Uzbekistan Airways

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 1992 authorised the creation of Uzbekistan Airways. The airline was established on 28 January 1992, and took over the operations of the Uzbekistan division of Aeroflot on 31 May 1992. In 1993, Uzbekistan Airways acquired its first two Airbus A310-300s. The two A310s were counted as part of the fleet at March 1995, along with Ukrainian and Russian-built aircraft (25 Antonov An-24/26s, one Ilyushin Il-62, 13 Ilyushin Il-76s, one Ilyushin Il-86, 23 Tupolev Tu-154, and three Yakovlev Yak-40s). By this time, the airline was still the sole operator in the country. In late 1995, the carrier ordered its first Boeing aircraft: two Boeing 767-300ERs and a single Boeing 757.

Uzbekistan Airways was the launch customer for the Ilyushin Il-114; it took delivery of the first, locally assembled aircraft, in July 1998. In June 1998, the airline took delivery of the last-built Airbus A310 ever (msn. 706, reg. UK-31003). Two more Boeing 757-200s were directly ordered from Boeing in April 1999. Late in 1999, the company took ownership of the first of these two 184-seater Boeing 757-200.

By April 2000 (2000-04), the airline had 16,296 employees. At this time, its fleet comprised three Airbus A310-300s, three Antonov An-12s, one Antonov An-24, 18 Antonov An-24Bs, three Antonov An-24RVs, three Boeing 757-200s, two Boeing 767-300ERs, three Avro RJ85s, four Ilyushin Il-114s, two Ilyushin Il-62s, six Ilyushin Il-62Ms, ten Ilyushin Il-76Ts, nine Ilyushin Il-86s, 15 Tupolev Tu-154Bs, two Tupolev Tu-154Ms and 19 Yakovlev Yak-40s. Destinations served at the time included Almaty, Amsterdam, Andizhan, Ashgabat, Athens, Baku, Bangkok, Beijing, Bishkek, Bukhara, Chelyabinsk, Delhi, Dhaka, Ekaterinburg, Fergana, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karshi, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Kuala Lumpur, London, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Namangan, New York, Novosibirsk, Nukus, Omsk, Paris, Riyadh, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Samarkand, Seoul, Sharjah, Simferopol, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tel Aviv, Termez, Tyumen, Ufa and Urgench. Two more Boeing 767-300ERs, equipped with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 powerplants, were ordered in 2001.

Uzbekistan Airways carried 2.625 million passengers in 2014, a 1.9% decrease year-on-year (YOY), whereas 4.6% more cargo was handled YOY.

Fleet modernisation and expansion (2016-2020)

Uzbekistan Airways began an expansion of its operations in the mid-2010s following the election in 2016 of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who saw development of the aviation sector as a priority for the country. This involved the help of the World Bank, who agreed to help modernise and liberalise the Uzbek market. Signs of this modernisation included the development of Uzbekistan Airways’ fleet from old Soviet aircraft to newer Western variants from Boeing and Airbus. In August 2016 just before Mirziyoyev’s election, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8, which was initially deployed on the carrier’s flagship route to New York-JFK. In 2017 the airline carried 2.7 million passengers, a number almost 10% higher than the year before. This growth continued in 2018 as 3.1 million passengers flew with the airline, with 1.9 million of these being international passengers. Expansion was aided by the opening of several routes to previously unserved cities, with the airline listing Jeddah, Mumbai and Vladivostok as new destinations in a 2018 press release.

In May 2018 the airline's modernisation progressed as it transitioned to an all-jet fleet, following the retirement of its 52-seat Ilyushin Il-114 turboprops. As part of this process the airline received its first Airbus A320neo in March 2019. This was the first of an order for 2 from the European manufacturer but was later supplemented by an order for 8 additional A320neos, as well as 4 of the larger A321neos. 2019 also saw the addition of more new international destinations thanks to these deliveries, with flights to Tbilisi, Munich and Karachi being launched.

Continued growth (2021-)

Following the COVID-19 pandemic Uzbekistan Airways relaunched operations on domestic rotations at the end of March 2021 followed by linking Tashkent to Moscow a couple of weeks later, initially once weekly. In June 2021 the airline transferred its Moscow operations from Vnukovo Airport to Domodedovo Airport, with the flight from Tashkent being flown 4-times weekly.

In February 2022 the airline received its first A321LR from Airbus. According to the then chairman Ilhom Mahkamov the aircraft will fly to a mix of international cities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as complimenting the existing A320neo fleet on domestic services.

Uzbekistan Airways ended 2024 in good financial shape having carried over 6 million passengers according to its annual report, an increase of 20% on the year before, with a load factor of 83%. The airline also saw an increase in its yearly profit with an increase of almost 70% to UZS687 billion soums, or approximately $56 million US dollars.