Uzbekistan Airways

Uzbekistan Airways

IATA HY ICAO UZB Callsign UZBEKISTAN
Founded	28 January 1992 (1992-01-28)
Commenced operations	31 May 1992 (1992-05-31)
Hubs	Tashkent International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Uz Air Plus
Fleet size	37
Destinations	58
Company slogan	National airline of Uzbekistan
Parent company	Government of Uzbekistan
Headquarters	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Key people	Valeriy Nikolaevich Tyan(CEO)[citation needed] Alisher Sattarov (CFO)[citation needed] Alidjan Almamedov (COO)[citation needed]
Website	www.uzairways.com

OJSC National Air Company Uzbekistan Airways, operating as Uzbekistan Airways (Uzbek: Ўзбекистон Ҳаво Йўллари, O‛zbekiston Havo Yo‛llari; Russian: Узбекские Авиалинии), is the national airline of Uzbekistan,^[2] headquartered in Tashkent.^[3] From its hub in Tashkent International Airport, the airline serves a number of domestic destinations; the company also flies international services to Asia, Europe and North America.

History

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 1992 authorised the creation of Uzbekistan Airways. The carrier was established on 28 January 1992,^[4] and took over the operations of the Uzbekistan division of Aeroflot on 31 May 1992.^[5] The airline's maiden flight was from Tashkent to London.

Domestic flights used Russian-built aircraft that formerly belonged to Aeroflot. When international routes became top priority, Airbus planes were leased, starting in 1993.

Uzbekistan Airways serves almost 50 domestic and international destinations, from Tashkent International Airport. The airline owns 11 airports, five of which have international status.^{[citation needed]}

Uzbekistan Airways Technics provides technical services for Il-76, Il-62, An-2 and Yak-42 aircraft, and aircraft engines Аn-25, Тa-6А and Тa-8, also A, B, C, D and IL checks on the Boeing 767, Boeing 757, Airbus 310, Airbus 320 and RJ-85.

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 Boein 757-200s, two Boeing 767-300ERs, three BAE Systems 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, Samara, Samarkand, Seoul, Sharjah, Simferopol, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tel Aviv, Termez, Tyumen, Ufa, and Urgench.^[4]

Destinations

Since its formation, Uzbekistan Airways has mainly aimed its passenger service at Western Europe and other international locations. Most flights to international locations operate from Tashkent, although regional international services do exist.

The carrier is not part of any partnerships or alliances, but negotiations are under way to join SkyTeam, according to reports from the Uzbek government;^[6] however, no official announcement has been made so far either by the airline or the alliance. Uzbekistan Airways' candidacy is being sponsored by Korean Air.^{[citation needed]}

Codeshare agreements

Uzbekistan Airways has code share agreements with the following airlines:

• Air Baltic
• Air India
• Czech Airlines
• Korean Air
• Malaysia Airlines

Fleet

Both the Boeing 757-200 and the Boeing 767-300ER entered the fleet in late 1996; the airline took delivery of these aircraft as part of an order placed in October 1995.^[7] Still in operation, both types are powered with Pratt & Whitney engines.^[7]

Uzbekistan Airways was the launch customer for the Ilyushin Il-114; it took delivery of the first, locally-assembled aircraft, in July 1998.^[8][9]

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 Yak-40 was among them.^[10] Also in mid-2007, the airline ordered two Boeing 787-8s, with a contract for the engines with General Electric worth US$70 million.^[11] In late 2008, the company ordered four Boeing 767-300ERs in a US$597 million deal,^[12][13] and the A320 order was boosted to ten aircraft.^[14][15] The airline took delivery of its first A320 in July 2010 (2010-07); the type started operations servicing the Tashkent–Baku route.^[16] The first of four Boeing 767-300ERs ordered in 2008 was delivered in February 2012 (2012-02), in coincidence with the carrier's 20th anniversary.^[17] Also in 2012, the airline retired the An-24 from active service.^[18] It was informed 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.^[19]

In July 2013 (2013-07), the Airbus A310 was retired from active service.^[1]

Current

Uzbekistan Airways current fleet

An Airbus A320-200 on short final to Domodedovo Airport in 2012

An Ilyushin Il-114 on approach to Tashkent Airport in 2012.

A Boeing 757-200 at Domodedovo Airport in 2009

A Boeing 767-300ER touches down at Domodedovo Airport in 2006.

As of August 2013, the airline operates the following equipment:^[20]

Retired

An Airbus A310-300 on the taxiway at Domodedovo Airport in 2006. The carrier retired the type from active service in July 2013 (2013-07).^[1]

Uzbekistan Airways also operated the following aircraft all through its history:

• Airbus A310-300^[4]
• Antonov An-12B^[5]
• Antonov An-24B^[4]
• Antonov An-24RV^[4]
• Antonov An-72^[5]
• Ilyushin Il-62^[4]
• Ilyushin Il-62M^[4]
• Ilyushin Il-76TD^[5]
• Ilyushin Il-86^[4]
• Tupolev Tu-154B^[4]
• Tupolev Tu-154M^[4]
• Yakovlev Yak-40^[4]

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;^[21] only those involving fatalities and hull-losses are listed below.

Date	Location	Aircraft	Tail number	Fate	Fatalities	Description of the event	Refs
01995-06-1717 June 1995	Nukus	An-2R	UK-33058	W/O	Unknown	Crashed 43 km (27 mi) away from the city under undisclosed circumstances.	[22]
01999-08-2626 August 1999	Turtkul	Yak-40	UK-87848	W/O	70002000000000000002/33	The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled Tashkent–Turtkul passenger service when struck power lines, gear-up, after a second go-around at Turtkul Airport. It belly landed, and slid for some 130 m (430 ft), before coming to rest close to an embankment.	[23][24]
02004-01-1313 January 2004	Tashkent	Yak-40	UK-87985	W/O	700137000000000000037/37	The airplane was completing a domestic scheduled Termez–Tashkent passenger service as Flight 1154 when it landed more than 250 m (820 ft) past the runway threshold at Tashkent Airport. The aircraft continued its run, the right wing struck a concrete building, moments later the left wing was lost, and hit a concrete wall that caused the airframe to break up, eventually coming to rest into a ditch and catching fire.	[24][25]
02006-10-1919 October 2006	Aranchi	An-2TP	UK-70152	W/O	700115000000000000015/15	Crashed amid bad weather, on approach to the Aranchi airfield, while operating a military training flight.	[26][27]
02009-08-01August 2009	Zarafshan	An-24RV	UK-46658	W/O	50000000000000000000	Premature retraction of the undercarriage during the takeoff run at Zarafshan Airport.	[28]

See also

• List of airlines of Uzbekistan
• Transport in Uzbekistan

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Uzbekistan Airways.

• (English)/(Russian)/(Uzbek) Uzbekistan Airways official website