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.

CFM56 engine family becomes first to cross a billion flight hours

CFM56-7B engine used to power all Boeing 737NG aircraft. CFM Photo.

The CFM56 engine family has become the first ever to cross one billion engine flight hours. CFM International (a JV of Safran and GE) ran the first CFM56 in 1974. By 1979 the engine had not received any major orders and the JV was weeks from being dissolved. However, in April of 1979 Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Flying …

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Airbus delivers its 12,000th aircraft – an A220-200

European air-framer Airbus has delivered its 12,000th, an A220-200 to Delta Airlines. The aircraft is the 12th A220 to be delivered to Delta. Airbus delivered its first aircraft, an A300B2 to Air France in 1974. 36 years later in 2010, the company delivered its 6,000th aircraft. On 8 May, the aircraft flew a special route over the companies Mirabel facility …

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British Airways to operate A350 to Bangalore from 1 Jan 2020

British Airways has announced that Bangalore will be the first destination in India for its new Airbus A350-1000. Bangalore will be the fourth worldwide destination for the BA’s A350 – the airline’s launch destination for the type will be to Madrid. The A350 service to Bangalore will begin on 1 January 2020 and as currently scheduled will be the first …

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Boeing orders and deliveries – April 2019. Deliveries continue to fall.

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner ZA001 N787BA takes off on the first flight of a Dreamliner. Boeing image.

American airframer Boeing has opened the second quarter of the year with by logging orders for four 737 MAXs for unidentified customers. However the company also removed 210 aircraft from its order book following the collapse of Jet Airways. The large cancellation will push Boeing’s net orders for the years into the negative like European rival Airbus. Deliveries As we …

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Airbus orders and deliveries – April 2019. Deliveries stay consistent.

European airframer Airbus opened the second quarter of 2019 with five orders. The orders were for three A350-900s from Lufthansa Technic on behalf of the German government and two A330-800neos for Uganda Airlines. The manufacturer also recorded five cancellations for A330-200s which keeps their net order deficit to 58 aircraft for 2019. Airbus has also not yet logged the cancellation …

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Inflight review: Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9: Business Studio: Washington to Abu Dhabi

The gate from the lounge brought me right onto the aero-bride to the aircraft. I was met at the door by a member of the crew who checked my boarding card and pointed me to my seat. Washinton Dulles (IAD) to Abu Dhabi (AUH). EY 130. STD 21.25 STA 19.00 (+1). All times local. Boeing 787-9. A6-BLD. Seat 9A. I …

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Lounge Review: Etihad Airways Lounge Washington D.C. Dulles

I arrived at Dulles on my connecting flight just about three hours and forty minutes before my flight with Etihad. The check in desk had not yet opened and having baggage to check, I had no choice but to wait for it. About 10 minutes after I reached the desk, the desk agents manned the desks and began checking people …

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Etihad cuts seat back IFE screens and revises economy meals

Of the big three middle-eastern carriers, Etihad has been suffering the most financially. The airline has resorted to significant cost cutting over the last couple of years to try to claw their way out of the red. The airline has also been trying to increase revenue out of its existing product by charging to book certain seats, introducing a buy-on-board …

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Inflight review: Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER: First: Delhi – Amsterdam – Toronto

I wrote this review towards the end of February, before Jet Airways ceased operations. While I hope the airline makes a comeback, I can’t help but think that this may have been the last time I got to fly with Jet. So in a way this article acts as a tribute to the airline. Going forward the article refers to …

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Emirates and Spicejet announce codeshare agreement

Emirates and SpiceJet have announced a codeshare agreement to allow both the airlines to take advantage of each others network. The airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which following regulatory approvals will allow SpiceJet to place its code and offer connections on Emirates vast international network. Emirates will gain access to 51 domestic destinations with 10 direct destinations …

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SpiceJet adding five Bombardier Q400s to capitalize on Jet’s collapse

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

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has announced that it will add five additional 90-seater Bombardier Q400s to its fleet. Three of the aircraft will join the fleet in the next 10 days while the remaining will be inducted in June. SpiceJet was the launch customer of the 90-seat Q400. The airline placed an order for 50 of the type back in September …

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Jet Airways cancels flights to London, Amsterdam and Paris

Four 777-300's of Jet Airways at Amsterdam.

Continuing from yesterday, when the airline cancelled its international flights from Bangalore and Chennai. Jet Airways now appears to have cancelled all its flights to London, Paris and Amsterdam. All flights to the above cities have been cancelled for today, they are currently showing as scheduled for tomorrow. However, it is uncertain that Jet will be able to resume these …

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SpiceJet to lease 16 additional 737-800’s

Spicejet Boeing 737-800 VT-SPL "Cardamom"

SpiceJet has announced that it will dry lease 16 additional Boeing 737-800s. The airline has applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for a No Objection Certificate to import the aircraft. The airline has not identified the source of the lease. SpiceJet currently has 13 737 MAX 8s grounded and has indicated that the recent troubles of Jet Airways …

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Jet Airways cancels Bangalore – Amsterdam, Chennai – Paris and all Singapore flights

Jet Airways Airbus A330-300. Image courtesy Jet.

Beleaguered carrier Jet Airways seems to be going from bad to worse, while the airline is inching forward on fumes waiting for emergency funding – the delay is continuing to cost the airline dearly. So far in the last 30 days: The airline’s fleet has reduced from over a 100 aircraft to around an estimated 15 today. Jet Airways cancels …

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Boeing orders and deliveries – March 2019. MAX deliveries fall.

British Airways Boeing 777X.

American airframer Boeing has closed out the first quarter by adding 44 orders to its order book for 2019. The orders included 18 777X’s for British Airways, Two 777F’s for DHL, 20 787’s for Lufthansa group and 3 BBJ’s for private customers. In total the manufacturer has reported 95 orders and four cancellations for a net positive of 91 orders …

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Indigo begins domestic flights from Mumbai T2, adds three international flights

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

Low-cost carrier Indigo has announced that it will begin 20 new domestic flights from Mumbai and three international flights. The airline is adding international flights to Damman, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi, all of which were previously destinations served by Jet’s 737 fleet. The new domestic flights will be operated by the airline from Mumbai’s Terminal 2. Rival airlines have been …

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Airbus orders and deliveries – March 2019. Sales and deliveries gain momentum.

European airframer Airbus has closed out the last month of the quarter with 58 orders. While the figures are much better than the first two months where the company only secured orders for four of it’s the smallest aircraft. Airbus will still close the quarter with a net order deficit of 58 aircraft. The manufacturer has also not yet accounted …

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