I suspect that most people might not share my excitement, but this might be the most intriguing new long haul service we’ve seen to the United States in a long time, purely in terms of how unknown the airline is to many people. And there’s little I love more than boarding a flight where I don’t know what to expect.
HH101 Tashkent to New York departing 11:20AM arriving 3:40PM
HH102 New York to Tashkent departing 5:10PM arriving 2:40PM (+1 day)
The 6,338-mile flight will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays in both directions, and is blocked at 13hr20min westbound and 12hr30min eastbound. Tickets should go on sale soon. The airline will use an Airbus A330-200 for the route, featuring 266 seats. This includes 18 business class seats and 248 economy class seats.
The airline is based in Tashkent, and has an all-Airbus fleet consisting of seven aircraft, including two A320s, two A321neos, one A321XLR, and two A330-200s. Rather oddly, the airline also plans to take delivery of A321LRs. It’s very odd to see such a small operator get the A321neo, A321LR, and A321XLR, but I digress…
Uzbekistan is a fast growing market, and Qanot Sharq seems to largely serve more leisure oriented routes, and generally has better pricing than Uzbekistan Airways. Vlogger Noel Philips recently reviewed Qanot Sharq’s A330 business class, and he had the cabin all to himself. FUN!
Often airlines will launch long haul flights to New York out of prestige. Is that what’s going on here? Well, Uzbekistan Airways has done quite well in the market, as I understand it, and ultimately this is a good option for accessing Central Asia.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
