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.

Etihad Airways unveils uber-luxurious multi-room suite on its A380s

CGI of Etihad Airways' Airbus A380.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, has gone beyond over the top, and unveiled the world’s first private multi-room cabin on a commercial passenger aircraft. Called The Residence, the uber-luxury 125 square feet three room cabin is meant for single or double occupancy and is located in the forward upper deck of the airline’s soon to be delivered Airbus A380 super-jumbos. It …

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Pictures: Cleaning truck fire just below Jet Airways Boeing 777

A cleaning truck on fire just below Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEQ at London Heathrow airport

Last evening, at London Heathrow airport, a high-lifter service truck belonging to ASIG (airport service international group) caught fire just below Jet Airways’ Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEQ as it was preparing to depart to New Delhi as flight 9W 121. Below are rather dramatic pictures of the ASIG truck on fire. We emphasize there was no fire on the aircraft itself, …

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Air India to commence Delhi to Rome and Milan flights

Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner line number 35 test registered N1015 (later became VT-ANH) at the India Aviation show, Hyderabad March 2012. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal.

National carrier Air India is finally starting its long expected flights between New Delhi (Indira Gandhi airport) and Rome (Fiumicino, Leonardo da Vinci airport) and Milan (Malpensa airport). The flights will be operated triangular routing using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in a two class configuration with 18 business class seats and 238 economy class. Effective June 6, 2014: On Tuesdays, …

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Analysis: SpiceJet offers ‘on-time guarantee’ to passengers

Driven by its recent industry leading on-time performance (OTP) over the last few months, Gurgaon based low fare carrier, SpiceJet, has announced an ‘On-Time Guarantee’ program for its passengers. All SpiceJet passengers travelling from today May 6, 2014 will be given discount vouchers redeemable on their next travel, for flight delays due to reasons in the control of SpiceJet. In …

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IndiGo offers group discounts for families of four or more

IndiGo Airbus A320-232(SL) VT-IFK with Sharklets.

India’s largest domestic carrier, IndiGo, is offering a ‘Family Fare’ which offers up to a 25% discount on a family of four up to nine people travelling together one one reservation. From today, passengers can book family fares by checking the ‘Family Fare’ box on the IndiGo website. Partial cancellation of passenger(s) booked under this fare will be possible with …

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Delta Air Lines commences New York Zurich and Rome services

Delta Airlines Boeing 767-300ER BusinessElite cabin

As both the US and European economies show cautious recovery, US major, Delta Air Lines will commence new services from its New York John F. Kennedy airport hub to to Zurich Kloten and expanded service to Rome’s Leonardo Da Vinci airport. The Zurich flight will be operated daily, effective June 16, 2014, using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft featuring full flat-bed …

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Air India’s domestic and international airport upgrade offers

National carrier Air India is offering upgrades on a seat available (SA) basis at the airport on its international and domestic sectors under its the “Get Up Front” promotion. On domestic routes, from 43 stations, Air India offers economy class passengers an opportunity to upgrade to Executive Class, based on seats available and on a first come first served basis …

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Video: Etihad Airways’ big bang A380 and 787 cabin product announcement

Over the weekend, Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways made a series of announcements about the cabin products on their new Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s, including the new first class apartments the largest first class cabins in the sky, as well as “The Residence” which is the only three-room product in the sky. We will cover the announcements in detail …

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Doha’s Hamad airport commences operations

Qatar Airways A320 Sharklet A7-AHX First Flight to arrive at Hamad Intl Airport at QR7450. NDIA.

Doha’s new Hamad International Airport (HIA) (also called NDIA – new Doha international airport) commenced soft-launch operations yesterday, when a special A320 flight QR7450 of national carrier Qatar Airways landed at the airport. The flight which greeted by the traditional water cannon salute by the airport’s ARFF team carried a team of dignitaries led by Qatar’s minister for transportation Mr. …

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First Airbus A320neo advancing rapidly through final assembly

First A320neo in Production.

The first Airbus A320neo (new engine option), the first significant upgrade of the the best selling single aisle narrow-body jetliner of European airframer Airbus S.A.S., is progressing rapidly through the final assembly line in Toulouse, France. The first aircraft began its final assembly last month, with the join of the forward and rear fuselage sections. Next, major structures were mated …

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SriLankan Airlines becomes first oneworld member from Indian sub-continent

SriLankan A330 in oneworld livery

National carrier SriLankan Airlines (UL) has become the first carrier from the Indian sub-continent to join the oneworld alliance of airlines. The carrier joins Cathay Pacific Airways, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Royal Jordian Airlines and Qatar Airways from Asia, Australia’s Qantas, airberlin, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and S7 Airlines from Europe, American Airlines and US Airways from the USA, and …

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India flights impacted as Dubai airport commences runway upgrade

Starting tomorrow, May 1, the world’s busiest international airport, Dubai international (DXB) will commence a comprehensive runway upgrade project which will last for 80 days. From tomorrow, till May 31, the southern will see upgrades of runway runway lighting and construction of additional taxiways and rapid exits. From May 31 till July 20, the northern runway which is nearing the …

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AirAsia announces flight disruptions during move to new klia2 terminal

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia airport, KLIA2 Terminal Artist's impression.

With the launch of the new klia2 terminal at its Kuala Lumpur airport hub, the AirAsia group will move all of its operations from the the current LCC Terminal (LCCT) to klia2 on Friday, May 9, 2014. All AirAsia X (D7) flights will operate from the LCCT on May 8, 2014, including these flights departing early morning of May 9, …

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Qatar Airways announces London as its first Airbus A380 destination

Qatar Airways A380 First Class Cabin

National carrier, Qatar Airways has announced London Heathrow as the first destination of its Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft. Starting June 17, the airline will deploy the world’s largest passenger aircraft on QR003/QR004 service between Doha and London. Flight QR 003 departs Doha at 07:55, arrives London Heathrow at 13:15 Flight QR 004 departs London Heathrow 15:05, arrives Doha at 23:50 …

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India’s DGCA permits use of cell phones on-board flights

Following the example set by fellow aviation regulators the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), India’s civil aviation regulator, The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) has amended its CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) Section 5 Series X Part I permitting the usage of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) including cellular telephones. During a meeting with the DGCA …

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Higher commercial aircraft volumes propel Boeing to strong first quarter growth

Driven by a 23 percent increase in operations earning in its commercial aircraft segment, the Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) reported first-quarter revenue increased eight percent to $20.5 billion (Table 1). Highlights of the results are Core EPS (non-GAAP)* of $1.76 on continued strong operating performance; GAAP EPS of $1.28 Revenue increased 8 percent to $20.5 billion reflecting higher commercial deliveries …

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Delta completes full flat-bed seats installation on all international wide-body aircraft

Atlanta based Delta Air Lines has become the first and only U.S. carrier to offer full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access on all its international wide-body flights. The airline announced it has completed the installation of full flat-bed seats in its BusinessElite class on its Airbus A330-200/300, Boeing 767-300ER/400ER, 747-400, and 777-200ER/LR aircraft used on long-haul international flights. The …

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ATC recording: #MH192 incident – ground vehicle clears runway seconds before emergency landing

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800(WL), aircraft registration 9M-MXJ performing flight MH192 from Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia to Bangalore, India faced some anxious moments when returning back to KL after suffering a burst tyre emergency. Radar track of MH192 [bsu_youtube_advanced url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBMQyMYwe6o” width=”640″ height=”480″ controls=”no” rel=”no” modestbranding=”yes”] As per an airline statement, soon after take-off at 10:09pm (14:09 UTC) from Kuala Lumpur …

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Rick Allen and Calum Laming join Etihad Airways

Rick Allen who was Managing Director of flight operations at national carrier Air Canada has joined Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates as Senior Vice President Operations, and will be responsible for flight operations, guest services, crew resources, operations logistics, and operations standards. Allen will assume responsibility this summer. Allen brings airline operations experience …

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Vasuki Prasad, the flying engineer, joins Bangalore Aviation

We are pleased and proud to announce, Vasuki Prasad, who writes as “The Flying Engineer”, will be a regular contributor to Bangalore Aviation, specifically focussing on the technical side of aviation. Starting next week, Vasuki will write a weekly column called “Tech Tuesdays” which will focus on the technical side of aviation, but with reduced complexity for the benefit of …

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