Air Samarkand surpassed targets in its first full year of operations and is now planning further growth in 2025 with an expanded fleet and route network. The Uzbekistan start-up carrier, which is based in the historic city of Samarkand, carried 152,600 passengers and 2.65 tons of cargo during 2024. It operated 1,237 flights – 498 with its Airbus A321neo, 236 on the A321 and 503 with the A330-300 – whilst setting an average load factor of 82% on regular scheduled services and 89% on charter flights.
The carrier received its Air Operator Certificate from the Uzbekistan Ministry of Transport’s Civil Aviation Authority on 28 December 2023 and operated its first passenger-carrying flight with a return charter service to Istanbul one day later. It began 2024 with a total staff of 180 and has grown steadily to employ 270 people by the year end. This included 54 new cabin crew who were recruited by Air Samarkand in the final quarter of 2024 and who have now all successfully completed their essential training to begin flying.
Zafar Butaev, Air Samarkand CEO said: “2024 was a time for bold decisions as we began operations, and we were rewarded with some major achievements. We began as an airline start-up and ended the year by establishing Air Samarkand as a reliable, good quality travel partner for passengers and travel companies. In our first year of operations we established and gradually strengthened Air Samarkand’s position in the market. We have created the operational and logistical foundations to grow, and by adding 50% more talented staff during the year – the greatest asset of any airline business – alongside our own direct website booking engine, we are prepared and optimistic about the future.
“Air Samarkand is now achieving stable profitability. In December, we exceeded 800 flight hours across three aircraft – a growth of over 40% compared to November – and have gradually increased flight numbers by 15-25% month on month since our launch,” Butaev said. “On behalf of our management team, I would like to express our gratitude to all our passengers and partners for their trust and support. We will continue to grow by strengthening our team, our fleet and our route network to city destinations and countries that will be popular for both tourism and business travel.”
Butaev continued: “Moving forward we plan to increase the size of our fleet, open new destinations and strengthen the status of Samarkand as an important center for business, culture and tourism. While we will increase our share of scheduled flight operations, we will continue to maintain our popular charter programs with our trusted travel partners – offering reliable and cost-effective flights abroad for citizens of our country.”
During 2024 Air Samarkand began its first scheduled services in March to the Turkish capital of Istanbul. Subsequently, the airline opened destinations to Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in the UAE, the religious Saudi cities of Jeddah and Medina, the tourism hot-spots of Nha Trang and Phú Quốc in Vietnam, and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt from both Samarkand and Tashkent.
In addition, Air Samarkand provides a domestic shuttle service linking Samarkand to Tashkent, to support domestic workers and leisure travelers wanting to fly between the two cities. It also operated charter flights to the cities of Batumi, Delhi, Dhaka, Dubai, Islamabad, Tbilisi and other cities. The most popular destination was Jeddah, with Air Samarkand operating flights from five cities in Uzbekistan(departing from Samarkand, Bukhara, Fergana, Namangan and Termez), while services to Egypt, Vietnam and Turkey were also in high demand.
The company entered into strategic agreements with leading tour operators EasyBooking and Crystal Bay, which made it possible to establish scheduled and charter programs. Alongside contracts for ground handling at all airports on its route network, Air Samarkand also developed a modern IT solution in partnership with Hitit, one of the world’s leading IT solutions providers to the aviation industry. Air Samarkand began 2024 with a fleet of two Airbus aircraft, with A321 and A330-300 variants, and in February added a third, with the arrival of an Airbus A321neo aircraft.
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