Tag Archives: aviation

Air China to fly to Kazakh capital

APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Air China said that it will start operating a direct flight between Beijing and Astana from June 1, highlighting the growth in the number of airlines flying directly to Kazakhstan. The route will help strengthen links between China and Kazakhstan. Air Astana already flies an Astana – Beijing service. Astana Airport is opening new passenger terminal too next month which will be able to process more passengers.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Uzbekistan Airways boosts passenger numbers

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MAY 1 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — State-owned Uzbekistan Airways carried 563,100 passengers in Q1 2017, a 5.1% increase from the same period in 2016, it said in a statement. The increase in passenger numbers is a reflection of a new policy to invest in new aircraft and new routes. Uzbekistan Airways also said that it carried nearly 25% more cargo in Q1 2017 compared to Q1 2016.

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(News report from Issue No. 327, published on May 5 2017)

Kazakhstan places limit on airline ownership

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APRIL 25 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Ahead of a planned IPO of Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s parliament has passed a motion that bans foreigners from owning more than 49% of its national airlines. Britain’s BAE Systems currently owns 49% of Air Astana which is slated to be one of the first of a series of high-profile Kazakh state- owned companies to be privatised.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Georgia considers VAT cut for domestic flights

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APRIL 26 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s government said that it was considering scrapping VAT on aviation fuel for planes flying domestic routes. While flights to and from international airports have boomed the domestic sector is considered underdeveloped. Scrapping VAT was one of a series of proposals under consideration to change tax mechanisms in Georgia. Other incentives being considered including giving help to small power stations.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Aviation liberalisation talks start between Armenia and EU

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APRIL 27 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia and the EU started the first round of negotiations over an aviation deal which analysts have said should depress air ticket prices to Europe from Yerevan and open up the market for Armenian airlines. Armenian airlines have struggled to stay solvent over the past few years, often blaming high landing tariffs. Armenia wants to join the EU’s common aviation space. This is, essentially, the free market mechanism that the EU has used to open up the aviation sector and allow airlines from any countries to fly between any cities with the area.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Wizz Air numbers to Georgia rocket

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APRIL 24 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Wizz Air, the Budapest-based low- cost airline, said that it had carried 100,000 people to Georgia in the first six months it operated flights to the Georgian city of Kutaisi. It also said that passenger numbers had risen by 200% in the first quarter of 2017. Wizz Air open its route from Kutaisi to Warsaw in September 2016 . This year it also expects to start operating a route between Kutaisi and London Luton airport. Air passenger numbers travelling to and from Georgia have rocketed leading international airlines to increase flights or set up new routes to either Kutaisi or Tbilisi.

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(News report from Issue No. 326, published on April 28 2017)

Azerbaijan’s Silk Way buys 10 Boeings

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APRIL 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s Silk Way Airlines bought 10 Boeing 737 passenger air- planes in a deal which some media reports said could be worth as much as $1.1b. The deal also marks a change of strategy for the Baku-based airline, which is part of the Silk Way conglomerate. Up until now, the airline had focused on cargo transport. It now says that it has drawn up plans to lease the passenger airplanes out.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

Georgian airports post growth

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APRIL 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s airports have handled 621,800 people in the first three months of 2017, an increase of 43.6% from the same period in 2016, media reported quoting figures released by the national civil aviation authority. The data highlights the huge growth in the number of air- lines flying to Georgia and, also, Georgia’s growing attraction as a stable country that straddles both Asia and Europe.

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(News report from Issue No. 325, published on April 17 2017)

After 25 years, Uzbek Air flies to Dushanbe

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DUSHANBE, APRIL 11 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — After three aborted attempts blamed on a variety of different issues, Uzbekistan Airways made its first flight between Tashkent and Dushanbe for 25 years.

A spokesman at Dushanbe Airport said that the Uzbekistan Airways flight had landed at 8.03am local time. Earlier in the year a flight by the privately-owned Somon Air landed at Tashkent airport from Dushanbe.

The resumption of flights between the two capitals was considered a vital sign of improved relations between the neighbours. Uzbekistan Airways has said that it now intends to fly between Tashkent and Dushanbe twice a week.

Under Uzbek president Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan perused an isolationist policy, especially with regards to Tajikistan which he viewed virtually as a pariah state.

Karimov was particularly incensed by plans drawn up by his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmon, to build a dam across rivers that feed Uzbekistan’s cotton fields. His successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been more avuncular and has patched up damaged relations.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)

New airport terminal and train station to open in Kazakhstan

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APRIL 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakhstan’s investment minister Zhenis Kasymbek said that a new airport terminal and a new railway station will open in mid-May, less than a month before Astana opens its EXPO-2017 exhibition. Media quoted Mr Kasymbek as saying that after it has been complete, Astana airport will be able to process 7.5m passengers every year. The EXPO-2017 exhibition is being touted as the biggest international festival held by Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said that he wants to use it to showcase modern day Kazakhstan.

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(News report from Issue No. 324, published on April 13 2017)f