Summary
- HUMO Air plans to launch with an all-Airbus fleet, starting with 4 aircraft and expanding to 18 by 2025.
- The airline will initially serve 4 domestic destinations before expanding to international flights.
- HUMO Air faces competition from other Uzbek airlines, including Centrum Air and Uzbekistan Airways Express.
Uzbekistan’s newest low-cost airline, HUMO Air, is gearing as much as launch flights to varied destinations from its Tashkent International Airport base. The airline intends to make use of a fleet of Airbus narrowbody aircraft and anticipates providing a low-cost alternative to Uzbekistan Airlines. The carrier initially announced its plans earlier this yr and is now set to launch later this month.
An all-Airbus fleet
At a press conference at the tip of October, HUMO Air announced its plan to launch an all-Airbus fleet of Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft, proliferating through 2026. The airline intends to operate 4 Airbus A320/A321 aircraft by early 2024 before launching international flights outside Uzbekistan. Its fleet will grow thereafter to 18 aircraft by the tip of 2025.
Photo: Humo Air
The airline has already taken delivery of its first aircraft in preparation for its upcoming launch. The air-frame, currently registered LZ-MDI, was shipped to Tashkent on December 12. It’s 15 years old and was previously with Bulgarian airline Fly2Sky. The aircraft spent most of its life in South America, starting with TACA International Airlines, before being transferred to Avianca El Salvador.
HUMO Air representatives said, at a press conference in October:
“Humo Air will strive to develop domestic tourism in Uzbekistan. Most significantly, the airline tries to present people the chance to be together as much as possible.”
From Uzbekistan to the world
HUMO Air will begin by launching flights to eight destinations domestically, namely Samarkand, Bukhara, Karshi, Nukus, Urgench, Fergana, Namangan and Termez, all from its Tashkent base. It plans to launch international flights the next yr and is eyeing Almaty, Istanbul, and Dubai. Tickets have already been placed on sale, showing that only 4 of the domestic destinations can be served initially, including flights to Nukus, Samarkand, Urgench, and Karshi. The remaining destinations will join the network further down the road as HUMO Air grows its fleet.
Photo: Humo Air
HUMO Air will offer a full economy class layout on all its aircraft, maximizing space. The airline will charge for giant and hold luggage, meals, and seat selection services. Over the following three months, Humo Air plans to perform 1,000 flights, serving 200,000 passengers. The carrier’s ticket sales have already been opened, with the primary flight slated for December 15 despite having yet to secure its industrial passenger services permit, in response to ch-aviation.
Already delayed?
Switzerland’s Valleyroad Capital S.A acquired HUMO Air at the beginning of 2023 for $2.4 million. The deal planned to revitalize the airline and re-brand it as a low-cost airline. Nonetheless, Valleyroad Capital also ambitiously announced the airline would launch operations in the primary half of the yr with 3 Airbus A320 aircraft, which didn’t come to fruition.
Nevertheless, the carrier anticipates becoming a key player within the Uzbekistan aviation industry, offering within your means flights to destinations not served by other Uzbek airlines.
Growing competition
In recent times, the Uzbek aviation industry has grown significantly in size and importance. Notwithstanding the expansion of the national airline Uzbekistan Airways, other startup airlines have emerged. This includes the likes of Air Samarkand, which took delivery of their first aircraft on 2 November and was meant to launch charter and scheduled flights soon after to destinations in Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.
More worryingly for HUMO Air, low-cost carrier Centrum Air that launched earlier this yr, also runs flights to loads of HUMO Air’s domestic destinations. It currently operates a fleet of three Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to have a fleet of 100 aircraft by 2026. Additionally it is based at Tashkent International Airport and operates domestic services to Urgench. Internationally, the airline offers services to varied destinations within the Middle East and India.
Photo: Marina Wealthy | Shutterstock
Finally, HUMO Air – when it turns to the international scene – will compete against Uzbekistan Airways’ subsidiary, Uzbekistan Airways Express. The latter offers relatively cheaper flights to destinations in Russia and Kazakhstan using a fleet of 4 Airbus A320s in a complete economy class layout. As Easy Flying reported in August 2021, Uzbekistan Airways Express offers fares 20% lower than Uzbekistan Airways, which is cheap yet uncompetitive, as low-cost airlines are inclined to provide about 30-40% reductions.
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