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.

Air Arabia pilot’s crazy takeoff mistake

Air Arabia A6-AOD Airbus A320.

Air Arabia is a low cost airline based out of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The airline operates a fleet of 41 Airbus A320 aircraft. It operates flights to 14 destinations in India including Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi and more. The Aviation Herald has published an article on what happened to an Air Arabia flight G9-111 that was departing …

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Spicejet takes delivery of first 90 seat Q400

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

Low cost carrier SpiceJet has taken delivery of Bombardier’s first 90-seat Q400 turbo-prop. The Canadian airframer had announced in February 2016 that it would develop an extra-capacity 90 seat variant of the Q400. Bombardier has accomplished this by redesigning the front right door of the aircraft and moving the aft bulkhead further back. This along with reducing the space between …

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Jet Airways 9W697 returns to Mumbai after cabin pressure drops

Jet Airways' Boeing 737-800 VT-JBD

A Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Jaipur operating 9W 697 was forced to return to Mumbai after the cabin pressure in the aircraft dropped. The drop in pressure was caused due to the crews failure to turn on the maintain cabin air pressure switch. 30 passengers out of the 166 on the flight have taken ill with nose and …

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Oops Cathay spells it’s name wrong on it’s plane

Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific rolled out a Boeing 777-300 registered B-HNO from the paint hanger with the airlines name spelt with a typo. The name on the aircraft currently reads “Cathay Paciic”. All credit to Cathay who took the error like good sports – posting images through their twitter account. Oops this special livery won’t last long! She’s going …

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Vistara signs code share agreement with British Airways

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

Vistara (Tata-SIA Airlines) and British Airways have signed a codeshare agreement expanding on their existing interline partnership. Under the agreement, British Airways will add its ‘BA’ flight numbers to approximately 60 Vistara flights each day covering thirteen Indian cities. This will add eight new virtual destinations for the British flag carrier – Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and …

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UDF passenger fees reduced by 67% at Bangalore airport

The main passenger terminal building at Bangalore Airport.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) has published its order of tariffs for the second control period (April 2016 – March 2021) at Bangalore airport. The user development fees (UDF) at Bangalore airport have been reduced by 67% from 16 September 2018. However the UDF will increase every year as the airport invests in the second runway and …

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GoAir starts international operations with flights to Phuket and Maldives

GoAir's first Airbus A320neo VT-WGA MSN7047 takes-off at Toulouse airport.

Low cost carrier GoAir will begin its first international operations with flights from its Mumbai and New Delhi hubs to the popular holiday destinations of Phuket in Thailand and Male in the Maldives. The first inaugural flight of GoAir will be from Delhi to Phuket on October 11, 2018 and the first flight to the Maldives will be from Mumbai …

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Spicejet operates India’s first bio-fuel flight

Low cost carrier SpiceJet operated India’s first BioJet Fuel powered flight yesterday. The airline operated the flight with a Bombardier Q400 on the Dehradun – Delhi route. The fuel used is a blend of 75% traditional aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and 25% of BioJet fuel. The fuel is made by Jatropha crop and been developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of …

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Infographic: What travels on a British Airways 747

British Airways has released an interesting infographic on some of the things which are loaded onto it’s aircraft. The airline which is the largest operator of the Boeing 747 has stated that one of it’s jumbos is loaded with over 7,000 items – many of which have to be unloaded and re-loaded before each flight. This includes 1,737 items of …

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Indigo first quarter FY2018-19 results analysis. Industry losses ahead?

IndiGo ATR72-600 VT-IYA. Photo by Vedant Agarwal. Copyright. Do not re-use.

India’s largest domestic carrier, Indigo, has sent tremors in the aviation community with its first quarter results for the fiscal year 2018-2019 which ends Match 31, 2019. An airline, normally delivering nine and 10 figure profits (in the hundreds of crores or billions), reported a minuscule ₹27 crores (₹270 million) as its profit after tax; and this, for a traditionally …

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Embraer announces huge orders for E-jets #FIA18

Embraer has announced a number of orders for the E-jet family. The airframer had announced one of the first orders of the show with a 25 aircraft order for United. Mauritania Airlines African carrier Mauritania Airlines has placed a firm order for two E175 jets. The order value is USD 93.8 million at current list prices. Raul Villaron, Vice President, …

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Air Lease Corporation order 78 Boeing aircraft #FIA18

Leasing company Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has announced on day two of the 2018 Farnborough Airshow orders and commitments for 75 737 MAX 8s and three 787-9 Dreamliners. The order is valued at $9.6 billion at current list prices. The three 787-9s and the first 20 737 MAX airplanes of the order are firm purchases. The subsequent 55 737 MAX …

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Boeing announces major order for 777 and 747 freighters from Volga-Dnepr #FIA18

Boeing started the second day at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow by announcing an order for five 747-8 freighters and 29 777 freighters from Volga-Dnepr. The order is valued at list prices of $11.8 billion which comprises of $2 billion for the 747-8s and $9.8 billion for the 777s. The company also announced agreements to optimize the cargo operators airplane fleet …

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Airbus signs A350 orders from Sichuan Airlines and STARLUX Airlines #FIA18

European airframer Airbus has announced A350 orders for 10 aircraft from Chinese carrier Sichuan Airlines and 17 aircraft from startup Taiwanese carrier STARLUX Airlines. The Sichuan Airlines order is for 10 Airbus A350-900’s worth $3.1 billion at list prices. The aircraft will be used to operate fights from the airline’s base in Chengdu to North America and Europe. STARLUX Airlines …

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GOL Airlines places order for 15 737 MAX 8, coverts 30 orders to MAX 10 #FIA18

The MAX 8 is sporting the 100 years of Boeing Decal.

Brazilian carrier GOL Airlines announced an order for an additional 15 737 MAX 8s. The carrier has also converted 30 current MAX orders to the 737 MAX 10. With this order, GOL has ordered 135 737 MAXs. The airline took delivery of it’s first 737 MAX last month. Paulo Kakinoff, Chief Executive Officer, GOL “This new order aligns with our …

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Jackson Square Aviation becomes 100th customer of 737 MAX #FIA18

Boeing 737 MAX 8 N8704Q.

Jackson Square Aviation (JSA) announced the leasing company has ordered 30 737 MAX 8 airplanes in its first direct purchase from a jet maker. The order is worth $3.5 billion at current list prices. Since its founding in 2010, San Francisco-based Jackson Square Aviation has grown by buying new technology airplanes from airlines globally through sale-leaseback financing and pre-delivery payment …

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Goshawk Aviation orders 20 A320neos and 20 737 MAX #FIA18

Goshawk Aviation Limited, a 50/50 joint venture between Hong Kong-based conglomerate NWS Holdings Limited and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Limited has placed a firm order for 20 Airbus A320neo and 20 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The company is based in Dublin, Ireland, and has an owned, managed and committed fleet of over 220 aircraft. The Airbus A320neo order is worth …

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United orders four Boeing 787-9s #FIA18

United Airlines Boeing 787 N29907. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

Boeing and United Airlines have announced an order for four more 787-9 airplanes. The order valued at about $1.1 billion as per current list prices, was finalized this year and was listed as unidentified on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website. The 787-9 is the longest-range Dreamliner with the ability to fly up to 7,635 nautical miles (14,140 kilometers). United carriers …

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United Airlines orders 25 Embraer E175s #FIA18

United Airlines has signed an order for 25 E175 jets in a 70-seat configuration at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow. The order is worth $1.1 billion, based on current list prices. Deliveries will begin in the second quarter of 2019. Charlie Hillis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, North America, Embraer Commercial Aviation “We are thrilled that United is adding another 25 …

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Boeing announces 777 freighter orders from DHL and Qatar #FIA18

American airframer Boeing kicked off the first day of the 2018 Farnborough airshow with orders for the 777 frighter from DHL and Qatar Airways. DHL has placed an order for 14 Boeing 777 Freighters and purchase rights for 7 additional freighters. The list price of the order is $4.7 billion. A portion of the order was previously unidentified on Boeing’s …

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