Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines

Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines, formerly known as Tashkent Airways (1952-1991), Uzbekistan Airlines (1992-1994), and Uzbekistan National Airways (1994-1999) and commonly referred to as Tashkent Uzbekistan was a major Uzbekistani airline operating from February 19, 1952 to September 1, 2011. Before bankruptcy, it was the largest Uzbekistani airline by revenue and passenger count.

In 2012, JSC Uzbekistan Airways acquired the right to use the Tashkent Uzbekistan trademark and its remaining fleet.

Early Years
Tashkent Airways was founded on October 3, 1952 in response to the Soviet flag carrier Aeroflot cutting routes to and from the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic for financial purposes. The airline was founded Ozerov Yemelyanovich, former Chief Operating Officer of Aeroflot, and Boris Kirillovich, an avid entrepreneur who had previously created two minor airlines, Samarkand Air and Air Ashgabat, both of which failed shortly after commencing operations. After receiving approval from the Soviet government, Tashkent Uzbekistan commenced domestic operations in the Uzbek SSR on February 19, 1953 with an Antonov An-2 and an Ilyushin Il-12, both bought from Aeroflot. The planes flew on a route network with Tashkent as a hub, with destinations in various Uzbekistani cities.

Early Prosperity & Near Bankruptcy
In 1960, Tashkent Airways began operating routes to the Turkmen SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Kirghiz SSR, and the Tajik SSR from Tashkent and Bukhara in Uzbekistan. The opening of these routes saw significant gains in revenue, allowing the company to extend from a state of unsteady survival. However, in 1965, Tashkent Airways briefly became a subsidiary of Aeroflot as it gained a majority share in the company. Soviet government prevented Tashkent Airways from operating in the Russian SFSR and Eastern European SSRs, limiting their economic growth. They were also banned from flying over the airspace of many countries in Europe and the democratic world for its alignment with the USSR. Tashkent Airways briefly ceased operations in July 1957 during these limitations, in which CEO Yemelyanovich was replaced by Kirillovich as the former resigned from all positions at the company. Under Kirillovich's vision, the airline expanded its routes and fleet, purchasing seven Ilyushin Il-18s in 1958 and four Antonov An-10s in 1959, becoming a launch customer for the latter.

Uzbek Independence & Uzbekistan Airways
The airline held steady in good finances until the August 1991 coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, causing the Uzbek SSR to declare independence. Tashkent Airways temporarily ceased operations until February 1992, where its name was changed to Uzbekistan Airlines and its branding altered to reflect Uzbekistan's new independence. The Soviet-aligned CEO, Hamra Davlatov, was also exiled from the company and replaced by Rahmat Alisherov in 1992. Tashkent Express, a subsidiary that would later cover most domestic routes, was also created. The Uzbekistani government created Uzbekistan Airways, which would become the flag carrier of the nation. However, it competed heavily with Uzbekistan Airlines and often had lower success than its Soviet counterpart. In 1994, a mid-air collision over Uzbekistan occurred due to the airlines' similar branding. Due to this, Uzbekistan Airlines once again rebranded as Uzbekistan National Airways, though Tashkent Express remained unchanged.

Late 1990s and Early 2000s
The airline suffered significant losses in revenue after the 1994 mid-air collision, but the rebranding to Uzbekistan National Airways helped restore confidence in some less aware travelers. The airline was also granted permission to fly in the European Union and the United States, giving it more economic opportunities. Uzbekistan National Airways was also able to purchase foreign aircraft for the first time, making hefty orders for the Airbus A310 and A320, using CRJ series planes for Tashkent Express. In 1997, the first Uzbekistan National Airways plane landed at Orlando International Airport. The airline also introduced a new style and paint to all its aircraft, with a focus on the nostalgic, "retro" style commonly seen in earlier decades. 1999 saw the airline change its name to Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines to further differentiate itself from Uzbekistan Airways.

2001
Following the September 11 attacks, Tashkent Uzbekistan took considerably more financial damage, as Uzbekistanis were more confident in the safety of Uzbekistan Airways, a flag carrier funded by the government than an old, independent airline that reminded many of the Soviet era. Ticket sales massively dropped, and the airline had its second close call with bankruptcy. Dedicated passengers committed to using the airline, mostly those of an older age group, kept the airline alive, though it was forced to cut many routes including most to the European Union and America, gaining most of its money from flying from Uzbekistan to nearby former SSRs such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

Final Years and Closure
On September 23, 2003, the beloved CEO Rahmat Alisherov died of heart related conditions and was replaced by Ruslan Aminjonov, who many perceived as a bad leader sympathetic to the communist cause of the Soviet Union. Aminjonov failed at leading Tashkent Uzbekistan after the September 11 attacks. Failures to raise enough proper money for maintenance led to an Airbus A310 crashing in Poland, causing the airline to be added to the EU Air Safety List and therefore prohibited from flying to EU countries. This economic blow also led to the airline closing all American routes. In 2010, Tashkent Uzbekistan began liquidating assets and began searching for bankruptcy protection. On September 1, 2011, the Independence Day of Uzbekistan, Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines ceased all operations, with all ticket sales being stopped seven days prior. Aminjonov continued as the CEO of Tashkent Express until January 2012, when the subsidiary also entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The large majority of assets belonging to Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines and Tashkent Express were sold to Uzbekistan Airways in 2012, along with the rights of Uzbekistan Airways to use the name and image of Tashkent Uzbekistan.

Destinations
As of January 2000, when the airline had the most routes, Tashkent Uzbekistan served 47 year-round destinations, mostly in Central Asia and the European Union.

Codeshare Agreements
As of January 2000, Tashkent Uzbekistan had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:


 * Aeroflot
 * AirBaltic
 * Air Kyrgyzstan
 * Bulgaria Air
 * Cyprus Airways (1947-2015)
 * Georgian Airlines
 * Gulf Air
 * Middle East Airlines
 * TAROM
 * Turkmenistan Airlines
 * Ukraine International Airlines

Fleet
Prior to the airline's shutdown, Tashkent Uzbekistan had a fleet of 38 aircraft from the Airbus A310, Airbus A310, Boeing 727, and Yakovlev Yak-42 families.

For most of the airline's history, its fleet consisted entirely of Soviet-made aircraft, regularly bought from Aeroflot. In the 1990s and 2000s, however, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tashkent Uzbekistan heavily phased out Soviet jets in favor of western aircraft as part of CEO Alisherov's philosophy of putting the airline's communist past behind it.

Incidents and Accidents
On 20 July 1994, Uzbekistan Airlines Flight 4931 collided with Uzbekistan Airways Flight 833 over central Uzbekistan, killing all on board both planes. The main causes were determined to be the failure of one of the planes, the identity of which has not been revealed, to have a traffic collision avoidance system installed and the similarity of the airline names causing confusion by ATC.

On 20 April 2000, Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines Flight 1030 experienced a dual engine failure shortly after takeoff from Tashkent and made a harsh landing on the runway with no fatalities. Bird strikes were determined to be the cause.

On 3 June 2008, Tashkent Uzbekistan Airlines Flight 991 crashed in a field in Poland after a maintenance failure resulted in the disintegration of the left wing during flight. The crash killed all occupants and resulted in the airline being banned from flying to, from, or over the airspace of the European Union