Summary
- HUMO Air achieved a successful 18-minute turnaround time for its flights by prioritizing efforts pre-boarding and getting passengers to walk to the plane.
- The airline operates a fleet of two used Airbus A320 aircraft and plans to expand its fleet to nine aircraft by 2024.
- HUMO Air is seeking to expand internationally starting in 2024, with destinations similar to Istanbul, Almaty, and Jeddah being considered.
- Eastern Europe can also be on the horizon for expansion, Easy Flying learns exclusively.
HUMO Air is Uzbekistan’s newest low-cost airline and recently launched its inaugural domestic services across the country. The startup is one among many recent entrants to the Uzbek aviation industry, particularly over the previous couple of years. Several aspects have contributed to this development, particularly the liberalization of the country’s political regime.
HUMO Air operated its first services on December fifteenth from Tashkent (TAS) to 4 domestic cities in Uzbekistan – Nukus (NCU), Samarkand (SKD), Urgench (UGC), and Karshi (KSQ). The launch of its low-cost model was a hit, the airline tells Easy Flying in an interview. HUMO Air even managed a turnaround time of just 18 minutes.
How do you achieve an 18-minute turnaround?
Chatting with Easy Flying, Chief Operating Officer of HUMO Air, Rene Gsponer, underlined the importance of a balance between quality scheduling and pre-planning, saying,
“We usually are not claiming we reinvented the wheel. Indigo, easyJet and Ryanair all do 25 minutes and do not even plan the schedule of half-hour, they plan 25 minutes. Ryanair has a pair passengers more. The secret is really to pre-plan and have quality infrastructure in place.”
Gsponer highlighted several key points in ensuring a fast turnaround. Firstly, he says that close contact with the airport is important. In essence, because of this passengers should have accomplished all pre-boarding checks and paperwork prior to boarding.
Photo: Amirbek Mirzaev | HUMO Air
The second aspect of this strategy is walking to the plane, removing the necessity for a jetbridge, but additionally preferably not adding a bus as a substitute. The latter requires additional time and resources. Gsponer added,
“So, we want two things that are very essential which can also be applied by other airlines. It is the pre-boarding, so that you do all of the pre-boarding check on all of the paperwork airside, and so they’re ready the minute the doors are open – back and front door. This sees the passengers deboarding in about nine minutes and in one other nine minutes now we have the passengers that the door is closed. So, it’s about walking to the plane – close contact with the airport – and pre-boarding, they’re the 2 key elements. We usually are not the just one, there’s other airlines doing 25-minute turnaround each day so it is not something we will claim we invented, somewhat it’s a duplicate and paste.”
Turnaround Time: Why It’s Essential And How Airlines Can Speed It Up
While stationary, the airline isn’t earning any revenue with its plane, while facing many costs at the identical time. This includes airport fees, leasing costs, and depreciation.
A posh liberalization
While grappling with a region whose airport services are only just developing in keeping with recent liberalization measures, such a turnaround time may be quite difficult to attain.
Photo: Amirbek Mirzaev | HUMO Air
Currently, HUMO Air operates domestic services only. As such, it relies exclusively on services offered by the airports in Uzbekistan, run by either Uzbekistan Airports Company or Air Marakanda (the operator of Samarkand Airport). This duopoly has each pros and cons – the centralized operating structure implies that while changes could be more difficult to implement, once they’re, all actors fall in line.
“So, now we have produced a schedule which we’re not totally in command of because we’re buying plenty of services from the airport. And so many airports in Uzbekistan have really began thoroughly. I mean, there’s one airport who does half-hour each day, and clearly, the primary airport in Tashkent with more traditional people in management, now we have to present them a little bit of time. Airports are definitely one among our risks. The standard way of operating an airport is to secure the airport as if any person might steal it; there’s plenty of security. It should as an alternative be considered like a hotel that we make a service to the people.”
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HUMO Air fleet
Currently, HUMO Air operates a fleet of two Airbus A320 aircraft, each used. The airline intends to proceed its fleet growth through Airbus A320 family aircraft, with the eventual anticipated introduction of the Airbus A321. When chatting with Easy Flying, Gsponer outlined why this is vital, adding,
“We plan to keep on with one aircraft type and one engine type in an obviously all-economy layouts. They’re the important thing aspects to maintain the price down and ensure changeability. Regarding fleet costs, essentially the most attractive aircraft for us could be the A321 So we’re looking obviously for a jump from 180 [as in the Airbus A320] to about 220 seats.”
By the top of 2024, the airline is seeking to have a fleet of nine Airbus A320 family aircraft. The carrier didn’t specify which aircraft variant would feature exactly, but did hint that it might be subject to the environment of the leasing market at present, given the A320neo’s engine issues.
International expansion
HUMO Air is expanding internationally from summer 2024, with destinations similar to Istanbul, Almaty, and Jeddah on the horizon. The airline’s Chief Business Officer, Sonal Sharma, told Easy Flying,
“We fly to a few of domestic destinations now, including Samarkand, Nukus, Fergana, Urgench, Termez. Now we’re some international operations as well, hopefully by early-February, similar to Jeddah, Dubai, and Almaty. So, we’re increasing customer convenience by offering frequencies on many of the domestic sectors now, giving alternative to consumers from Uzbekistan who’re used to paying higher fares and who’ve now got the power to lower your expenses and do other activities around them throughout the travel chain.”
Photo: Amirbek Mirzaev | HUMO Air
These international destinations have already got connections to Tashkent, nonetheless. Jeddah, for instance, sees flights operated by Qanot Sharq, Uzbekistan Airways, flynas, and Centrum Air. Dubai, meanwhile, is connected to Tashkent by flydubai and Uzbekistan Airways. And eventually, flights to Almaty are offered by each Uzbekistan Airways and Air Astana. When challenged on the undeniable fact that all these sectors are well-established, Sharma responded by saying,
“The low-cost business model is predicated on high efficiency, managing your cost as tightly as possible and creating customer convenience. Reaching out to recent destinations is at all times an exciting opportunity so long as the info supports that the traffic exists in those countries. We wish to have a more modern approach of steering demand and creating traffic but additionally that we’re doing it in a profitable way and ensuring that our board and our consumers each profit from these efforts.”
HUMO Air’s destinations won’t be limited to Asia, nonetheless. The airline is expanding its reach to Eastern Europe, which is on the cards, in keeping with Chairman Andrey Chemyaev. Chatting with Easy Flying, he said,
“So, we predict to be Eastern Europe very soon, and we’ll inform you soon, so probably from the summer schedule.”
When asked whether Western Europe would even be on the table, the airline routed back to the importance of its low-cost marketing strategy, predicated on high efficiency and low operating costs. The vast majority of Western Europe
That being said, the eventual addition of the Airbus A321 further down the road does present a chance to expand into this market. Chemyaev says that Western Europe would fall in in keeping with the introduction of the larger member of the Airbus A320 family.
A competitive market
Photo: Amirbek Mirzaev | HUMO Air
The Uzbek aviation industry has experienced rapid growth over the course of the previous couple of years. The liberalization of the political regime, complemented by policy changes related to the aviation industry, has provided supposedly ample opportunities for brand spanking new airlines. HUMO Air believes that its strategy targets a distinct segment market, allowing it to thrive in an industry now largely dominated by startup airlines. Chemyaev went on so as to add,
“Well actually, now we have a unique segment of the market. This is totally clear that we’re in a unique role here. So, we predict competition possibly in the longer term. So, with some players here, so for now, our goal is to bring the model to bring the passengers traveling by rail to flights, contained in the country contained in the region and within the international routes, so we usually are not focusing towards the holiday directions. In order that’s why it’s a rather different model. And that is why, re competition – yes, I feel that’s competition but actually we usually are not scared about competition. It really depends how strong your service is, how strong your product is, how quality-wise you deliver to the people. So essentially what they predict from you. So many things are within the complexity of this low-cost model operation in order that’s why we predict there’s competition, there might be competition, but we’re ready for this competition.”
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The Chief Business Officer also highlighted the role the airline intends to play as a tool for Uzbek connectivity and cross-country transportation, saying,
“It’s [HUMO Air] positioned very rigorously to support different governance, different districts, different communities, and help them travel from one to the opposite and thereby reduce the value of the ticket and thereby create more economic activity into the country.”
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