Registered as a subsidiary of Merseyside Air Park Co. at London on December 30, 1936. Employing a Monospar ST.12, it initiates four-times-per-day Hooton-Liverpool cross-Mersey flights on May 14, 1937. On June 30, the frequency is suspended and the route is flown on demand. In July, a Hooton-Blackpool service is undertaken. Both operations are suspended on October 1.
UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS NATIONALAIR COMPANY (UZBEKISTAN HAVO YULLARI HY): 1 Ulitsa Proletarskaya, Tashkent, 700061, Uzbekistan; Phone 7 (3712) 911 940; Fax 7 (3712) 320 183; Http://www. uzbekistan-airways. com; Code HY; Year Founded 1992. By decree of new President Islam Karimov, a former aircraft designer, the former Uzbeki directorate of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines is reformed at Tashkent on January 28, 1992 into the flag carrier of the newly independent CIS state of Uzbekistan, located in Central Asia. The company also acts as the country’s Civil Aviation Department and assumes the old Aeroflot responsibility for general aviation, airports, and air traffic control.
Rafikov Ganiy is appointed president (and minister in the national government) with veteran Aeroflot Soviet Airlines captain Arslan Ruzmetov as director general. The former Soviet fleet is acquired: 10 Ilyushin Il-62Ms, 10 Il-86s, 13 Il-76TDs, 23 Tupolev Tu-154s, 25 Antonov An-24/26s, and 30 Yakovlev Yak-40s. All are painted in the new company’s distinctive 10-color livery.
Under a 12-year lease-purchase arrangement, orders are placed for a pair of Airbus Industrie A310-324s and for new Thomson-CSF ATC equipment, both requests going to France. Revenue operations are undertaken linking the company’s base and Samark with domestic locations as well as London, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Jeddah, Delhi, Karachi, and Kuala Lumpur.
Having landed too far down the runway at Navoi following a March 23 service from Tashkent, an An-24B with 4 crew and 59 passengers overruns the runway and collides with a 1.95-m.-high pile of ferroconcrete slabs. The aircraft catches fire and breaks up (34 dead).
A total of 6.5 million passengers are transported; 3.83 million revenue passenger kilometers and 517.6 million FTKs are flown.
In response to a strike by Indian Airlines Corporation pilots late in the year, the government of India charters five Tu-154s, along with their crews, to fly replacement service. One of these, with 163 aboard, misses the Madras airport entirely on January 5, 1993 and lands at a nearby military base, nearly hitting a jet on the tarmac. Three days later, the same plane misses the runway while attempting to land at New Delhi, knocks out the guide lights, and flips over. Although all of the 178 passengers survive, the government grounds the Uzbek jets.
Six additional Il-76TDs arrive through April. All are contracted by Air India, Ltd. to fly freight on its behalf from Delhi to Zurich and back to Bombay.
The first of two A310-324s, formerly flown by Ecuatoriana Airlines, S. A. from whom they were repossessed, arrives under lease in the new blue and white livery in June. In July it begins replacing Il-62Ms and starts new frequencies to London via Frankfurt to Urumqui, China, and to the Mideast destinations of Jeddah, Sharjah, and Tel Aviv. A technical contract for their support is worked out with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. Il-76 freighter flights are maintained to Bangkok and Delhi.
As the result of substantial fare increases, intra-CIS traffic collapses; by fall, only 14 former Aeroflot aircraft are in service. To still earn funds with its grounded aircraft, Uzbekistan Airways begins an active wetleasing program. Two Il-86s are chartered to Xinjiang Airlines Company, Ltd., two Tu-154s are placed with Rajiv Airlines, one Il-62M goes to Panaf Airways, and three Il-76s are placed in Africa, one in the Sudan, and two in Luanda. Enplanements for the year total 460,127.
Uzbekistan’s workforce totals 16,296 at the beginning of 1994. With the arrival of the second A310-324, frequencies are initiated from Uzbekistan to Delhi, Karachi, and Istanbul. In February, commitments are made for the purchase of five Il-114-100s. They will gradually replace Yak-40 and An-24s currently in use on local lines. When the first of these arrive later in the year and enter service, they give Uzbekistan the honor of being the first Russian airline to operate the type; they also bring considerable teething problems, particularly regarding the reliability of their Klimov TV7-117 engines.
The Il-86s and Il-62Ms are employed to begin additional international flights to Bangkok, Beijing, and Kuala Lumpur. Plans are made to inaugurate scheduled long-haul intercontinental flights.
Passenger bookings during the 12 months drop to 900,000.
In 1995, orders are placed for a VIP-configured B-757-200 and two B-767-300ERs. The first of the new long-haul Airbus services, from Tashkent to New York (JFK), begins in the spring. An agreement is entered into with Trans World Aitlines (TWA) to interline passengers on to the domestic network of the U. S. major. At the same time, three Il-114 prototypes begin flying for the airline, two between Moscow and Tashkent.
Airline employment stands at 11,300 in 1996. As the result of an ICAO safety inspection, the government establishes a State Inspectorate for the Supervision of Flight Safety and places Uzbekistan Deputy Director General Valeri Tian in charge. He is given the resources necessary to quickly establish the standards demanded by the U. N. affiliate.
A VIP-configured B-757-23P is delivered on October 19; it will operate on behalf of the government. The first B-767-33P, christened Samark-land, is delivered on November 27. The Boeing is employed to upgrade the New Delhi-London via Tashkent service, replacing an Airbus A310-324. A $75-million order is placed at the end of December for three Avro RJ85s. The new regional jets will be jointly financed by the airline and by the U. K.’s Export Credits Guarantee Department.
Enplanements total 2.3 million, including 4,000 Japanese tourists visiting Uzbekistan, and a net $7-million profit is reported. In addition, the company wins something of an international reputation for its nonsched-uled flights in support of domestic consumer goods purchases; a total of 422 charters are thus flown to Omsk, Tomsk, Karachi, Delhi, and Sharjah.
As 1997 begins, UA is operating 75 weekly international flights plus 30 daily roundtrips to 16 domestic markets. The domestic service is, in general, operated with older Soviet equipment with the Western airliners flying internationally. The second B-767-33P arrives during March; both of the wide-bodies are 85% financed by a $171-million loan from the U. S. Export-Import Bank.
Under a contract between the airline and Thomson-CSF, Uzbekistan, in May, turns on a new automated ATC system at Tashkent Airport. It is the first Western ATC system to operate in the CIS. Also in May, a third A310 is ordered for delivery the following April, while the two operated under lease are now purchased.
Weekly Tashkent to Jakarta B-767-33P roundtrips commence during the summer. Tourism to the ancient cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Urghench remains strong. New airports are now completed at the latter two destinations. The first of the three Avro RJ85s is delivered on July 7 and begins service eight times per day from Tashkent to the holiday destinations of Samarkand, Buckhara, and Koklund. On July 20, UA gains direct access to the worldwide AMADEUS reservations system. On August 29, the International Flight Safety Foundation awards the carrier a special diploma “for prominent services in the sphere of guaranteeing the safety of flights.”
Company officials announce their plans on September 23 to lease between 10 and 15 Boeing 757/767 aircraft, which will be employed to replace the aging Tu-154Bs. Initial funding is provided by the sale of two Il-76TDs.
During the fall, the company signs one of the first strategic marketing pacts between airlines of the former Soviet Union when it agrees to cooperate with Moscow-based Transaero Airlines on code-sharing over routes from Tashkent to Moscow, maintenance, general schedule coordination, and marketing. The pact is known as the CIS Alliance.
Services continue apace in 1998. In February, Uzbekistan and the U. S. sign an “open skies” bilateral air agreement that gives each country full access to the airports of the other. At Tashkent on June 18, the deputy directors of the Uzbek carrier and THY Turkish Airlines (Turk Hava Yollari, A. O.) sign a protocol that looks forward to cooperation in transportation, training, and technical matters.
A new weekly A3100-324 dual-designator service with Transaero Airlines is inaugurated on July 1 between Tashkent and Moscow, with connections to Bukhara, Khiva, and Samarkand. At this point, Ukrainian International Airlines also joins the CIS Alliance. Also on July 1, the company switches its Bukhara, Samarkand, and Urgench services from Domodedovo to Sheremetyevo Airport, thereby centering all of its activities in the Russian capital city at one location.
In ceremonies at Moscow on September 18, Uzbekistan Airways and Aeroflot Russian International Airways (ARIA) sign a new and far-reaching cooperative agreement. Under its terms, the two will undertake joint passenger flights from Moscow to the Uzbek cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Urgench, and Bukhara and share in cargo services on the route from Moscow to New Delhi via Tashkent. Shared tariffs are introduced on flights from Uzbekistan to the European and Baltic cities served via Moscow. Managing Director Aslan Ruznetov takes the opportunity to note that the Russian currency crisis, which began the previous month, is not (yet) impacting on cooperation between the two carriers.
Flights are maintained in 1999. The owned fleet at the beginning of the year includes 2 B-767-33Ps, 3 A310-324s, and 3 Avro RJ85s, plus holdovers from the old Aeroflot days.
Just after landing at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo-1 on March 3 after a service from Tashkent, an A310-324, unable to stop, runs off the runway. No injuries are reported. The Itar-Tass news agency learns of the incident from a passenger.
On April 5, orders are placed with the Tashkent-based Tchkalov aircraft plan for 10 of the new 64-seat Il-114-100s. In a deal valued at $80 million, the airline places orders on April 20 for two B-757-200s. The same day, part of the financing ($18 million) is secured by loan from Barclays in London. On May 19, it is reported that delivery of the Il-114s will be delayed due to lack of engines.
A cooperative agreement, negotiated on April 29, is signed with Air Ukraine on June 17 covering shared routes and services. The media labels the pact as a new “CIS Alliance” air system.
While landing at Tutkul following an August 26 service from Tashkent, a Yak 40 with 4 crew and 28 passengers overshoots the runway and rolls over (2 dead).
The first B-757-23P is delivered on September 3 in ceremonies at Seattle. Beginning on September 9 and continuing for two weeks, the first three Il-114-100s powered with Klimov TV7-117 engines are delivered from the nearby TAPO manufacturing plant. The Alarko Company, Laing Company, and Maruben Company, from Turkey, Britain, and Japan, respectively, launch modernization projects on September 16 at the airports of Samarkand, Buhara, and Urgenc.
At the beginning of October, an agreement is signed between the Uzbek Council of Ministers and the Frankfurt Main Airport under which the German airport will provide equipment valued at DM 26.48 million.
The second new B-757-23P is delivered on December 9. The Il-114-100 receives its airworthiness certificate in December, the same month the carrier receives its fourth unit.
The fleet at the beginning of 2000 includes 3 A310-324s, 3 B-757-23Ps, 2 B-767-33Ps, 3 RJ85s, 1 An-2, 6 An-12s, 23 An-24Bs, 15 Il-62Ms, 20 Il-76TDs, 10 Il-86s, 4 Il-114-100s, 24 Tu-154Bs, and 28 Yak 40s. While still not having overcome the type’s engine problems, Uzbekistan orders 4 additional Il-114-100s in January.
Destinations visited now include Aleppo, Almaty, Alma-Ata, Amsterdam, Andizhan, Ashgabat, Astana, Athens, Baku, Bangkok, Barnaul, Beijing, Bishkek, Bukhara, Chelyabinsk, Dhaka, Delhi, Ekaterinburg, Fergana, Frankfurt, Irkutsk, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kaliningrad, Karachi, Karshi, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Kiev, Kokand, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore, London (LHR), Mineralnye Vody, Minsk, Moscow, Namangan, Navoi, New York (JFK), Novosibirsk, Nukus, Omsk, Paris (CDG), Perm, Rome, Rostov, St. Petersburg, Samara, Samarkand, Sariasia, Seoul, Shahrisabz, Sharjah, Simferopol, Tbilisi, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Termez, Turtkul, Tyumen, Uchkuduk, Ufa, Urgench, Urumqi, Vienna, Volgograd, Yerevan, and Zarafshan.
Balkan Bulgarian Airlines officials announce on February 1 that the suspended service to New York (JFK) will soon be resumed; employing a B-767-33PER in code-share with Uzbekistan Airways, the new flights will route from Tashkent to New York via Sofia. On March 29, plans are revealed for the initiation of twice-weekly A310-324 return flights from Tashkent to Birmingham, England, on April 16. Meanwhile, on April 7, weekly B-757-23P roundtrips are initiated from Tashkent to Rome.
In late April ceremonies, the Uzbekistan Minister of Communications and the Turkish Minister of Communications preside over the opening of the modernized airports at Samarkand, Buhara, and Urgenc. At the same time, it is confirmed that the carrier will take the four Il-114-100s requested from the Tashkent-based TAPO factory; these are to be powered with leased Pratt & Whitney PW-127H engines. Six more of the $8-million aircraft, similarly configured, will also be obtained.
A joint agreement is signed on May 17 by the carrier with East Line Airlines and the Chkalov Aircraft Company (TAPOiCH) for the joint lease of two new Ilyushin Il-76TFs, the first of which will be delivered in the spring of 2001. Unable to obtain Pratt and Whitney power plants, TAPO must inform the airline on May 19 that delivery of its first two Il-114-100s will be delayed.
In cooperation with East Line Airlines, joint services are launched from Domodedovo Airport on May 25. The Rome service becomes twice weekly on June 3. Also during the summer, new service is introduced on Saturdays from Amsterdam via Tashkent to Amritsar, India.
On December 18, the carrier signs a contract with ELT Banbury, a language school based at Banbury, England, for EU-funded English instruction for its senior management, controllers, and trainers. The first of three Uzbek groups will begin their ESL training at Banbury in January.
It is announced in late December that the company will launch B-757-23P weekly roundtrips on April 28 from Tashkent to Osaka (KIX). These will be the only scheduled services between Japan and the Central Asian republic.
UZU AIR (PTY.), LTD.: Australia (1994). Uzu Air is established at Cairns in January 1994 to provide scheduled passenger services in the Torres Strait. Equipped with 2 Pilatus-Britten-Norman PBN-2 Islanders, revenue operations commence in February. Traffic does not materialize and the new entrant is forced to shut down at year’s end.
VACATIONAIR, LTD.: Canada (1980-1990). Established at Toronto in fall 1988 by International Travel Group, Ltd., Vacationair acquires a leased Boeing 737-2T5A from Air Europe, Ltd. and begins charter flights to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida in December.
A second B-737, a Dash-2Q8A, is delivered in January 1989 and following the winter tourist season is leased to Aviogenex for the summer. When the winter schedule resumes in the fall, flights are offered to the previous year’s destinations, plus Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Dominican Republic.
Recession causes the company to cease operation in 1990.
World History
