Uzbekistan Airways Airlines

  About Uzbekistan Airways

JSC Uzbekistan Airways which primarily works as Uzbekistan Airways, is the national flag carrier of Uzbekistan. The airline's headquarters is in Tashkent while its hub is at Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport. The airline caters to a plethora of domestic routes and destinations with a handful of international routes across Europe, Asia and North America. Following the disbandment of the Soviet Union in 1992, the then president of Uzbekistan Islan Karimov authorised to create its own national carrier, Uzbekistan Airways. The same year, the airline was established, and operations of the Uzbekistan division of Aeroflot were conducted. In 1993, the airline acquired its first two Airbus A310-300s as part of its fleet. Along with the two Airbus aircraft, Uzbekistan Airways' fleet also comprised Russian-manufactured aircraft such as Yakovlev Yak-40s, Ilyushin II-62 and Antonov An-24/26s, to name a few. In the same year, the airline also ordered for its first Boeing aircraft, two Boeing 767-300ERs and a single Boeing 757. They also played as the launch customers for the Russian aircraft Ilyushin II-114.

The national flag carrier is recognised worldwide as the best operator of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. As of 2016-17, Uzbekistan Airways also showcased that they have the best figure with no-accident exploitation of aircraft Boeing 787 Dreamliner among other airline operators of the same aircraft in the world. With this, they became one of the only airlines in the world to provide 100 percent safety with respect to aircrafts such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Following the same, Uzbekistan Airways also received an award by the Boeing Company for following the safety protocols to function the said type of aircraft. The airline's Dreamliners have flight operations to international routes such as Dubai, Delhi, Istanbul, Seoul, Moscow, Singapore, New York via Latvia, Kuala Lumpur, Amritsar and more. The airline also introduced a direct flight route Tashkent - New York - Tashkent with their Dreamliner aircraft. In 2000, Uzbekistan Airways employed 16,296 staff and further worked on its expansions and airport upgradation.

As of 2014, the airline carried about 2.625 million passengers, which was a 1.9 per cent dip from the previous year's cumulative figure. Instead, the cargo transport saw an increase of 4.6 per cent. Uzbekistan Airways made quite a few changes with its hub airport too, in order to accommodate better facilities for the flights. In fact, it is recognised to have one of the largest high-technological air cargo complexes in the Central Asia region. Along with this, the airline has also introduced better passenger terminals with comfortable facilities for the passengers. It has been reported that there are many aviation services that have expressed interest in cooperating and working with Uzbekistan Airways. The airline, with its repair and maintenance provisions for aircraft, has snagged the attention of several airline companies and aircraft manufacturers. Much recently, the airline also proposed a project to construct Uzbekistan Airways's Air company that would cater to a self base with provisions of a training school to enable teaching and schooling the crew and airline staff.

Fleet size of Uzbekistan Airways

As of 2020, the fleet size of Uzbekistan Airways stands at 32 with variants of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. In 2007, the airline ordered six Airbus A320s to be part of the fleet. During the time of the order, the airline had a strong fleet of 55 aircraft. Ten of the aircraft were of different models and included Russian-crafted planes such as Yakovlev Yak-40, among them. The same year, Uzbekistan Airways ordered two Boeing 787-8s to join its fleet. Later in 2008, the airline further added four more orders of Boeing 767-300ERs for a whopping cost of USD 597 million as part of the deal. They also boosted their order of Airbus A320 to ten aircraft. The airline received the first batch of its Airbus A320 delivery in 2010 which kickstarted its Tashkent-Baku route. The four Boeing 767-300ERs that were ordered in 2008 were also delivered to the airline in 2012. In the same year, Uzbekistan Airlines returned the An-24 aircraft from active operations. Following year, Islamic Development Bank signed a deal of USD 270 million with the Uzbekistan government to utilise part of the finances to acquire two Boeing aircraft for Uzbekistan Airways. Airbus A310 also retired from active operations in 2013. Further, the airline converted two of its oldest Boeing 767-300ER aircraft into freight carriers.

Baggage allowance

Baggage allowance on Uzbekistan Airways is the same as what is followed globally by a majority of airlines. The free baggage that is part of the passenger ticket includes the weight of not more than 30 kg for business class and 20 kg for economy class respectively. The domestic routes of Uzbekistan Airways enable more baggage allowance which comprises 32 kg and 23 kg for business class and economy class respectively. However, for a majority of international routes, the same baggage allowance does not apply. Passengers should ensure that their baggage weight does not exceed the stated weight. As for hand baggage, the airline cannot exceed the dimensions of more than 115 cm for the bag. The hand baggage must fall within the dimensions of 56 x 45 x 25 cm. These bags need to fit perfectly in the overhead bin and enable swift accommodation for other passenger baggage too. All the passengers flying from Uzbekistan Airways are allowed to carry only one hand baggage with an additional small bag that could be a crutch, a handbag, a laptop bag or a briefcase. These bags should be small enough to fit under the front seat.

In-flight services

In-flight services that can be experienced on Uzbekistan Airways' aircraft is quite decent. The airline has worked to bring forth facilities and amenities on board that would help cater to the comfort of the passengers. They have introduced reclining seats that are of leather. The ones in the business class even turn into flat beds, giving the passengers the luxury they seek. The airline has installed personal entertainment systems for individual seats with the latest entertainment content such as movies, TV shows and music. The in-flight meal services are also present and complimentary for passengers who are travelling on medium-haul or long haul flights. The hospitality of the in-flight crew is also extremely good.

Popular routes and top cities for Uzbekistan Airways

Uzbekistan Airways offers extremely strong domestic route connections as well as international route connections. Much of the international operations of Uzbekistan Airways take place from Tashkent. However, the airline does offer services to domestic cities that enable passengers to fly to other countries. The airline hasn't become part of any airline alliance as of 2020. A majority of flight services of the airline cater to East European and Central Asian cities. It is also a big player in the Russian aviation industry. It offers services to a slew of Russian cities such as Kazan, Moscow, Sochi, Saint Petersburg, Ufa, Volgograd, Moscow, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Voronezh. As for international routes that the airline caters to, some of the cities are Baku, Minsk, Beijing, Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Delhi, Amritsar, Mumbai, Jakarta, Tel Aviv, Milan, Rome, Tokyo-Narita, Almaty, Riga, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, Jeddah, Phuket, Istanbul, Dubai and London-Heathrow. Flight services for its domestic routes cater to cities such as Andijan, Fergana, Navoi, Nukus, Samarkand, Tashkent, Urgench, Termez, Qarshi, Bukhara and Namangan, in Uzbekistan.

Why travel from Uzbekistan Airways?

Uzbekistan Airways, in its 28 years, has managed to gain quite a lot of momentum in the aviation industry of the country. In fact, it has raked in a lot of attention from neighbouring countries, including Russia. Over the years, the airline has included a slew of domestic route cities in its list of destinations, enabling excellent connectivity across the country. Further, the airline has also introduced various international route connectivity such as the one from Tashkent to New York City with Riga as its one-stop. These have further enabled the airline to receive a good name among frequent passengers. Uzbekistan Airways has allowed regional cities to cross borders and reach various European, Russian and North American cities. However, the perks of travelling by Uzbekistan Airways doesn't end there. Their fleet also has the latest aircraft that function on high-technological engines and parts. This has helped with the airline's efficiency and lack of accidents or technical concerns.

While these reasons do stand out as it offers safety to the passengers onboard, Uzbekistan Airways' in-flight services are also worth mentioning. They have the best seats, extremely friendly crew and also have intriguing baggage allowance deals for passengers. The airline recently introduced their mobile app that would enable travellers to know more about Uzbekistan Airways' flight schedules, do web check-ins to save time and get a heads up on the flight status. Passengers can book an Uzbekistan Airways flight and save the ticket details on the app. The same can be presented at the airline's check-in counter with barely any discrepancy. The airline does have frequent flyer programmes that can be quite beneficial for the passengers who choose their airline or travel to the routes offered by Uzbekistan Airways.