Devesh Agarwal

A electronics and automotive product management, marketing and branding expert, he was awarded a silver medal at the Lockheed Martin innovation competition 2010. He is ranked 6th on Mashable's list of aviation pros on Twitter and in addition to Bangalore Aviation, he has contributed to leading publications like Aviation Week, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Economic Times, and The Mint (a Wall Street Journal content partner). He remains a frequent flier and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Indian aviation industry without fear or favour.

Singapore tenth to ground the Boeing 737-8 MAX. India flights unaffected.

SilkAir Boeing 737 MAX 8 9V-MBB.

The island nation of Singapore has become the tenth in the list to ground the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, following the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 on March 10, 2019. Countries or airlines across the globe are grounding the aircraft as a precautionary measure till a determination can be made. The MAX is the new re-engined version of …

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New Charter on rights of air passengers in case of flight cancellations or delays

Delayed flights information board.

The Ministers for Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and Jayant Sinha, recently released the “Passenger Charter” which codifies the rights of air passengers when they travel with scheduled commercial airlines in India. The official document can be downloaded and read from here We recommend you read the Charter carefully. It imposes certain demands and places certain responsibilities on airlines. However, it …

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GoAir to commence Kannur Abu Dhabi flights from March 2019

GoAir Airbus A320 VT-GOJ takes off from New Delhi. Photo by Devesh Agarwal.

Low fare carrier, GoAir, has announced it will commence four flights a week between Kannur in Kerala and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates from March 1, 2019. The airline will also commence flights between Kannur and Muscat, the capital of Oman, a day earlier, from February 28th. Flight Schedule Flt No From To Dep. Time Arr. Time Freq. …

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Bangalore Kempegowda airport embarks on expansion plan to cater till 2030

Bangalore Kempegowda Airport Terminal 2 Phase 1 - Artistic impression

Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) the operators of the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has officially announced the launch of a Rs 13,000 crore expansion programme. The expansion includes the second runway to the south called the New South Parallel Runway (NSPR), Terminal 2 (T2), and expansion of the access roads including an under-ground tunnel from the eastern boundary of the …

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Why is IndiGo risking a firestorm over web check-in charges?

Indigo Airbus A320neo VT-ITC. Cabin. Copyrighted image. Re-use prohibited.

India’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo, found itself at the centre of a public relations firestorm when it announced a policy change and decided to universally charge for seat allocation during web-check-in. In a rather casual manner the airline clarified that those who did not wish to pay the charge could come to the airport and have a seat auto-assigned. Opposing …

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Route transfers between Scoot, SilkAir, and Singapore Airlines to affect India

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is re-jigging routes between its low-cost subsidiary Scoot, which took over TigerAir, and its regional subsidiary SilkAir, as the latter mergers into it. A number of destinations in India are affected. Between April 2019 and end 2020, Scoot will take over some of SilkAir’s routes over the next two years, and also transfer some routes or services …

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Why the Jet Airways acquisition will be good for the Tatas

VT-JAX Jet Airways Boeing 737 MAX 8. Image copyrighted. Do not reproduce.

The potential of the Tatas acquiring the beleaguered Jet Airways, raises a lot of questions. Bangalore Aviation presents an operational analysis on where and why the acquisition makes sense and what it would need to go through. This analysis focusses on the Tatas acquiring Jet and merging it with Vistara, the brand of Tata SIA Airlines Limited, the joint-venture of …

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IATA chief: Improve airside infrastructure remove obstacles for aviation growth

Domestic ramp at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji airport. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal.

Bangalore Aviation readers will recall our article last year highlighting the poor growth of air-side infrastructure at Indian airports. This morning, the Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, called on the Indian government to address, on priority, infrastructure constraints that limit growth and government policies that impose excessive costs on aviation. IATA …

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The Vistara A320neo Retro Jet is a tribute to 150 years of the Tata group

The Retro Livery Tata SIA Airlines Vistara Airbus A320neo. Image copyright Devesh Agarwal. Used with permission.

Saturday, September 1st was a blustery and rainy day at New Delhi’s IGI airport. However, the excitement and warm hospitality by the team members of Vistara and their agency Avian, removed any gloom from the minds of us aviation geeks and press present for the occasion. Vistara, the brand of the Tata SIA Airlines joint venture of the Tata Group …

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Opinion: Has the UDAN scheme performed as expected?

SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 Dash 8 VT-SUB lands at Kempegowda airport Bangalore. Photo by Vedant Agarwal. All rights reserved.

The Ude Desh Ka Aaam Nagarik (UDAN) scheme launched in June 2016 has been hailed by the Government as a game changer. The intent of the scheme is to connect un-served and under-served airports across the country in an affordable manner consequently boosting connectivity. This is delivered via routes that are bid-for and awarded to airlines by the government including …

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Vistara orders six Boeing 787-9 and and 50 Airbus A320neo

Vistara's first Airbus A320neo VT-TNB on its maiden commercial flight.

The Tata-Singapore Airlines airline Vistara has signed letters of intent to place firm orders with Boeing for six 787-9 Dreamliner and with Airbus for 13 A320neo family aircraft. Vistara also has options for an additional four Dreamliners. The order is worth $3.1 billion at list prices, though aircraft manufacturer extend massive discounts. In keeping with their existing fleet mix, the …

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How the Indian airline industry is attacking AirAsia India

First flight of AirAsia India. Plane at the gate.

Over the last year, the media has covered the various challenges AirAsia India is facing. Ranging from executive level departures late in 2017 onwards, to filing a First Information Report (FIR i.e. a criminal complaint) against former officers of the airline, to CBI (Central Bureau of Investigations) investigations of its director. In this analysis, we explore how the hyper-competitive Indian …

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Latest British Airways humorous safety video features British stars

Asim Chaudhry plays "director" Chabuddy G., in British Airways in-flight safety video

Airlines are constantly re-inventing their inflight safety videos to get the attention of passengers. British Airways has just debuted the newest edition of their safety video made in partnership with Comic Relief. The video features British stars (in order of appearance); comedian Asim Chaudhry playing the “director” of the safety video, Chabuddy G., and as themselves Sir Michael Caine, Bond …

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IndiGo to connect Surat with five Indian cities in massive introduction

Indigo Airbus A320neo VT-ITK. Image copyright Vedant Agarwal.

India’s largest domestic airline, IndiGo, is making a massive entrance in to the Gujarati city of Surat connecting it to five major Indian cities. From August 16th onwards, the airline will begin flights between Surat and Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, and New Delhi. At the same time, the airline is launching flight on three new routes; Jaipur Varanasi, Jaipur Guwahati, …

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Exclusive pictures. How to spot the new #JetAirways737MAX?

VT-JAX Jet Airways Boeing 737 MAX 8. Image copyrighted. Do not reproduce.

India’s and Jet Airways’ first Boeing 737 MAX 8 is being shown to the media today, and Bangalore Aviation’s Vedant Agarwal has sent us some exclusive pictures from the venue. While we await more pictures, we thought we will share three tips on how to spot the new aircraft. Look for the chevrons on the rear of the engine casing …

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Images of the new United Polaris lounge in San Francisco, now open

United Airlines Polaris Lounge San Francisco - signature cocktails

United Airlines has opened its new United Polaris lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), located near gate G92 of the international terminal. United Airlines operates from San Francisco to India in partnership with Lufthansa. We also write about this lounge for the benefit of premium class passengers on other Star Alliance carriers like Lufthansa, Air India, Turkish Airlines, or …

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Iberia receives first upgraded Airbus A350-900

Iberia receives first high MTOW A350-900. Placido Domingo.

Spanish flag carrier, Iberia, also a member of IAG, has taken delivery of the first of its 16 A350-900 XWB on order. While it is the 18th carrier overall to operate the new generate aircraft, MSN219 is the first A350-900 to feature the latest performance improvement package (PIP) including a wing twist, extended winglets and increased maximum take-off weight (MTOW) …

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Jet Airways first in India to operate the new Boeing 737 MAX

Jet Airways' first Boeing 737 MAX 8 VT-JXA. Boeing image.

Jet Airways has become the first Indian airline to operate the new Boeing 737 MAX. The carrier took delivery of the first 737 MAX 8 yesterday registration VT-JXA. The airline has ordered a total of 150 jets of the newest avatar of the venerable 737, the world’s most popular jetliner. The 737 MAX developed in response to the Airbus A320neo …

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UDF passenger fees set to significantly reduce at Bangalore airport from July

The main passenger terminal building at Bangalore Airport.

Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the operator of Bangalore’s Kempegowda international airport, has proposed a steep decrease in user development fees (UDF) collected from every departing passenger from July 1. From the current ₹384.27 the UDF for domestic passengers is proposed to be reduced to ₹79.19. International passengers will pay an UDF of ₹316.76 down from the current ₹1,537. However, the joy …

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Why Vistara is likely to choose the 787-10 over the 787-9

Boeing 787-10. Boeing image.

Bloomberg is reporting that the Tata Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara has selected the Boeing 787 Dreamliner over the Airbus A330neo as its wide-body aircraft for long distance international operations. Why did Vistara choose the 787 Just some of the reasons for Vistara choosing the 787 over the A330neo are: The 787 is a newer generation aircraft compared to the …

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