Azerbaijan Airlines

  About Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines also referred to as Azal, is the national flag carrier of the country Azerbaijan. It is also the largest airline in the country. Based out of Baku, the airline is adjacent to Heydar Aliyev International Airport. It operates to destinations, predominantly across the Asian continent, the European continent and Commonwealth of Independent States region. The airline is also an active member of the International Air Transport Association. Founded in 1992, Azerbaijan Airlines was recognised as the first national carrier that came into existence after the country realised its independence. The country of Azerbaijan, in 1990, announced that they were planning on setting up a national airline, which would be independent of Aeroflot, the long-time provider of air transport to a slew of Soviet republics. After construction of a management plan, Azerbaijan Airlines was officially founded in 1992 under the presidency of Vagif Sadykhly. Although initially, the airline was formed as a regional branch to Aeroflot, Azerbaijan Airlines eventually managed to set free from the exclusive domain of Aeroflot.

The first flight to operate under Azerbaijan Airlines was a scheduled route from Baku to Istanbul. The flight operation was conducted in a partnership with Turkish Airlines as well as cargo entity Aviasharg was also founded in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. Azerbaijan Airlines received a massive fleet from Aeroflot which also included 20 Soviet-manufactured aircraft Tupolev airliners. Further, the airline received a few regional airliners and freighters, light aircraft as well as helicopters. Azerbaijan Airlines also leased a pair of its Boeing 727s, but it originally belonged to Pan Am. The airline formed an extensive partnership with Aviation Leasing Group, who leased Azerbaijan Airlines with the Boeing 727s. Following a much-needed joint venture between Azerbaijan Airlines and Aviation Leasing Group's Buffalo Airways, a transatlantic charter cargo was also created as a joint venture. The venture was also used to help train Azerbaijan Airlines' air crews to meet with Western standards, in the US State of Texas. In 1994, the airline commenced a route to Dubai, which became a key source of Wester goods for Azerbaijan, along with Istanbul.

Soon, Azerbaijan Airlines further started accommodating international routes such as Tel Aviv, China, Tehran, London and Saint Petersburg. By mid-1998 though, a string of regional and domestic routes was suspended due to low-profit margins. The airline also needed to work on repairing three of their Yak-40 aircraft. With exceptions of a handful of major destinations, Azerbaijan Airlines further suspended services to its neighbouring Commonwealth of Independent States countries. As Azerbaijan Airlines incurred some debts, they avoided adding flight schedules to destinations that didn't yield profit. The country's border dispute with Armenia over Nagorno - Karabakh further led to a delay of financing for the two new Boeing 757s that the airline had ordered from the US Ex-Im Bank. Eventually, by the fall of 2000, Azerbaijan Airlines received its first Boeing 757s. The perks of adding these Boeing aircraft to its fleet benefitted Azerbaijan Airlines tremendously as it brought forth a range of comfort and efficiency, especially for long-haul flights to international routes. This also helped Azerbaijan put forth an image of the country being ahead of the game.

In 2001, Azerbaijan Airlines introduced a new international route of Paris - Baku which took place in collaboration with Air France. Although predominantly an Islamic country, the repercussions of the 9/11 terrorists' attack on the United States led to a drastic reduction in air traffic. Despite the challenges of less air traffic, Azerbaijan Airlines managed to earn a profit in 2001 and made progress in paying off the debts incurred.

Fleet size of Azerbaijan Airlines

The current operational fleet of Azerbaijan Airlines has 22 aircraft. They follow a mixed fleet which comprises Airbus, Boeing and some VIP flights too. Presently, there are three Airbus A319-100, six Airbus A320-200, two Airbus A340-500, two Boeing 757-200, two Boeing 767-300ER and two Boeing 787-8. Out of these, the airline is also expecting orders of ten Irkut MC-21-300 and five Boeing 787-8. It also offers a rich VIP fleet that comprises Airbus ACJ319, Airbus ACJ320, Airbus A340-600, Boeing 767-300ER and Boeing 777-200LR. These are also part of the fleet. In the past, Azerbaijan Airlines operated a number of diverse aircraft, including the Russian-manufactured aircraft such as Tupolev Tu-134 and Tupolev Tu-154M. Along with these, the airline also had ATR 42-500, ATR 72-200, Canadair CL-44, Embraer 170 and Ilyushin IL-76.

Baggage Allowance

Azerbaijan Airlines' baggage allowance policy differs from the cabin class and ticket type of passenger. Passengers who are travelling from Azerbaijan Airlines and are part of the VIP club can carry a weight that could go up to 32 kg the most. The passenger can catch an additional three pieces of checked baggage. Business-class passengers can carry the same weight as that of First Class, but the only difference being the number of baggage pieces, which is two. The comfort club class of Azerbaijan Airlines also has a baggage allowance of 32 kg of which the passenger is allowed two bags as checked luggage. The economy class only allows passengers to carry only one piece of baggage and weight, which should not exceed 23 kg. In case passengers carry extra luggage or weight, they can make the purchase for extra baggage at the airport's check-in counter. Tariff for the extra baggage has been mentioned on the airline's official website. A dimension for the baggage size is set by the airline, which is 158 cm. Passengers are not allowed to carry more than the said number, according to Azerbaijan Airlines. Failure to meet this would require the passenger to send the baggage via cargo.

In-flight services

Azerbaijan Airlines' aircraft come with excellent new facilities that even the airline realises now. The seating is exquisite and made of leather. The comfortable chairs aren't the only thing that makes the experience of travelling with Azerbaijan Airlines exquisite. The airline also has some immaculate in-flight services. These range from provisions of personalised entertainment systems that have been installed on every seat, the in-flight meal service that is complementary depending on the duration of the flight. The staff is also quite happy and friendly with the passengers onboard.

Popular routes and top cities for Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines is known to connect to a handful of domestic route cities along with a slew of international route cities that are predominantly spread across Europe, Asia, the USA and the CIS. Some of its domestic route operations include destinations such as Baku, Ganja, Nakhchivan, Qabala and Zaqatala. In terms of international route destinations, Azerbaijan Airlines has yet again proved to be an asset as it has some immaculate connections with destinations that are not mostly covered by big cities and big airlines. These cities include Kabul, Vienna, Minsk, Split, Prague, Paris, Berlin, Athens, Delhi, Ardabil, Tabriz, Tel Aviv, Mashhad, Milan, Kuwait City, Bishkek, Tivat, Karachi, Astrakhan, Moscow, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, Volgograd, Dammam, Jeddah, Riyadh, Barcelona, Geneva, Adana, Ankara, Bodrum, Istanbul, Izmir, Ashgabat, Kyiv, Lviv, Dubai, London and New York City. The airline has a few codeshare agreements too, with airlines namely Air Arabia, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, SCAT Airlines, Air France, Belavia, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, airBaltic, Etihad Airways, S7 Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines.

Why travel by Azerbaijan Airlines?

Azerbaijan Airlines is a fairly new airline and is yet to make a massive mark on passengers or even the aviation industry. The airline is majorly recognised for being a national flag carrier which has considerably decent domestic routes and international routes to connect better with other destinations. Even though the airline started regional routes to certain destinations that would otherwise be difficult to reach, they suspended the operations.

However, with a view to expanding and getting better at their connectivity and passenger service, the airline has been doing a lot of work. Azerbaijan Airlines has recently started expanding its fleet to accommodate the latest and newer version of aircraft that meets with the necessities and comfort of the passengers. Along with this, they have also catered to enhancing the in-flight services with better provisions that would attract passengers or prospective customers. Although there is no dedicated lounge facility for which Azerbaijan Airlines can give access. However, their enhanced fleet can offer a good service.

Not to mention how they have now enabled online web check-ins, booking an Azerbaijan Airlines flight ticket online without any hassle, knowing updates on the flight status and other such perks. The revamped website of Azerbaijan Airlines also has flight schedules that would make it easier for travellers to plan a proper trip. It always comes handy to know what flight is leaving the airport and at what time. On booking a flight with Azerbaijan Airlines, the airline would also share details of the baggage allowance as many people often find it difficult to understand airport policies. With such enhanced offers present with Azerbaijan Airlines, passengers can consider this as an airline that would best suit your travel needs.