Vedant Agarwal

A frequent flyer for both work and pleasure - Vedant has held elite status on many of the major alliances and airlines. Also an avid aviation photographer, his pictures have been published in and on the covers of many international publications.

Lounge Review: Port Lounge Ahmedabad

On my recent trip to the US, I flew Air India in business class from Ahmedabad to New York’s Newark airport via London. The Port Lounge is the sole lounge at Ahmedabad’s international terminal and as such is used as the contract lounge for all the carriers flying out of the terminal. The lounge is located on the departure level …

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Indigo takes delivery of it’s first ATR

Indigo ATR 72-600 VT-IYA. Indigo Image.

Low cost carrier Indigo has taken delivery of the first of it’s 50 ATR 72 order. This aircraft is the first non – A320 aircraft to be operated by the carrier since it’s inception in 2006. The aircraft is an ATR 72-600 with the registration VT-IYA. Indigo plans to use these ATR aircraft to operate to small airports under the …

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FlyDubai places $27 billion order for 737 MAX’s

Middle-eastern low cost carrier flydubai has signed an agreement for 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The order which is valued at $27 billion at list prices represents the largest single-aisle jet order from a middle-eastern carrier. The agreement includes a commitment for 175 MAX airplanes and an option for 50 additional MAXs. The initial order of 175 aircraft will be …

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Indigo Partners places record breaking Airbus order

American equity firm Indigo Partners’ has placed an additional order for 430 A320neo family aircraft for it’s four portfolio airlines. The aircraft will be allocated among the ultra low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines (United States), JetSMART (Chile), Volaris (Mexico) and Wizz Air (Hungary). The deal which is valued at $49.5 billion at current list prices, is the largest single order in …

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Emirates orders 40 Boeing 787’s

The Boeing 787-10 rolled out at Boeing South Carolina. Boeing Image.

American airframer Boeing and middle-eastern carrier Emirates have announced a $15.1 billion deal to purchase 40 787-10 Dreamliners and related equipment at the opening day of the 2017 Dubai Airshow. The airline previously had an order for 70 Airbus A350’s which it cancelled in 2014. This order for 787’s will likely be used to replace some of Emirates’ older 777’s …

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Singapore Airlines signs deal for 39 Boeing aircraft

Singapore Airlines' first Boeing 787-10 rolls out of the final assembly line in Boeing North Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Singapore Airlines have announced a deal with airframer Boeing for 20 777-9s and 19 787-10. The order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer and is worth $13.8 billion at current list prices. Boeing has said that “the value of this sales transaction will sustain thousands of U.S. suppliers and more than 70,000 direct and indirect U.S. jobs during the …

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Airbus A330neo takes off for maiden flight

The first Airbus A330neo has taken off on it’s maiden flight. The aircraft bearing the registration F-WTTN took off from Airbus’ plant in Toulouse. The A330neo is the upgraded re-engined variant of Airbus’ best selling wide body line. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. See our #Trent7000 in action, powering the @Airbus #A330neo for the first time …

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Inflight review: Etihad Airways A380: Business Studio: London to Abu Dhabi

The center seats. The forward facing rows are great for couples.

This is the first in a three part article of my trip from London to Bangalore. After exiting the lounge, I walked straight up to the gate which is right opposite the lounge entrance and immediately reached an agent, had my boarding card scanned and let through to the aerobridge. The experience of transiting the lounge to the aircraft was …

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Lounge Review: Etihad Lounge London Heathrow

This is the first in a three part article of my trip from London to Bangalore My trip with Etihad from London began badly. Knowing that I would be traveling with two large bags and a hand carry, I had requested the Etihad call center for a minivan or something similar which could accommodate all the luggage. A day before …

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Lounge Review: The Lounge by Luxair Luxembourg

Panoramic view of the lounge and it's view.

My flight from Luxembourg to London was departing at 1130, by misjudging the time needed to reach the airport I had reached reasonably early. After quickly checking in at the British airways business class desk, I asked the agent if I would be able to access the lounge. I was quite surprised that she didn’t know if I could since …

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Inflight Review: Air India: Business: 787-8: Mumbai – London

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.

After being escorted back to the terminal by one of the transit hotel staff. With the way my luck was running this trip, I decided to double check that my bag were through checked to London. I went up to the business class counter in the check in hall which is an odd experience, because the entrance of the counter …

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Lounge Review: GVK Lounge East Mumbai Airport

After finally clearing immigration at Mumbai airport. I headed to the GVK Lounge East which is the contract lounge used by Air India. I believe there is another larger lounge on the west side of the terminal which also hosts within it a first class lounge. Mumbai airport has a system wherein the individual airlines do have their own lounges …

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Hotel review: Niranta Mumbai airport transit hotel at Terminal 2

The check-in hall at Mumbai CSI airport.

After getting off domestic Air India flight from Bangalore around 21:00, my onward flight was at 06:30 the next morning. The layover was not long enough to head into town and wasn’t short enough to just loiter around the terminal. I had booked a room at the airside transit hotel at Mumbai airport. Crossing Immigration – Reaching too early!! After going …

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Inflight Review: Air India: Business: A319: Bangalore – Mumbai

As soon as I mentioned to anybody, that I was considering flying Air India to the UK – the reactions I got were ‘Are you crazy?’, ‘Do you enjoy suffering?’, ‘Oh god’ and similar. Booking We had a whole bunch of Air India miles that were going to start expiring soon. So I was originally looking to book a flight …

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US Air Force’s 70th anniversary display at #RIAT2017

Two McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagles with a McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle.

The United States air force (USAF) is celebrating the 70th anniversary of it’s formation this year. At the recently concluded Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the USAF organized a special anniversary display at the show. The USAF displayed a variety of aircraft at the show, on static display were the B-52H, B-1B, C-17A, U-2 and more. The USAF also organized …

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Emirates and flydubai announce extensive partnership agreement

Emirates and flydubai have entered a partnership which will see the two Dubai-based airlines partner in code sharing and collaborate their network with coordinated scheduling. The agreement will allow Emirates to make use of flydubai’s regional network and allow flydubai to make use of Emirates expansive global network to allow both airlines passengers more destinations. The goal of this partnership …

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Lounge Review: Above Ground Level lounge Bangalore Kempegowda airport

On my Air India trip from Bangalore to London, I finally used the Above Ground Level (AGL) lounge on the domestic side of Bangalore airport. The AGL lounge is located right beside the Plaza premium lounge just after security. The lounge is also located on the mezzanine right beside the Plaza lounge. However unlike the Plaza lounge this lounge does …

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Inflight Review: Malaysia Airlines: Economy: 737-800: Bangalore – Singapore

This was my first trip on Malaysia Airlines and my first international flight out of India on a narrow body in eight years. Why not fly Bangalore to Singapore direct instead of the roundabout Bangalore – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore?  I am a oneworld frequent flier and Malaysia Airlines is a member of the alliance. The other option would have …

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Video: MRJ being painted in ANA livery

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet arrives at the 2017 Paris air show. Mitsubishi Image.

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is making it’s European debut at the 2017 Paris Air show at Le Bourget Airport. The aircraft on display is FTA-3, the third test aircraft. Mitsubishi ferried the aircraft from the MRJ Flight Test Center, Moses Lake, Washington via Winnipeg and Goose Bay, Canada and Keflavik, Iceland to Paris. FTA-3 originally bore the Mitsubishi corporate livery …

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