New Airline Launches to Offer Direct Services from Uzbekistan's Second Largest City

Air Samarkand

• Air Samarkand unveiled with arrival of first Airbus A330 aircraft
• Carrier being established as part of major tourism initiative in one of Asia's oldest cities

A new airline is to launch direct services from Uzbekistan's second-largest city of Samarkand, as part of a major tourism and commercial drive for the historic region.

Air Samarkand will operate scheduled and charter flights from Samarkand to a growing number of destinations before the end of 2023. Using modern Airbus aircraft, its soon-to-be announced commercial route network will initially include connections to popular destinations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Turkey and China, with services starting over the Autumn-Winter air navigation period.

Air Samarkand plans further expansion into Europe over the next 12 months as it grows its fleet of Airbus A330 and A320 aircraft. The full-service carrier expects to have five aircraft in operation before the end of 2023.

Bakhtiyor Fazylov, a Uzbek business leader and founder of Air Samarkand, says: “The launch of this new airline is a significant event for the future development of Uzbekistan as a tourism, cultural and business centre for this region. We are delighted to welcome Air Samarkand's first aircraft and we will soon operate competitive direct flights with a quality service to the most popular international destinations in Asia and further afield.”

Located in eastern Uzbekistan, Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Asia, with its origins said to date back to the seventh or eighth millennium BC. A prosperous centre of the silk trade and situated on the famed Silk Road, it is in the heart of the country's ancient and medieval tourist attractions that exist in Samarkand and the surrounding Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, and Zaamin National Park regions.

The launch of Air Samarkand coincides with the arrival of its first aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, which landed this afternoon (02ndNovember) at the newly redeveloped Samarkand International Airport.

Utilising a fleet of modern, safe and fuel-efficient Airbus aircraft, Air Samarkand will provide the 12.6 million people in its local catchment area with the option of taking direct services to key cities in Asia and Europe. This will remove the current need to use time-wasting flight connections to Tashkent and other regional airports.

Today, Air Samarkand unveiled the new livery on its first Airbus A330. This modern aircraft will offer a two-cabin configuration of 277 economy and 36 business class seats on non-stop flights with a range of up to 11,500 km. It will provide a spacious twin aisle cabin with large overhead storage for hand luggage, high standards of passenger seat comfort and an inflight entertainment system (IFE) delivered to passengers via screens built-in into every seat.

Unveiling the new aircraft, A.A. Khodjayan, the CEO of Air Samarkand, said: “Over the past 12 months we have been carefully developing our business strategy, a highly experienced airline leadership group and a talented flight and cabin crew team who will deliver exceptional in-flight service to our customers. Today's arrival of our first aircraft is a day for celebration for our airline and our city, bringing us closer to the launch of our first scheduled services in the coming weeks."

Air Samarkand Airlines is part of a large-scale project for the development of the Samarkand region, which involves a significant investment in infrastructure with new airport facilities, a multi-faceted Samarkand Silk Road Samarkand tourist centre in the city – the first international tourism resort in Middle Asia embracing four and five-star hotels – and several other first-class facilities that are currently being built.

Mr Fazylov adds: “Over the past year we have rapidly developed a large-scale project that has already begun to realise the region's tourism potential, combining ancient heritage with modern infrastructure and facilities. This development will continue with the launch of services by Air Samarkand, which will soon link this region directly with major tourism and commercial hubs.”

Air Samarkand expects to welcome the arrival of a second, Airbus A321 aircraft in the coming days. It is designed for medium-haul routes and will mark a rapid development of the Air Samarkand fleet, with the airline hoping to have 5 aircraft in operation by the end of 2023.

Says Mr Khodjayan: “We have an ambitious plan for the rapid development of Air Samarkand, an airline that will provide passengers with direct, safe and high-quality services to a growing number of cities in Asia and Europe over the next 12 months.”

The first route developments will be announced in the coming weeks, as Air Samarkand gears up to the launch of its initial services.
* Air Samarkand www.airsamarkand.com
* Oleg Ivanov at oleg.ivanov@samair.uz