Introduction
Uzbekistan Airways is the flag carrier airline of Uzbekistan, with its headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Tashkent International Airport, the airline serves a number of domestic and Asian, European and North American destinations. Since its inception it had focused primarily on destination of Western Europe. The airline has yet to join any airline alliance of the world.
Fleet
The Airline currently has 10 Airbus A320-200, 6 Boeing 757-200, 7 Boeing 767-300ER, 8 Boeing 787-8, 7 Ilyushin Il-114-100 for its passenger service and for its freight services 2 Airbus A300-600F and 2 Boeing 767-300F, making a total of 36 aircrafts.
Brief 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, the Soviet national airline; 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 however Airbus aircrafts were used when flying to international destination, when they became available in 1993.By 2000, the airline had fully established itself as a regional airline employing over 16,000 people. The air fleet comprised of Airbus 310-300s, Boeing757-200s and Russian Antonovs, Tupolevs, Ilyushins and Yakovlev Yaks. The route network of the airline had spanned to touch up to 45 destinations then and 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.In 2007, the airline purchased six Airbus A320s and two Boeing 787-8s, increasing the number of the fleet to 55 strong.In late 2008, the company ordered four more Boeing 767-300ERs for US $597 million and ordered four more A320s. In May 2013 with the collaboration of Islamic Development Bank the Government of Uzbekistan signed a deal for US$270 million to pay for two Boeing aircrafts.