Uzbekistan Airways takes delivery of a fourth Boeing 787-8

Uzbekistan Airways is poised to have six Boeing 787-8s in 2020 (Uzbekistan Airways)

As part of an on-going investment project to modernise and expand the Uzbekistan Airways fleet with modern, western-built aircraft, the national carrier has taken delivery of its fourth Boeing 787-8 long-haul wide-body aircraft.

Like all of the Dreamliners in its fleet, the new aircraft (registration number UK 78704, serial number MSN 64436) arrived directly from the manufacturer and is powered by GE Aviation’s GEnx-1B engines. The latest airliner is configured to carry 246 passengers, 24 in business and 222 in economy class.

A few days earlier, Uzbekistan Airways accepted a second Airbus A320neо to supplement its narrow-body fleet. That aircraft, with registration number UK 32022; MSN 8826, is powered by CFMl’s LEAP-1A engines and also has a two-class configuration designed to carry 150 passengers (12 in business class and 138 in economy). The aircraft has already been put into commercial operations.

To raise the customer service bar, all of Uzbekistan’s aircraft delivered this year – two A320neos and a B787 – have come equipped with Panasonic’s X-Series inflight entertainment and connectivity system, which provides passengers with audio and video content via personal HD touch screens, as well as wireless high-speed Internet access.

Currently there are 28 aircraft in commercial operation at the airline: two A320neos, nine Airbus A320s, five Boeing 757s, eight Boeing 767s (two of which are freighters) and four Boeing 787-8s. Another Dreamliner is due to be delivered later this year.

2018 was one of the best years in the airline’s recent history when it carried some 3.176 million passengers, a 17.5 per cent year-on-year improvement.