Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 16 June 2023, at the Tashkent International Airport named after Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan Airways solemnly welcomed the 18th Airbus A320neo.

Uzbekistan Airways announces the receipt of the eighteenth Airbus A320neo aircraft. The aircraft was handed over to Uzbekistan Airways at the manufacturer’s plant in Toulouse. By tradition, the new aircraft was greeted with a water arch.

It is noteworthy that the aircraft arrived in Tashkent on the day of 30 years of cooperation between the national air carrier of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Airbus concern - exactly 30 years ago, on 16 June 1993, Uzbekistan Airways received the first aircraft of the Airbus A310 type. It was with him that the renewal of the airline’s fleet with Western-made aircraft began.

The Airbus A310 has been successfully operated on the international routes of the national air carrier for many years. With its arrival, the approach to the training of pilots and flight attendants completely changed, the aircraft repair plant began to master the maintenance and repair of Western equipment. On this plane in 1995 the first transcontinental flight Tashkent-New York-Tashkent was carried out for the first time, which became a great event of that time.

Over time, Uzbekistan Airways switched to more economical Airbus A320/321. Today, the airline’s fleet successfully operates 29 passenger and cargo aircraft, of which 17 are manufactured by the Airbus concern.

“In the current year, in total, we will receive 5 new aircraft of the Airbus A320neo type. Our passengers have already been able to appreciate the comfort of this type, low noise level, modern interior and advanced air conditioning system. It is worth noting that the Airbus A320neo is more efficient in operation compared to previous generations in terms of fuel consumption and increased flight range,” said Shukhrat Khudaikulov, Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Airways JSC.

The new liner is designed to carry 186 passengers in a single-class layout. According to the Chairman of the Board of the airline, this measure is designed to satisfy the seriously increased demand for flights from Uzbekistan, however, after receiving all the aircraft by the end of this year, it is planned to convert to a two-class configuration with a business class. Also, in the near future we plan to refresh the corporate livery, which is why the eighteenth aircraft and the next four aircraft will be accepted in a simplified fuselage color.

Airbus says that for the convenience of passengers, the luggage compartment has been increased, and the noise level in the cabin has been reduced compared to the A320. The interior will look more modern, with LED lighting. For the longest version of the A321neo, by changing the configuration of the cabin equipment and the design of passenger seats, new cabin layout options have been developed that allow increasing the maximum passenger capacity, while maintaining the standard level of comfort, up to 236 seats, limited only by the number of emergency exits. Uzbekistan Airways plans to use a new aircraft on a number of routes for flights in a single-class configuration from Tashkent and the regions of the Republic.

The airliner was delivered under a long-term lease by BOC Aviation, a long-term partner of Uzbekistan Airways. As part of the meeting of the eighteenth Airbus aircraft, airline employees with children, as well as media representatives and airspotters were invited.