Uzbekistan Airways

History

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 1992 authorised the creation of Uzbekistan Airways. The airline was established on 28 January 1992, and took over the operations of the Uzbekistan division of Aeroflot on 31 May 1992. The airline's maiden flight was from Tashkent to London.

Domestic flights used Russian-built aircraft that formerly belonged to Aeroflot. When international routes were prioritised, Airbus aircraft were introduced, starting in 1993.

At April 2000 (2000-04), the airline had 16,296 employees. At this time, the fleet comprised three Airbus A310-300s, three Antonov An-12s, one Antonov An-24, 18 Antonov An-24Bs, three Antonov An-24RVs, three Boeing 757-200s, two Boeing 767-300ERs, three Avro RJ85s, four Ilyushin Il-114s, two Ilyushin Il-62s, six Ilyushin Il-62Ms, ten Ilyushin Il-76Ts, nine Ilyushin Il-86s, 15 Tupolev Tu-154Bs, two Tupolev Tu-154Ms and 19 Yakovlev Yak-40s. Destinations served at the time included Almaty, Amsterdam, Andizhan, Ashgabat, Athens, Baku, Bangkok, Beijing, Bishkek, Bukhara, Chelyabinsk, Delhi, Dhaka, Ekaterinburg, Fergana, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karshi, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Namangan, New York, Novosibirsk, Nukus, Omsk, Paris, Riyadh, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Samarkand, Seoul, Sharjah, Simferopol, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tel Aviv, Termez, Tyumen, Ufa and Urgench.

Uzbekistan Airways carried 2,625 million passengers in 2014, a 1.9% decrease year-on-year (YOY), whereas 4.6% more cargo was handled YOY.

Destinations

Since its formation, Uzbekistan Airways has focused its passenger service on Western Europe and other international locations. Most international flights operate from Tashkent, although international services to other Uzbek cities exist.

The carrier is not part of any partnerships or airline alliances.

Codeshare agreements

Uzbekistan Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

Fleet

As of August 2016, the airline operates the following aircraft:

Uzbekistan Airways was the launch customer for the Ilyushin Il-114; it took delivery of the first, locally assembled aircraft, in July 1998.

In mid-2007, the carrier ordered six Airbus A320s; by that time the fleet was 55 strong, comprising 10 different aircraft models; the Russian-built Yakovlev Yak-40 was among them. Also that year, the airline ordered two Boeing 787-8s.

In late 2008, the company ordered four Boeing 767-300ERs in a US$597 million deal, and the A320 order was boosted to ten aircraft. The airline took delivery of its first A320 in July 2010 (2010-07); the type started operations servicing the Tashkent–Baku route. The first of four Boeing 767-300ERs ordered in 2008 was delivered in February 2012 (2012-02), coinciding with the carrier's 20th anniversary. Also in 2012, the airline retired the An-24 from active service. It was announced in May 2013 (2013-05) that the Islamic Development Bank signed a deal for US$270 million with the Government of Uzbekistan that will be partly (US$170 million) used to finance the acquisition of two Boeing aircraft, yet the type involved was not disclosed. In July 2013 (2013-07), the Airbus A310 was retired from active service.

The airline decided to convert two of the oldest Boeing 767-300ERs into freighters. Conversion of the first aircraft was completed in December 2014 (2014-12). In late December 2014 (2014-12), the second converted aircraft arrived in Tashkent.

Uzbekistan Airways received its first Boeing 787-8 in late August 2016 (2016-08). The Business Class on the 787 features the first fully flat seats of the carrier. Delivery of the aircraft type will be completed by the end of 2016.

Retired

Uzbekistan Airways previously operated the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

According to the Aviation Safety Network, as of January 2013 the airline experienced eight accidents and incidents throughout its history, totalling 54 reported fatalities; only those involving fatalities and hull-losses are listed below.