Turkmenistan Airlines

History

The State national service Turkmenistan Airlines was founded on 4 May 1992. In 1992, Turkmenistan Airlines became the first airline in the former Soviet Union to purchase a Boeing 737-300. In April 1993, Turkmenistan became a full member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The first flight on a cargo aircraft IL-76 was completed April 19, 1993 from Ashgabat-Brest.

Since 2001, the airline has been phasing out its aging Soviet-era fleet to make way for a modern fleet of Boeing 717's, which are extensively used for service on domestic routes. They purchased seven 717 series aircraft to perform flights in Turkmenistan. The first of these aircraft was presented at the MAKS air show in 2001.

April 29, 2009 in Ashgabat flew the new aircraft Boeing 737-700. On 2 September 2009, Boeing announced that Turkmenistan Airlines had confirmed an order for 3 Boeing 737-700 aircraft worth $192 million. Autumn airline supplemented by three airliners of Boeing. On May 8, 2013, a Boeing 737-800 was delivered to Turkmenistan Airlines, arriving in Ashgabat, on June 3, 2013 a fourth Boeing 737-800 arrived., and on December 18, 2013 a fifth Boeing 737-800 arrived.

In May 2009, the airline opened a new, modern Lachin hotel in Ashgabat for transit Turkmenistan Airlines passengers. The hotel is designed for 200 guests. The building is located in the Avenue of Neutrality, which connects the city center to the Ashgabat Airport. July 1, 2011 began to operate Electronic ticket on all flights. Booking flights can be carried out in the standard way, but the information about air travel began to given out in the form of a passenger itinerary receipt. In 2012, the airline began printing the full-colour magazine "Lachin". This was the first in flight product in Turkmenistan. The magazine is also distributed in the halls for official delegations and VIP-zones of airports in Turkmenistan.

In 2012, the airline carried 57,500 passengers to 15 international destinations and 90,000 passengers on domestic routes per month (apx. 1.77 million passengers per year).

In January 2013 a regular cargo flight to Brno was started. In March 2013 a new ticket sales centre was opened by the airline. The three-story building located in the southern part of Ashgabat at 61 Atatürk Street. The building houses 30 sales offices; 17 for domestic flights and 13 for international routes. In August 2013 a regular passenger flight to Lviv was started. In October of the same year, flights to Donetsk and Riga were started. Finally in December that year, a flight to Paris was started.

In March 2014, Turkmenistan Airlines announced that it was to commence long-haul flights using its newly acquired Boeing 777-200LRs. The aircraft are currently utilized on flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Delhi and Istanbul.

Destinations

As of April 2015, Turkmenistan Airlines operates flights to 23 domestic and international destinations from its hub at Ashgabat International Airport as well as some additional minor and mainly domestic operations from Turkmenabat Airport and Turkmenbashi Airport. The airline also operates dedicated cargo flights.

Codeshare agreements

Turkmenistan Airlines has code share agreements with the following airlines:

Current fleet

As of August 2015, the Turkmenistan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Historic fleet

Turkmenistan Airlines used to operate Tu-154, AN-24, AN-26, Yak-40, Yak-42 and Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, which since have been phased out.