jeer reserves been undergoing years of reforestation. It's an easy place to get
lost.
[16:55:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you going, Richard?
QUEST: What? I'm going to visit the facilities.
QUEST (voice over): The flora and fauna is everywhere and incredible, and all is protected, along with this sacred tree, which works as a source of
life for the forest around it, and apparently has its own special password.
STROEM: When you walk past the balete tree, you have to say something called tabi-tabi po.
DUMALIANG: Tabi-tabi po.
QUEST: What?
STROEM: Tabi-tabi po. Which is --
QUEST: You just made that up. You just -- you just made that up. So when I do that, everybody thinks, we got him.
STROEM: Excuse me, we're walking by because they say there are a lot of different mythological creatures that are in the tree. They make you lose
your way, and you never find your way out of the forests.
But the only way to get out of the forest is to flip your shirt upside down, and then that is when you're able to keep walking out.
QUEST: Do you think for one moment I'm going to believe that?
"KRANKY" KEV: Say it and flip it.
QUEST: So what am I saying as I go past it?
STROEM: Tabi-tabi po. Tabi-tabi po.
QUEST: Tabi-tabi po.
QUEST (voice over): If I thought I was only going for a walk, I was wrong.
STROEM: Life is a playground.
QUEST (voice over): And Markki is clearly fitter than me.
QUEST: How the hell did I get here?
DUMALIANG: This one is easy.
QUEST: Maybe for you, it is.
DUMALIANG: You got it.
QUEST: I don't know why I suddenly decided that I'm brave enough to start swinging on this bloody bridge.
"KRANKY" KEV: Don't do that.
QUEST: What?
"KRANKY" KEV: Watch the hat.
QUEST: Oh yes, no, it's fine -- it's fine. I'm quite experienced at feeling the gust about to take the hat off.
QUEST (voice over): Finally, we've reached the end.
STROEM: Wow, it's so beautiful. Just don't go past the green, right?
QUEST: Well, I am past the green already. I forgot to check the insurance policy that you have. King of the world. Oh, hey, mother.
STROEM: I'll stay on this side.
QUEST (voice over): Being here. I'm moved by these young people protecting what they love and passing on that spirit of yes, we are here and we can do
it.
STROEM: It's such a lovely day.
QUEST (voice over): Lord knows why we all suddenly felt the need to break out into song.
But there we were, strong winds blowing the cobwebs away, and we're all ready for a tune. I felt sorry for the trees.
STROEM: Pilipino.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
