Summary
- Uzbekistan celebrates the launch of Air Samarkand, a brand new airline connecting the nation’s second-largest city to regional destinations with an Airbus fleet.
- Air Samarkand received its first aircraft, an Airbus A330-300, and plans to expand its fleet with Airbus A320 family aircraft to connect with Europe.
- The airline goals to learn the Silk Road region by providing recent connectivity options and supporting the event of tourism around Samarkand.
The country of Uzbekistan is celebrating the launch of a brand new airline. Air Samarkand is ready to attach the nation’s second-largest city to regional destinations with a fleet of Airbus aircraft.
All about Air Samarkand
The airline hopes to operate scheduled and charter flights from Samarkand to several destinations before the top of 2023. The initial routes are confirmed to be cities in Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.
Airbus A330-300
, on November 2nd on the newly redeveloped Samarkand International Airport. Along with the A330, the carrier is acquiring Airbus A320 family aircraft because it looks to expand into Europe over the subsequent yr. Bakhtiyor Fazylov, the founding father of Air Samarkand, expressed their excitement for the delivery of the carrier’s first aircraft:
“The launch of this recent airline is a major event for the longer term development of Uzbekistan as a tourism, cultural and business centre. We’re delighted to welcome Air Samarkand’s first aircraft, which is able to soon operate competitive direct flights with a protected and quality service to the preferred international destinations.”
The total-service carrier expects to have five aircraft in operation before the top of this yr. The primary aircraft previously flew for China Airlines, starting with its delivery in 2010. It was delivered bearing the Guernsey registration 2-LCCV but is anticipated to be registered UK33001.
Linking the Silk Road
Samarkand is situated in eastern Uzbekistan and ranks as one in every of the oldest cities in Asia, with history dating back to the seventh or eighth millennium BC. The town was a significant hub on the Silk Road and is a gateway to lots of the country’s ancient and medieval tourist attractions and the encompassing Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, and Zaamin National Park regions.
The carrier plans to make use of an all-Airbus fleet to attach Samarkand Airport on to key Asian and European cities. There are 12.6 million people in its local catchment area that may profit from recent connectivity options provided, removing the necessity to connect in Tashkent or other regional airports.
There’s also a major inbound tourism market. Air Samarkand has placed itself on the forefront of a large-scale project for the event of the Samarkand region. Along with the brand new airport facilities, there’s now a multi-faceted Samarkand Silk Road Samarkand tourist center in the town, and several other 4 and five-star hotels are currently being built. Mr Fazylov explained how the brand new airline will profit the region:
“Over the past yr we now have implemented a large-scale project to develop the Silk Road Samarkand Tourist Centre, which has already begun to bring the tourism potential of the region to a qualitatively recent level, combining ancient heritage with modern infrastructure and facilities.
“This development will proceed with the launch of Air Samarkand’s services, which is able to soon directly connect the traditional city of Samarkand with major tourism and industrial centres.”
All in with Airbus
The arrival of the primary aircraft coincided with the debut of the carrier’s recent livery. The white body of the aircraft features the airline name and the words “fly easy,” while the wingtips and tail feature a wealthy blue. The primary A330 incorporates a two-cabin configuration with 277 seats in economy and 36 in business class. The widebody has a spread of as much as 11,500 km and features passenger comforts, including large overhead storage for hand luggage and an inflight entertainment system at every seat.
Air Samarkand expects to welcome the arrival of a second Airbus A321 aircraft in the approaching days to feature on medium-haul routes, the primary of which might be announced ‘in the approaching weeks.’