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 triples seats to Mumbai and Delhi, announces massive increase in India flights

by Devesh Agarwal Etihad Airways has wasted no time in capitalising on its recent bonanza of seat quota increase under the new India UAE (Abu Dhabi) bi-laterial air services agreement (BASA). It has announced a massive increase in flights to most of its destinations in India. Specifically Mumbai and New Delhi: from 7 to 14 flights per week with immediate …

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Boeing commences wind tunnel testing of 777X

Boeing has commenced low-speed wind tunnel tests for its 777X aircraft. Testing is being performed on a 5% scale model of the baseline 777X, measuring about 4.22 meters (166 inches) long with a wing span of 3.92 meters (154 inches). Hundreds of sensors are embedded in the model to measure pressure to determine the in-flight loads as well as provide …

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Pictures: Cathay Pacific’s new lounge at Hong Kong – The Bridge

Cathay Pacific Airways has opened a new lounge called The Bridge, the airline’s sixth passenger lounge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). The lounge is 2,567 square metres and located near Gate 35, on level 5 of the West Concourse and is open for first and business class passengers, Silver or above Marco Polo Club members, and Sapphire or above …

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IndiGo confusing passengers on ‘Seat Plus Premium Seat’

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

by Devesh Agarwal What are the best seats for tall or wide passengers on IndiGo flights? Read on to learn. Two weeks ago, as I was making a booking on IndiGo for a flight to Delhi, I was offered a chance to buy ‘Premium Seats’ under the airline’s Seat Plus value add-on plan for Rs. 500 per seat per flight. …

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Analysis: Indian leaders should learn from the Dubai order bonanza

Value of orders at the show exceed India’s annual tax revenues The recently concluded Dubai Air Show 2013 broke all records for aircraft orders placed at an air show. Driven by the “Gulf Big 3”, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, the show clocked orders exceeding a mind-boggling, $206 billion, underscoring the power shift in the commercial airline industry to …

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Bangalore Aviation requests your feedback on our future

Greetings dear readers.Over the last few months, I have been toying with where Bangalore Aviation should go and how should it look. We are adding a few journalist interns who will focus on the news allowing me time to focus on analysis. The current layout is getting too cluttered, and we are also considering changing our layout to match the …

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InterGlobe and CAE inaugurate India’s largest pilot training facility

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

by Devesh Agarwal Rahul Bhatia, InterGlobe, Marc Parent, CAE InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent company of India’s largest domestic airline, IndiGo, and CAE, a global leader in flight simulators and training, inaugurated India’s largest pilot training facility in India. Located in Greater Noida, in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Centre, CAE Simulation Training Private Limited (CSTPL), is a joint venture …

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Video – Boeing updates on 737 MAX

Boeing has put together this nice compact tongue in cheek video update on the 737 MAX. Enjoy the weekend. Comments are welcome as always. 

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flyDubai orders engines for its 737 MAX order

flydubai today announced that it has signed an agreement with CFM International to purchase up to 200 LEAP-1B engines to power Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The airline has also ordered 22 CFM56-7BE engines to power up to an additional 11 Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft. The order is not surprising since CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and …

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Jetihad is born. Jet Airways completes 24% stake sale to Etihad Airways

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Mumbai-based Jet Airways today announced that they have closed the transaction of a 24% equity stake by Etihad Airways in Jet Airways. In a release they said “All requisite Indian regulatory approvals had been obtained by November 12th, 2013. Jet Airways has, on November 20th, 2013, issued and allotted 27,263,372 equity shares of a face …

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Jet Airways and Garuda Indonesia sign code share agreement

Jet Airways and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia have concluded a code share agreement for connectivity between India and Indonesia.Under the arrangement, using Singapore as a hub, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Garuda Indonesia’s flights between Singapore and Jakarta and Garuda will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ flights between Singapore and Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. …

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Emirates to implement Airbus Managed Inventory (AMI) Service

Emirates_A380-800 A6-EDF arrives at London. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal.

Emirates Airline has signed an agreement to implement a structured trial of the Airbus Managed Inventory (AMI) service which is expected to lead to a wider implementation thereafter. The AMI service, continuously ensures the automatic replenishment of high-usage and non-repairable parts at the customer’s facilities.The AMI automated inventory management solution supports Airbus customers to reduce their inventory holding costs. By …

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Jet Airways offers special airfare discount for Rotary South Asia Literacy Summit in New Delhi

Jet Airways is offering a special discount on domestic airfares to attendees of the Rotary South Asia Literacy Summit to be held in New Delhi on December 14 and 15. The airline will extend a 5% discount on the base fare and fuel surcharge. Use the discount code “JETRSA2013” when making the booking on the Jet Airways website. Other terms …

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IndiGo adds Bagdogra as a destination. New Ahmedabad Mumbai Guwahati flight.

India’s largest domestic airline is adding Bagdogra as its 30th domestic destination from December 1, 2013. With its 71st A320 joining the fleet, IndiGo will operate 448 daily flights to 30 domestic and five international destinations. Flight 6E-434 commences an almost 12 hour duty cycle at 05:45 starting at Ahmedabad to Mumbai to Guwahati to Bagdogra to Kolkata to Bangalore. …

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Etihad orders 87 Airbus aircraft

Etihad Airways, of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a firm order on European airframer Airbus S.A.S. for 50 A350 XWBs, 36 A320neo aircraft and one A330-200F freighter worth $26.9 billion at list prices. The contract was signed yesterday at the 2013 Dubai Airshow by James Hogan, Etihad Airways CEO and Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. The Airbus A350 …

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Boeing launches 777X program – images and video

The Dubai Airshow is known for releasing multi-billion dollar orders from the major Gulf carriers, and yesterday was no exception. Boeing was the clear winner on day one of the show, and the star was the yet to be commenced Boeing 777X program which is an upgrade of the already ultra-popular Boeing 777 twin engine wide body jetliner which today …

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In new strategy Etihad invests in Darwin Airlines, re-brands it Etihad Regional

by Devesh Agarwal Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, today announced what it calls a ‘step-change in global aviation’ with the launch of its first branded regional operation, after taking a 33.3 per cent stake in Swiss carrier Darwin Airline. (Left to right) James Rigney, Etihad Airways’ Chief Financial Officer; Maurizio Merlo, Chief Executive Officer of …

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