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Report on Uzbekistan Airways Uzbekistan, one of the former USSR republics, has a population of about
23 million and a territory of 447 square km. With only 1,500 km between
its west and east borders, the republic cannot live without aviation, which
is the only effective means of transportation. That is why soon after becoming
independent, Uzbekistan founded, on the base of the former USSR's Uzbeki
Aviation Department of Civil Aviation, its flag-carrier, Uzbekiston Khavo
Yullari (Uzbekistan Airways). Now it comprises 12 airports, a 400-strong
fleet and a repair factory. At first, Uzbeki aviators did not do well. The passenger traffic fell from seven million in 1990 down to 0.9 in 1993. The old tight links with Russian colleagues were lost and as a foreign operator, Uzbekistan Airways was only allowed to fly to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In the USSR, civil aviation enjoyed heavy financial support from the state. Subsequently, air fares went up to compensate for operational expenses, and many people in both Russia and Uzbekistan found themselves unable to afford flying. As a result, the operator was forced to reduce the number of flights to Moscow from eight to 10 daily flights down to four flights per week. The decline lasted for three years, until the revenues from sales compensated for operational expenses. The most important task for Uzbekistan Airways after foundation was to establish air links between Uzbeki capital Tashkent and large foreign cities. During the last five years, the company managed to increase its international passenger traffic eight times and now flies to 17 countries. To be competitive with foreign operators, Uzbekistan Airways acquired Western airliners. "It was simply impossible to enter the international market with the Tu-154 and Il-62 aircraft, which had a bad image abroad," explained Arslan Ruzmetov, general director of Uzbekistan Airways.
In summer 1993, a year after Aeroflot, the Uzbeki flag-carrier started using the A310. Uzbekistan Airways A310s have a three-class layout for 193 passengers. Taken on operating lease for 12 years, two European airplanes proved themselves reliable workhorses. They showed a daily utilization rate of 12 hours and 30 minutes and operational readiness of 99.3 percent. The first PW4000 engine was removed after logging 17,000 hours. On April 16 of this year, Uzbekistan Airways general director and Airbus Industrie chief operating officer Valker-von-Tein signed a new agreement, calling for the acquisition of a third A310 in May 1998 and purchase of the two already-operated aircraft within the next two years. In 1996 came Boeing's turn to provide Uzbekistan with modern airliners. The first 208-seat 767, "Samarkand", landed at "Toshkent" airport last fall. Today, the Uzbekistan Airways airliner fleet consists of two A-310s (plus one on order), one 757, two 767-300, 10 Il-86 (five operable), 12 Il-62 and 22 Tu-154 aircraft. Western-built aircraft are responsible for about 76 percent of international traffic. Unlike old Russian types maintained on calendar principle, the 767 and A310 are operated "on condition", requiring much less work on the ground. Because of this, they spend more time in the air, from 11 to 14 hours a day. Making comparison "The major weakness of Soviet airplanes is their low fuel efficiency. Had we not bought Western aircraft, we would now pay much more for fuel," said Boris Besedin, deputy general director with the national carrier. With the same number of seats, the 757 devours three tons of kerosene in one hour, whereas the Tu- 154 devours more than five. "Please do not think we in Uzbekistan have pro-Western upbringing," he continued. "We would be happy to buy new Russian types if they were available on the market". Unfortunately, the Tu-204, Il-76MF and Il-114 have not yet become commercially-viable products, whereas their predecessors are not quite the same. "When those were under development, their designers thought about everything except profitability in service," Besedin quipped. But the Soviet aircraft are not as bad as they seem. Pakistan, for instance, has found a successful application for four Uzbeki Il-86s and three Tu-154s taken on lease. The flight safety of those types are proven by the long time since they have become operational. Arslan Ruzmetov said, "Each time Western manufacturers start talking to me about outstanding safety of their products I'll interrupt them and recommend they tell this fairy tale to somebody else. Let's see the facts. We have operated the Il-86 since 1981, Sheremetievo since 1980, and throughout all these years we did not have a single dangerous incident in the air. Now, let's count how many Boeings and Airbuses crashed in the last 15 years..." Acquisitions of the European and American airliners demanded conversion of air crews. Fifty-year-old Ruzmetov, who started his career in Aeroflot in 1968 as a second crew member in the An-2 biplane, is one of the first Uzbeki pilots to have mastered flying on both the A310 and 767. Before the Western types, Arslan flew the Il-62. He said, "It was fairly difficult for me to shift from Russian airplanes to Western ones because the philosophy of flights are totally different." To smooth the process of conversion for other pilots, the company decided to teach candidates in A310 and Boeing's crews on a more simple Western jet, the Aero International RJ-85. Uzbekistan's beloved airplane Pilot training is not the only task laid on the RJ-85. The advent of the new aircraft on Uzbeki domestic routes also has a pure political significance. "The majority of our people live in the countryside and for them it is important to feel that despite all the difficulties, the situation in the republic turns to the better," Besedin explained. The first RJ-85 arrived on July 7 and, since July 10, has flown daily from Tashkent to Urgentch, Samarkand and Bukhara. The second and third aircraft ordered will arrive in September and November to fly to Alma-Ata, Bishkek, Ashkhabad and, in likelihood, to Delhi and Karachi. The ticket from Tashkent to Urgentch (a nearly 1,000-km trip), costs Uzbeki Som 2,800 on the RJ-85 or Uzbeki Som 2,400 on the Yak-40. By choosing the latter, one can fly one hour more. Another task for the RJ-85 is tourism. For foreign holiday-makers the way to the 2,500-year old city of Khiva and other places worth visiting lies through the capital airport. They come aboard modern wide-body Boeing and Airbus airplanes and then take seats in the vintage An-24s and Yak-40s. "Comfort is not an unneccessary thing, as we used to believe in the Soviet times," Besedin said. "To make European tourists feel good, the road must be comfortable. And if it is, they will visit us again." The RJ-85 that just arrived has the same level of comfort as modern long-haul airliners, thus making Uzbekistan more attractive to "choosy" Europeans. Reconstruction of airports With tourism in mind, Uzbekistan commenced a vast program of upgrading its key airports. The first to go through modernization was "Toshkent," which obtained the status of international 40 years ago. After the recent installation of Siemens equipment the bigger runway, with a length of 4,000 m, was certificated to Cat 2, and the smaller, 3,900 m in length, to Cat 1. This year, the airport received a new lounge for first and business class passengers. After a thorough reconstruction with help of Yugoslav builders and Baltic equipment suppliers, the 35,000-sq m domestic flight terminal resumed operation in February. In one day, the terminal serves 30-35 flights to Uzbeki airports and some flights to CIS destinations, including Ekaterinburg, Ashkhabad and Bishkek. "Toshkent" is located within the city and cannot grow further. It is planned to reduce the load on it by re-orienting some of the air traffic to provincial airports. For this purpose Uzbekistan is conducting simultaneous reconstruction of airports in Urgentch, Bukhara and Samarkand, without cancellation of RJ-85, Yak-40 and An-24 flights. The reconstruction is funded from Japanese credits worth US $146 million, including US $43.3 million for Urgentch. By mid-July, work on the first half of the runway in Urgentch was complete, according to Egambergan Palvanov, director of the "Urgang" airport. After modernization, the runway will be 3,000 m in length and 40 m in width. It will be ready to work in full operation on September 1, after installation of Siemens and Thomson-CSF equipment. The first foreign companies to make landings in "Urgang" after modernization will be Russian operators flying charters to Arab countries. At the second stage of the reconstruction, which will commence in January 1998, an international flight terminal will be erected with a peak capacity of 300 passengers and a 100-ton cargo terminal. Plans call for installation of a new radar and a precise landing system, as well as modernization of taxi ways and parking places. The general contractor on the airport in Urgentch is Japan's Shimidzu; the bulk of the construction work is to be carried out by Turkey's Aisel. Air Traffic Control Preliminary work on creation of a modern ATC system started in 1992. Thomson-CSF was chosen as the general contractor. After President Mitterand's visit to Tashkent in 1994, the French government granted a $37.7 million (USD) credit on favorable terms for construction of a new ATC center at "Toshkent". The building was laid down in May 1995. The control tower started functioning in December 1996, with the operators' room to follow in January. The center obtains data from four radars, two French-made Track 2400 and RSM-900 with a range of 400 km and two Russian ones, the Irtysh and Koren, with a range of 300 km. Yuri Sovkov, the director of the center, says all four work simultaneously. It is worth noticing that the ATC system serves both civil and military users. In June 1996, Thomson-CSF started working on the second stage of the Uzbeki ATC system. Two radars are being placed in Termez and Mukus - which will supply data to Tashkent via satellites. It plans to use new methods of air traffic control for aircraft flying beyond the range of ATC radars. With all this in place Uzbekistan will have the most advanced ATC system in the former USSR. State support The key to all those remarkable achievements in Uzbeki aviation is a high professionalism of Uzbekistan Airways' leaders and powerful state support. Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov and Premier Sultanov worked many years at Chkalov's Aircraft Production Association of Tashkent. They know aviation "inside and out." Their support is multi-directional, from obtaining help in getting foreign credits on fleet renewal to the creation of a favorable inner climate for aviators. Last year, the Cabinet of Ministers freed the national flag carrier from paying dues into the state budget for five years. In its turn, the company's leaders have worked out realistic, well thought-out investment programs worth state support. "During all the time since foundation we have not merely saved our aviation, but have brought it to a new quality level," Ruzmetov said. In dealing with the aviation industry, Uzbekistan Airways follows a weighted approach - as a part of agreements with Boeing and Aero International, some details to US and European aircraft will be manufactured at the TAPO factory in Tashkent. Repair factory Another example of this approach is setting up maintenance of the company's A310s at the repair factory number 243. The first A310 will come to the enterprise for C- check in December of next year. By that time, the factory should get certification to JAR-145 standards. Chief engineer Anatoly Mindar said $25 million (USD) is needed to achieve this, and that one-third of the sum will come from the factory's own resources. The rest has yet to be found. In all likelihood, the money will be provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Meanwhile, the enterprise has contracted Bureau Veritas for training its specialists to ISO 9000 quality standards. Under a contract with British Aerospace two groups of Uzbeki technicians are studying repair procedures on avionics and airframes in Bristol. Factory number 243 is an overhauler of the Il-62, Il-76 and Il-86. Last year the enterprise returned 14 airplanes to life, adding another seven this year. The last in this queue are an Uzbekistan Airways Il-76TD and Domodedovo Il-62M. Two other Domodedovo's Il-62Ms are under work at the final assembly shop. Other Ilyushins, in Ukrainian, Korean, Cuban and Egyptian colors, are waiting for their turn at the factory. Facts and plans Starting from 1994, things started to look up for Uzbekistan Airways. In 1996 the operator carried 2.3 million passengers in comparison with 0.9 in 1993. Over the last three years the volume of sales has had 11 to 12 percent annual growth. A good half of all passengers fly on 16 domestic routes. Besedin says that due to the withdrawal of old An-24 and Yak-40 commuters there is a little unfulfilled demand on the inner lines. The company plans to meet all demand by acquisition of the 85-seat RJ-85 and 60-seat Il-114. Uzbekistan Airways took delivery of the first two Ilyushins two years ago but, after logging 300 hours, those were grounded because of the limited lifetime of TV-7-117 engines. The powerplants appeared to be experimental; on one aircraft the port engine was assembled by the Moscow-based "Red Banner" factory, the starboard by Klimov's plant in Saint Petersburg. It is still unclear who will undertake overhaul and repair on the TV-7-117 engines and when the factory in Omsk will start to produce it in sufficient numbers. Unhappy with the Russian engine-makers, Uzbekistan Airways, TAPO factory and Ilyushin are now negotiating with Pratt & Whitney Canada about installation of the PW-127 on the Il-114. In the same class of power, the Canadian engine has a TBO of 8,000 hours. The number of passengers carried on CIS routes and that on international flights are roughly equal. Now Uzbekistan Airways flies to 19 destinations in the CIS and Boris Besedin says the former USSR market is the most promising. The company has a particular interest in Siberia and other Russian regions. It is worth noticing that contrary to Russian carriers, Uzbekiston Khavo Yullari does not woo so-called shop-tourists. In 1996 Uzbeki airplanes transported 32,000 tons of cargo. According to Boris Besedin, there are enough orders for the 20-strong fleet of Il-76 freighters. They have brought a lot of cargo to Andizhan for the Daewoo car factory and other industrial enterprises being built in Uzbekistan. Uzbeki Il-76s now make numerous sorties to Alma-Ata in neighbouring Kazakhstan. An increase in profitability of cargo flights may come with the advent of the Il-76MF powered by highly-economical PS-90 engines. The TAPO factory is now setting up mass production. The only one development prototype built is being tested in Zhukovsky near Moscow. Except for the Il-76, Uzbekistan Airways uses a single Tu-154 jet and two An-12 turboprops. The An-12s were acquired earlier this year; they are former military transports. Boris Besedin says that on civil routes the four-engined workhorse has proved "very economical, with a good load capability." Back with Aeroflot? In spring of this year, Ruzmetov approached Gennagy Zaitsev, director
of Russia's Federal Aviation Service and Valery Okulov, newly-elected Aeroflot
general director, with a proposition to form a union of the largest CIS operators to "make
money through cooperation." Ruzmetov offered Okulov his new
Boeing aircraft for use on Aeroflot routes now served by vintage Tu-134 and Il-62
aircraft, and new airports as hubs for flights to South East Asia. In comparison
with USD 290 in Arab Emirates, Tashkent sells one ton of aviation kerosene
for USD 200. A good old friend is better than two new ones, says the proverb.
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Airbuses and Boeings