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Quest Means Business
Trump Portrays Himself As Leader Who Has Made Peace; Trump Tells CNN Correspondent, "You Should Not Be Here;" Trump And Burnham Discuss Ukraine Falkland Islands And Trade; Kylian Mbappe Switches To On From Nike; Air France-KLM CEO On Winning in Luxury. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired September 22, 2026 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:15]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell is ringing on Wall Street.
That is Luis Montenegro, the Prime Minister of Portugal doing the business and ringing the closing bell. The market are down though, I am afraid, for
the prime minister. The market is off quite, well, we are off the lows of the day.
Sir, and a one and a two and a one, two -- oh look at that! Sir, I mean, firm prime ministerial gavel to bring trading to a close. Those are the
markets and the main events that you and I are talking about today.
President Trump has been meeting with the Iranian delegation shortly after threatening to annihilate the country in his U.N. speech.
The President of Botswana tells me his country is on the way of becoming a capital of capital in Africa.
And the football superstar Kylian Mbappe speaks to CNN about his shock defection from Nike to a Swiss sportswear brand. Whatever next?
QUEST: We are live in London. It is Tuesday, September the 22nd. I am Richard Quest, in London as elsewhere. I mean business.
Good evening.
President Donald Trump has touted himself as a peacemaker at the United Nations General Assembly, even as his approval ratings over the Iran War
reach new lows.
A CNN poll found that only 26 percent of Americans approve of how Mr. Trump is handling the conflict, down from 33 percent in March.
It was a very busy day of diplomacy for Mr. Trump. He met the British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. Mr. Trump said Iran has been talking to the U.S.
even today, raising hopes of a settlement, and then while meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mr. Trump said he had a very good meeting
with the Iranian delegation.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump questioned making a deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and
create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world or do I annihilate the
Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The President also said its time to stop killing in Ukraine and Russia, and that he may use a new law to pressure Moscow and its top energy
customers by using tariffs.
Kylie Atwood is at the United Nations.
We are in this sort of bonanza of diplomacy where it is very difficult to sift the wood from the trees. Theres so much going on. But if you take
President Trump's day, how would you gauge it?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a lot going on here on the stage with regard to President Trump's speech and
speeches from other world leaders, but also with regard to those back channel conversations that are having the fact that Steve Witkoff and Jared
Kushner, President Trump's top two envoys for negotiating a potential settlement with Iran, actually met with the Iranians today.
And I think it is noteworthy that that meeting was happening while President Trump was delivering his message, where he declared that he had a
choice to make to annihilate Iran or to actually strike a deal with Iran.
The fact that the meeting was happening as the backdrop indicates that there are very real wheels turning in terms of bringing Iran back to the
table, in terms of negotiations to drive an end to the conflict, I think that is likely where President Trump's mind is at right now, even though he
is still making threats.
But we did just see him in the last hour here at the United Nations. He was meeting with leaders from the Gulf countries, and he made a specific
threat. I want to read that to you. He said, "We may have to blow up another one, Pickaxe Mountain." That is one of Iran's nuclear sites that
the U.S. has not carried out strikes on to date.
And so the fact that he is making some of those more specific threats does indicate that he is also considering that stick, where he also has the
carrot of negotiations up and resuming.
So we will have to watch and see how this all occurs, especially against the political backdrop here in the United States heading into the midterms
in November.
Trump saying that he doesn't think that there will be a deal until after those midterms take place.
[16:05:10]
QUEST: What is the mood of the U.S., do you think, of the U.S. delegation? Do they feel pressure to do something?
ATWOOD: I think that the Trump administration definitely feels pressure here, not the least of which is because recent poll numbers just out from
CNN today demonstrate that the American public is not heavily supportive of President Trump's foreign policy. This war with Iran, his approval ratings
on that front have sunk since the beginning of the year and sunk since the Iran War began more than six months ago. So there is pressure mounting
domestically.
There is also pressure mounting internationally. Of course, global energy markets have been roiled by this war, and you see concerns, of course,
about the Red Sea now getting additional energy out of the region. The Strait of Hormuz is not getting the high number of volumes of oil tankers
out that it was before the conflict, despite the fact that there are U.S. Military escorts getting out a high level of those tankers. It is not what
it was before.
So there is pressure mounting globally for this conflict to come to an end, but what is not clear is the path forward here, particularly because
sources have told me that the Trump administration is really focused on any end that would focus on Iran's nuclear program, not necessarily just
pulling back from the Strait of Hormuz and potentially the Houthis in the Red Sea.
QUEST: Kylie, you have a busy few days ahead of you, if not already. Thank you. Good to see you there. Thank you. At the United Nations.
Donald Trump is scheduled today at the United Nations. Well, you're unlikely to see much of it because Mr. Trump has banned CNN, POLITICO and
MS NOW from The White House. And as a result, in response, other major networks have halted the so-called pool coverage of the President in a show
of solidarity.
So what did you miss? Not in terms of coverage, but in terms of live, in terms of being able to see it as it happened. There were no major network
T.V. cameras in place for a signing event with the Prime Ministers of Denmark and Greenland; the meetings with the British and Japanese Prime
Ministers; Ukraine's President, a Shield of the Americas Event and a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council that Kylie was talking about, that
Donald Trump attended.
All of those events had been assigned to The White House pool. Now, CNN was still in place when Mr. Trump arrived at the U.N. and was asked a question
by, of course, our chief White House, Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, two- thirds of Americans -- two-thirds of Americans don't think the U.S. is winning the war with Iran. When will it end?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, it is an honor to be here. I am surprised that CNN is here covering me.
COLLINS: The United Nations allowed us in, sir.
TRUMP: You should not be here covering me. You said you weren't going to cover me. You shouldn't be covering me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Brian is with me. Brian Stelter, the court is going to hear this in the next 24 hours or so. It is difficult to know. I mean, the common view
is that they're going to overturn it, that it is unconstitutional.
But the fact that we've even got this far, we've missed so many events, it is quite remarkable.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: It is incredible. This has been going on for days now and it is backfiring on the President. He is not on
camera as much as he wants to be.
Yesterday, you know, all the still photographers basically had a blackout and didn't even distribute their photos of him taking off for New York
City. So, this is going badly for the President. And he even acknowledged it this afternoon, Richard.
He said to a group of reporters when they asked, will you let the press in when the court rules against you, if the court rules against you? And he
said, yes, probably, basically predicted the judge is going to rule against him tomorrow. And that's what First Amendment attorneys expect, because
this is so clearly unconstitutional.
So it seems that the President came up with this last week, maybe on a whim. Now, maybe he has resigned to the fact that the court is going to
rule against him.
But in the meantime, it is, you know, causing real trouble on a daily basis and it is not just about CNN. It is about all of these other outlets as
well, because this shows that basically Trump can try to ban any outlet he wants, at least for the time being.
QUEST: But isn't it also rather worrying that none of the Republicans in Congress seemingly have chosen to sort of go -- I mean, a few, one or two
maybe have raised their head above the parapet, but there hasn't been a general call that says this is wrong.
STELTER: You're right. That's a very good point. You know what happens with some of these Trump officials, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is they
dance around the topic.
Rubio has a T.V. pool with him as well. CNN happens to be the crew today. Rubio wants that attention. He wants the camera crew. He is not pushing
anybody out. He is not banning anybody.
[16:10:10]
He knows better, to be quite honest with you. And so Rubio was asked about this today, and he tried to defend the President's decision. But he was
very careful with his words, and he certainly didn't say that he is going to extend the ban to the State Department.
So that's the kind of behavior we are seeing. We are seeing some of these Republicans tiptoe around it, try to make excuses for the President, but
they actually do, I think, Richard, know, it is wrong; know it is a mistake because they are not implementing bans themselves.
You know, some of these Republicans in swing states that are up for reelection are worried about the Democrat and their races. They have come
out and said, we are inviting CNN to our press conferences. We want everybody to be there.
So, some of them are breaking with the President, but like only very, very softly.
QUEST: On another subject, Brian, forgive me, jumping horses in midstream, which is always a dangerous thing to do.
Paramount and WBD, our parent company, when do we expect this to close?
STELTER: Sometime between now and I am going to say you know, first week of October, second week of October. I have a date in mind, but I haven't had
it confirmed from multiple sources yet. But I think about two weeks from now, Richard, we are going to hear a lot more about this deal. We are going
to hear about the integration plans.
And then, you know, honestly, that's when the hard part starts. Paramount CEO, David Ellison spent the last 12 months fighting to win control of
Warner Bros Discovery. Yesterday, he finally prevailed. But now the actual hard work starts. Because if you look at the history of mega mergers like
this, they often go poorly.
They often end badly. So Ellison and his team are going to have to figure out ways to bring these brands together in advantageous ways and not just
in ways that ultimately cost a lot of money. So that's going to be the question mark. That's the part of the story I want to report out now is how
are these brands going to merge?
How will CNN and CBS News maybe be brought together? How will Paramount+ and HBO Max be brought together? And can it be done in a way that actually
is synergistic? We will see.
QUEST: You know that famous phrase, be careful what you wish for, you might just end up with it as you say. That's exactly where that one is going to
end up as, as they close the deal next month.
Thank you, Brian. We will talk more about it. I am grateful.
Back to Donald Trump and the fact of another event we weren't able to show you as it happened. The very first meeting between President Trump and the
latest British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. Britain's new leader said he had established a good connection with Mr. Trump. The two men are
understood to have discussed Ukraine, trade and the Falkland Islands.
Despite some foreign policy differences, Donald Trump described Andy Burnham as a natural business person.
Anna Stewart is with me.
Now, the reason, of course we can't show -- we haven't got the pictures, even though they are probably available somewhere, it is a decision that
we've taken, that if the pool isn't allowed, then we are not showing.
But it sounds like these two got on better than one might have expected. Bearing in mind you have a right-wing President and a left-wing Prime
Minister.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Yes, all things considered, it went really, really quite well. And I think Prime Minister Burnham probably is breathing
a sigh of relief tonight because this was a big meeting. It was an important meeting, and at the end of the day, personal politics is
obviously very important, particularly to President Trump.
And he said that Andy Burnham is a man he can do business with, and he went as far as to say that relationships between the U.S. and the U.K. is on the
up, more so since Keir Starmer, his predecessor, so that was good.
A number of topics discussed, but we didn't get much in the Q&A for journalists. They just mentioned the Middle East, Ukraine, immigration,
Rolls Royce and trade. There was even a little bit of banter, Richard. There was a moment when Andy Burnham slightly well reminded the President
that he had once called Manchester, of which Burnham, of course, was mayor, some town, so, you know, it was some banter, it was warm. It was very
different style, I suppose, to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
There was just one moment where I thought it might unravel when a journalist asked about the Chagos Islands -- Richard.
QUEST: And what had happened? I mean, did it all fall apart?
STEWART: I just wanted to tease ahead. Well, President Trump said it was a terrible deal, which certainly suggests that there is no change in stance,
at least from the U.S. administration when it comes to a Chagos deal, and this is something Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to push through. It has
been on pause under predecessor, Keir Starmer because of U.S. opposition and possibly no change there.
I would say possibly they also disagree a lot on A.I., but it wasn't mentioned in this meeting.
QUEST: No, but A.I. is are one of those things they can disagree on without actually falling out because it is such a big subject and there are so many
avenues that you can get lost in.
More significantly, would be something like the Falkland Islands. And, you know, the way in which Donald Trump threw away his comment on the Falklands
suggested it was one of those things, same with Northern Ireland and Ireland.
[16:15:07]
There were comments that he made in the heat of the moment. But I guess with Andy Burnham, he has to be more careful.
STEWART: Yes, and eventually all of these topics will likely come to a head at some point, and then the question is, do personality politics win at the
end of the day? Things started out very well with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. They didn't end so well, did they?
So, certainly a wait and see and we will have to look at each of these kind of issues as they come up.
QUEST: Andy Burnham is probably a more wily politician, I am guessing, but there we go.
Anna, I am grateful. Good to see you. Thank you.
You and I continue. The President of Botswana has a clear message for the United Nations G.A. His country is open for business. President Duma Boka
told me the nation's exports is a worthy investment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUMA BOKA, BOTSWANAN PRESIDENT: Diamonds are doing exceptionally well. So, we believe that the future of diamonds is as bright now as it always was
before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The President of Botswana says his country is on its way to becoming the capital of capital in Africa.
The diamond industry already attracts a great deal of investment, accounting for a quarter of Botswana's GDP.
President Duma Boko now wants the country to expand into critical minerals, and he says he wants to handle the entire process at home, from mining to
processing and refining.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOKO: We are reaching out to investors who want to deploy capital in country and ensure that they do beneficiation. Happily and fortunately for
us, I mean, this is a wave now that running across the whole of Africa. Some of the countries have actually now prohibited by law, the departure or
evacuation of minerals from their countries without beneficiation.
And so we will probably be going that route as well, but at this point, we are simply attracting foreign investment to deploy in country, bring
technology, bring skills, bring capital and provide jobs and help the country's economy to grow.
QUEST: The diamonds are really a double-edged sword, aren't they? Because they've been so successful for you, diamonds, and at the same time, the
increasing investment that you're looking at into the whole DeBeers and the whole prospect for what comes next.
[16:20:10]
What do you foresee the relationship and your level of investment will be in the future?
BOKO: Well, Botswana's stake in DeBeers will certainly rise and we will also have other investors, countries and we will have institutional
investors as well, the private sector coming in. And so with the recent experience where the diamonds have rebounded, we have now sales that are
taking place, especially in the space of the larger stones and diamonds, are doing exceptionally well.
So we believe that the future of diamonds is as bright now as it always was before.
QUEST: What have you learned about the management of the diamond stock? And I am thinking about the fact, the volatility of the price, which can you
know, which hits you hard in one sense, but if you manage the supply, if you manage the way the stockpiling takes place, you are in a stronger
position.
BOKO: Absolutely. One of the things we've done has been to reach out to Angola, which is another major diamond producing country, in order to
properly regulate and control the supply.
And with Angola coming on board and also seeking to acquire a stake in DeBeers, we will now be able to manage the diamond value chain with one of
the larger producers in Africa coming on board and joining Botswana. So we believe that we will be able to manage the stock, the supply, and we will
be able to manage prices as well.
QUEST: If you look at your neighbors and you look at Democratic, if you will, Southern Africa or Africa, the difficulty is, of course, the
disparity between, say, your country and others and the way in which government functions. Does that put you at an advantage or disadvantage?
BOKO: I think we are at a great advantage. We are at an advantage because we have very credible institutions, we have very dependable systems. We
have a very predictable business environment that is secure, that assures the investor that their investments will be safe in Botswana.
We have an environment of personal safety and security that is unmatched in our region, and so we believe that we are at a great advantage. And we are
reaching out to others, our neighbors, because we are establishing ourselves as the capital of capital for Africa, and that is what we are
working towards. And because of these institutions that we have that are credible, that are predictable, we are well on course.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: That is the President of Botswana.
Oil prices have dropped to their lowest level in weeks. They slipped below the $100.00 a barrel with Brent, the global benchmark, down as low as
$97.00. It comes back a little since then. WTI is below $90.00 a barrel. You can see the prices on the screen.
The dip follows reports that Saudi Arabia has restarted operations at its crucial East-West Pipeline that was damaged in a drone attack earlier this
month. Now, sources are telling Reuters that exports could resume as soon as today.
President Trump says he is in favor of a temporary ban on diesel exports from the U.S. The President has tasked the Treasury Secretary, Scott
Bessent, with exploring the feasibility of such a ban and whether it would ease the fuel prices that have been hitting U.S. consumers. This is what
the economist Mohamed El-Erian told me recently, last week, in fact, about the knock-on effects of those high diesel prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED EL-ERIAN, ECONOMIST AND ADVISOR, ALLIANZ: Not only is crude or crude prices higher, but even more importantly, and it is the number I look
at every morning now is what is happening to refined product, diesel in particular.
So we've seen diesel today reach $6.46 a gallon. Richard, as you know, that goes into transportation of virtually everything we buy in stores. So, that
is going to be a problem going forward that compounds the problem of people having to pay a lot more at the gas pumps.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Tom Kloza is the chief energy advisor at Gulf Oil. Tom is with me now. Good to see you again, sir.
We have much to talk over. Diesel, does, in your view, an energy or a diesel export ban help or hinder in the long run?
[16:25:03]
TOM KLOZA, CHIEF ENERGY ADVISOR, GULF OIL: I think in the long run it hinders. In the short run, if it is used as a threat, it could, say, spook
some of the hot money that's in heating oil, diesel and gas, oil futures out of the market. But longer term, it is a mistake.
It really would subjugate other continents such as Europe, Asia, Africa, and you name it, because we would not be sending one and a half or 1.7
million barrels a day overseas, and there is nowhere else to turn for that product worldwide.
QUEST: And nor, by the way, is there any indication that the domestic demand in the U.S. needs that extra 1.7 million because the price rise is
not because of a shortage of supply is my understanding.
KLOZA: Yes. The United States is the privileged continent in terms of an awful lot of energy. And particularly in diesel, we use about 3.8 million
barrels a day, and we export about 1.7. That means the refineries have the capability of making 5.2 or 5.3. And a lot of that, you know, about a
million and a half barrels goes overseas.
We are the supplier of choice for Latin America. We've also been sending a lot of fuel to Europe and even to Asia in some instances. And by the way,
it is not just diesel, it is heating oil as well. You know, in Europe you call it gas oil. Here we call it heating oil. We still have about four
million homes that depend on heating oil.
And right now, they are looking at winter costs of, you know, six to seven thousand dollars.
QUEST: When we strip it down to its absolute bare essentials, sir, what is it that is going to bring down the prices? Because we are told that even if
the Iran War were to be solved tomorrow, it would be months before prices meaningfully fell.
KLOZA: Yes, you know, I don't know whether I would necessarily say many, many months, but certainly you need to solve these conflicts. The number
one conflict in terms of diesel supply is the Russia-Ukraine conflict. There has been three million barrels a day of Russian refineries that have
been knocked out.
And even since September 14th, when the President announced a so-called truce, there has probably been four refineries that have been attacked
since then. So, you need to repair that. You need to repair the downed refineries in the Persian Gulf that got knocked out of sorts in the first
month of the war.
And now you have to worry about the Red Sea with the Houthis. And if you hear about, uh, you know, some drone attacks or missile attacks on Yanbu,
its katy bar the door as far as prices go.
QUEST: You see, just listening to your excellent analysis of the major trouble spots, I realize now just how precarious the situation is, and I
would argue, sir, that the risk is on the downside here.
KLOZA: It is precarious, but recall one item, the price of oil is ninety or a hundred dollars depending on where you look. The price of diesel in these
markets is $200.00 to $220.00 a barrel. So there is an awful lot of comfort built in for refiners, and that might ease at some point. There is plenty
of motivation. If you've got refineries that aren't intaking drone attacks or whatever to make as much of this product as possible.
And even in the United States, for example, we make a diesel from soybean oil and from used cooking oil and right now, the people who make that stuff
are making huge profits because the price of diesel is so high.
QUEST: What about the -- you alluded to it earlier, the other refined products that you're aware of -- jet fuel, those sort of things -- are we
seeing an easing for other refined products?
KLOZA: Yes, you know, Richard, with jet fuel were fine. And the reason is, is that a typical refinery, if they run a hundred barrels of crude, they
might make eight barrels of jet fuel. But it was very easy for them to increase those yields to 11 or 12 percent.
So jet fuel is very, very easy to tip higher at the refinery gate. Diesel is much, much more difficult. And pretty much every refinery in the world
is making as much as it is possible, because they are printing money, you know, with a hundred to a hundred and twenty dollars a barrel, refining
margins. What was normal in the last 20 or 30 years, it might be $20.00 or $30.00 a barrel.
QUEST: Tom, I find it absolutely fascinating listening to you speak, because diesel is often thought of as the Cinderella or has been the
Cinderella of the oil industry, trucking and the like. But now the Cinderella is sparkling.
KLOZA: Yes, it is not your father's diesel fuel. It used to be very, very high in sulfur and very, very easy to make. Now, it has got virtually no
sulfur, and that goes for what moves in buses, trains, trucks, and even what moves in vessels on the sea.
So, you know, there is a good side of this; environmentally, it is a much more responsible fuel than it used to be 20 years ago.
QUEST: Tom, I am so grateful to have you on the program tonight. We will talk more as this crisis continues. Yours is exactly the insight we need to
help us understand what is going on.
Thank you, sir, for taking the time to talk to QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
KLOTZ: Thanks for having me.
QUEST: As we can continue tonight, one of the biggest football stars in the world is speaking to us. Kylian Mbappe explains why he is partnering with a
Swiss sportswear brand after 20 years with Nike.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:15]
QUEST: The football superstar Kylian Mbappe tells us that he's ready for a new chapter and a new challenge after he ended his 20-year partnership with
Nike. The Ballon d'Or contender is joining the Swiss sportswear brand On leaving Nike at a turbulent time. This month, Nike dropped out of the S&P
100 after losing more than $200 billion in a market cap over the last five years. Mbappe and On's co-founder David Allemann explained how the new
partnership came about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN'S WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Kylian, congratulations. How does this move compare to a change in clubs?
KYLIAN MBAPPE, GLOBAL AMBASSADOR, ON: It's way faster. Easier also because it's a new chapter, a new challenge, a new opportunity. And I'm really
happy about the situation right now.
[16:35:08]
DAVIES: So how did it come about? Who approached who?
DAVID ALLEMANN, CO-FOUNDER, ON: You know, I mean, that happened over months. And we've really been working already together on innovation. On is
an innovation brand, always creating the future. And so we loved to innovate with somebody who is always about the dream, the absolute icon.
And so that's how the approach worked. And so it's been a great collaboration for the last few months.
DAVIES: It's a big move, not only after 20 years with Nike, but to a brand that doesn't have an existing football boot. What was it that attracted
you?
MBAPPE: I think it's also part of a moment in my life that I wanted to change. I had an evolution as a person, as a player, of course, everybody
saw, but as a person also I wanted something different. I wanted to be at the start of the journey to build a legacy, completely build the legacy.
And it was the perfect opportunity for me. I really take it also as a responsibility for the fans, of football, my fans, because I want to
deliver something right for them. They can feel comfortable with the product and with everything we're going to deliver to them.
DAVIES: No pressure. I mean, are you feeling the pressure?
ALLEMANN: We always do. You know? We're an innovation brand from the start. So 16 years ago, we started here and with the ambition to innovate on
running, inventing cloud tech, then it was training, trail, tennis with Roger Federer. So we always tried to bring something completely new to a
sport. And of course, this is the biggest sport in the world. And so having Kylian with us, having Thierry Henry with us, having Sydney Schertenleib
with us on that journey is absolutely fantastic.
DAVIES: So the light spray technology, we know it's about running, but how does that work for football?
MBAPPE: The objective was completely to create like a second skin, because I think as a player it's something that I can share with them that we love
to have this connection with the ball, with the pitch. We play 60 games in the season. I wear more football boots than normal boots, so it's really
something that you have to put the focus on. And with this new technology, you don't lose the contact with the ball, you don't lose the perception of
the pitch, on your step.
And it's -- I think it's really important as a player, even as a player as explosive as me, because it's really important the power of the step,
everything, and all these things is really important for me. And they are right in these boots.
DAVIES: What does it mean to you to be able to work with Thierry?
MBAPPE: Yes. I love Thierry. I have massive respect for him. He's such a legend for us as a French people. He inspired me a lot when I was young.
And now, to have him as a friend and to work with him is such a pleasure for me. I can't -- I have only good say about him, and yes, let's see what
we can achieve together and what we can build together about this legacy with On.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The French president, Emmanuel Macron, addressed the U.N. General Assembly today. It's the last time he will do so as French president. His
term ends next May.
Now, if the president wanted to fly home this week on Air France, well, we found him a seat in first class on Air France Le Premiere. The last minute
booking was available. It's a mere $14,000.
Chief executive of Air France-KLM says his company has plans to win the luxury market. Ben Smith told me he's pulled out all the stops for Le
Premier suite, and indeed it's just won the Skytrax Award for the best first class in the world. But it continues a trend that Ben is trying to do
across the airline, whether it be in business or in economy. Le Premiere.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN SMITH, CEO, AIR FRANCE-KLM: We have completely redone the ground experience. I think we have the best ground experience, A to B, so when you
enter the terminal, when you get on the airplane, it can't -- I don't think there's anything else that's out there. We took the idea of a private jet
FBO experience and said, how do we add a Michelin starred chef who manages it, (INAUDIBLE), at a spa, Sicily spa, and drive you direct to the plane?
But it's take away all that friction. So if you were to come into the airport, you hand me your passport, you let all your stress come onto us.
So that's -- that I don't think anyone does better than us. On board, you've got this fantastic seat, which is great.
QUEST: Five windows.
SMITH: Five windows, separate seat, separate bed, and hold on, we got, I think French food, French wines.
[16:40:05]
So France has certain elements that are natural on the luxury side that we've totally leveraged.
QUEST: You see, that's I think is -- I ask, is it really the elegance? Is it really. Because anybody can, to a certain extent, the luxury hard copy,
hard stuff is relatively. But it's the "je ne sais quoi," as they would say.
SMITH: Exactly. Exactly. And I think it took an outsider to give the team confidence that this is very doable. We've got all the ingredients that are
-- that's possible. And I think as the team started to look, yes, we can. France, in terms of food, best in the world. In terms of fashion, best in
the world. Cosmetics, best in the world. History of flying, Concorde, technology with Caravelle, everything is there, and flying is glamorous if
you do it right. And France is a glamorous country.
QUEST: The other thing, of course, is that, you're going up the chart on business class as well.
SMITH: Yes.
QUEST: Which is perhaps arguably more financially important because there's more of those seats. And I noticed this year you are really the only main
line European carrier in the top 10.
SMITH: Yes. That hasn't come easy either. That took some decisions or some objectives which cost a lot of money to invest in. But, you know, it's
paying back. We made a decision to enlarge our footprint in the premium cabins well ahead of any other carrier. And we're lucky that that is, you
know, in this environment, it's paying off. The -- you know, that market is more resilient, as you well know, than the economy cabins. And with our
cost structure, we can win in luxury. We can't win in economy.
QUEST: Can you improve the economy product? Because there's a lot of attention being put there. Even though the yield is not there, you know,
but it could be the deciding factor for some people.
SMITH: I think we can improve in many areas. I think, as I said, you know, we'll be putting out a better economy cabin. We'll keep improving it, we'll
evolve it. But it's -- there are some fantastic carriers, long haul carriers, that focus on economy. You know, can we get into the top 10? I
think we'll get there. We'll get a better score in business class by far.
QUEST: Oh, this is fascinating.
SMITH: But we do have a premium economy.
QUEST: Yes, yes, yes, yes. You're basically it's the front part. It's the premium business and first.
SMITH: I think we can win on all of those. I don't think -- this is not to discount or push out the importance of economy class, but to be realistic,
I don't think a Western carrier, it's even imaginable that we would win, any of us could win the economy class. No way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Ben Smith talking to me.
And that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest. We're going to Porto for "World of Wonder." I'm back in New York tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:45:50]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Oh, my goodness.
(Voice-over): I'm Richard Quest. I love traveling the world. And I'm not done yet. It's time to embrace new adventures.
This is magnificent.
(Voice-over): Seize the moment in this "World of Wonder."
Eating is at the heart of everything that happens in Porto. And there are seemingly three forms of sustenance that everyone craves. Sardines, tinned
or fresh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: FRANCISCO PASSOS, CO-OWNER, A REGALEIRA: It's a dish that fills. A dish that satisfies you.
QUEST (voice-over): The francesinha, which is a multi-layered sandwich. And then, of course, the pastel de nata. All three put together, a three-course
meal that could satisfy the hungriest of appetites. We start with the sardines.
There are very, very valid reasons for all of this.
(Voice-over): The small coastal city of Matosinhos is less than 10 kilometers from Porto and is home to a canning factory that has been
processing sardines for a century. Well-behaved tourists are welcome. What a shame there weren't any. Above the factory there is a small space to eat
where we can sample the produce being packaged below. I love sardines, and it turns out that Nifty is quite the expert.
NIFTY NEIL, CAMERAMAN: I like the full of protein, full of omega three. You can keep them in your cupboard for years.
QUEST: Moment of truth. Good health. Oh. Describe it.
NIFTY NEIL: That's really good. Really, really good.
QUEST: Cheers.
NIFTY NEIL: Cheers, Richard.
QUEST (voice-over): While sardines can be found on lots of menus, if you really want to eat like a local, there's only one option. The francesinha.
This sandwich is part and parcel of everyday life here.
PASSOS: Our sauce takes 72 hours to make.
QUEST (voice-over): I've been invited into the kitchen of the restaurant where this specialty sandwich is said to have been invented.
What's in it? Or would you have to kill me if you told me? You have to kill me?
(Voice-over): Let's not count calories or concern ourselves with clogged arteries for it is a time for the building to begin.
PASSOS: So first thing. Bread. Typical Portuguese bread. We have here cheese. Mild cheese. Ham. Two slices of ham. And the most important product
that we have for the francesinha is red fresh sausage. It's another type of pork sausage. This is the most crucial moment on the francesinha, because
this is the quality of the product. So francesinha without this two sausage, it's not francesinha.
And then roasted pork leg, slowly roasted. And we have the first assembling of the francesinha. Francesinha goes now grilling on our griller. It's
grilling for two three minutes. Now three slices of cheese and it goes to the oven. And then comes here for this, for the final station with egg. For
me with no egg. And the creme de la creme, the sauce. This is a special sauce. This is what makes every francesinha different.
QUEST (voice-over): It's all well and good, but what does it taste like? I opted to switch in beef for the pork and my first impressions.
It's absolutely delicious.
[16:50:01]
I would say it's an intimidating course. The sheer sort of look of it. One takes one's time. It's very good. Very good.
(Voice-over): I have eaten too much, but if I have one rule in life that I must stick to, always leave room for dessert. And here is one of my all-
time favorites, the pastel de nata. Just around the corner from the sandwich emporium, a set of ingredients and an instructor who will take no
prisoners.
PATRICIA HENRIQUE, CO-OWNER, BOILER STUDIO: So we have white sugar, normal sugar. Then we have two different flours. Then we have cinnamon stick.
Lemon peel. OK. Plain water. The milk and egg yolks. We are going to start by making a syrup.
QUEST (voice-over): The recipe is simple enough. The syrup involves putting the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon peel into a pan. You bubble it
up, add the flour and milk in another pan and then combine the lot and add in the yolks.
HENRIQUE: If you just pour the eggs now in here, the cream is so hot that the eggs are going to scramble. They are going to cook. We are going to
fill the bowl with some of this cream.
QUEST: Just a little.
HENRIQUE: To temper.
QUEST: To temper.
HENRIQUE: Almost fill the top.
QUEST (voice-over): While the creamy syrupy mixture is prepared, it's time to quickly roll out the dough and cut into suitable sizes. Then I squeeze
it into nata shaped molds and a hot oven eight minutes and admire.
HENRIQUE: So you cannot have them right now because they are very hot. You need to wait for a little bit for the cool down, OK? Otherwise you are
going to burn your mouth.
QUEST (voice-over): They are tantalizingly close to being ready, but I must wait. I want them now.
The famous saying, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Oh, look at those beauties. I will have this one. I'm sorry. You've just got to look
away. This is too good.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST (voice-over): To steal a phrase most commonly associated with Monty Python, and now for something completely different.
Go on. Please go on. Get him, get him. Don't worry about me. Tim, he's the one. Oh, watch it. Don't hurt the hat.
(Voice-over): Every summer for the past 30 years, Santa Maria da Feira takes time off from its usual business to host what its organizers believe
is Europe's largest Medieval recreation event. Now, it's probably best not to ask too many questions about why they do it. Just accept there's music
and dancing are plenty, and if you fancy a little light combat that's also on offer.
NIFTY NEIL: Do you think you could take him on then, Richard?
QUEST: Piece of cake. Maybe not.
(Voice-over): To limber up, let's try the old sawed through the rope circle routine. I had a go.
Well, this isn't fair. You're supposed to go out.
(Voice-over): Nifty tried his luck. Oh, the camera was still attached.
[16:55:05]
If he does this, I'm going home.
(Voice-over): There has to be a better way to learn this.
A.I., ChatGPT, can you give me a tip? The idea is to spike the ring with the sword. What's the best technique to do this? Stand with the sword, side
foot slightly behind knees soft. Focus on the opening of the ring. Yes. Thank you. It worked.
(Voice-over): Porto or Oporto as it was once known has a history dating back 2,000 years. And nowhere is this linked to the past celebrated and
treasured as here. The Livreria Moreira da Costa. It was founded in 1902 and is one of the city's oldest bookstores. And a rude question to the co-
owner Susana Fernandes.
Is it worth keeping these books?
(Voice-over): Yes, she said. It is worth keeping them for the books, the city and the family.
SUSANA FERNANDES, CO-OWNER, LIVRERIA MOREIRA DA COSTA: Here?
QUEST: Yes.
FERNANDES: Magazines. OK? Yes. And history.
QUEST: Yes.
FERNANDES: OK? Here, law.
QUEST: Law. Right.
(Voice-over): There are more than 50,000 books in this store. They fill every shelf, every surface, and everywhere you can see.
I feel the books calling out to me. Just open me.
FERNANDES: Yes.
QUEST: Just open me. I have not been opened for 75 years. Please, please, just open me. This book was written only five years after the Declaration
of Independence of the United States.
FERNANDES: Yes.
QUEST: 1776. And they're writing the Declaration of Independence. Here in Portugal, they're writing the history of Portugal.
(Voice-over): Well, it's almost time to close the chapter on this month's adventure. And what a treat it has been. Any more pastel de natas?
Popular Porto has a problem. How to meet the expectations of the increasing number of visitors who are coming here. Happily, I'm able to report
practically perfect Porto is rising to that challenge magnificently, and you'll want to come here and experience all this for yourself. The only
challenge you'll have is how many of these little beauties you'll polish off.
Porto in Portugal, tastefully part of our "World of Wonder."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
