MAY 6 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – National carrier Uzbekistan Airways said it will open a new route to the Russian city of Voronezh, in south- western Russia. It will fly once every week connecting Tashkent and Voronezh from June 14. Thousands of Uzbek migrants work in Voronezh, in factories and in the construction sector.
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(News report from Issue No. 280, published on May 13 2016)
MAY 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – State-owned Uzbekistan Airways said it transported 535,600 passengers in the first quarter of 2016, a 6.8% reduction compared to the same period last year. The company also said it reduced the number of flights by 9.8% to 5,007. The biggest cut has been to Uzbekistan Airways’ internal routes, a sign, perhaps, of a weaker domestic economy.
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(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)
MAY 3 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s flagship carrier Air Astana said it has postponed the launch of its new route to Iran by a month. The company did not give an explanation on why it had delayed the launch of the route, which had been a much heralded link to Iran. Kazakhstan has been keen to welcome Iran back into the international community since the lifting of most sanctions earlier this year. Flights linking Almaty and Tehran should now start on June 30.
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(News report from Issue No. 279, published on May 6 2016)
APRIL 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s flagship carrier Tajik Air will start its Dushanbe-Beijing connection on May 2, a move that could boost trade ties with China. The direct flight will operate every Monday. Previously, Urumqi, in the Xinjiang region, was Tajik Air’s only Chinese destination.
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(News report from Issue No. 278, published on April 29 2016)
APRIL 14 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Somon Air, the only private carrier in Tajikistan, said it will open two new routes to Afghanistan and Pakistan, another indicator of how Central and South Asia are moving closer together. Somon Air will fly once a week to Kabul and twice a week to Lahore, in western Pakistan. The company also said it is exploring the possibility of opening a new flight to Tehran.
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(News report from Issue No. 276, published on April 15 2016)
APRIL 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot said it is introducing an eight weekly link to Tashkent, a modification of its earlier summer schedule. The new flights will start on June 2, every Thursday from Moscow Sheremetyevo.
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(News report from Issue No. 275, published on April 8 2016)
MARCH 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — State-owned airline Uzbekistan Airways said it started a new weekly service between Tashkent and Tokyo Narita. The company also said the frequency will double to two flights per week from the end of March. Relations between Uzbekistan and Japan have been improving and Japanese businesses are investing heavily in Uzbekistan’s energy and mining sectors.
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(News report from Issue No. 273, published on March 25 2016)
MARCH 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Looking to boost the status of state- owned Tajik Air, Tajikistan’s deputy PM Azim Ibrohim said that the government had bought a number of planes from Europe’s Airbus. State-owned Tajik Air and privately-owned Somon Air are the only two airlines in the country and both use Boeing-made aircrafts. Countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus have been using airlines to promote their national brands.
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(News report from Issue No. 273, published on March 25 2016)
MARCH 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Silk Way West Airlines, a private freight air carrier based in Azerbaijan, signed an agreement with Malaysia Airlines Cargo that will allow them to mutually use their aircraft fleet. Earlier in January, Silk Way West Airlines signed an agreement with the Komatsu airport in Japan to open a new route. The Silk Way Group, a large industrial conglomerate, owns Silk Way West Airlines.
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(News report from Issue No. 273, published on March 25 2016)
MARCH 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s flagship carrier Air Astana said it is exploring opening a route to the US by the beginning of 2017. Air Astana, which is half owned by the Kazakh government and half by BAE Systems, is also looking to open flights to Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore.
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(News report from Issue No. 273, published on March 25 2016)