Tajik private air carrier presents its fourth aircraft

DUSHANBE, September 30, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Tajik private air carrier, Somon Air, presented its fourth Boeing type aircraft on September 29.

The Somon Air press center reports that Boeing 737-900 has appeared in the CIS air space for the first time.

“The aircraft has been assembled in Seattle especially by order from Somon Air,” the source said, noting that the aircraft has 184 seats.

The aircraft is named after National Hero of Tajikistan Shirinsho Shotemur and it will be used to operate flights to Urumqi (China), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Istanbul (Turkey), Jeddah, (Saudi Arabia), Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia).

Another Boeing 737-900 is expected to arrive in Dushanbe by the end of this year, the source added.

Boeing 737-900 is considered to be the longest and most powerful variant to date.  Because the -900 retained the same number of exits as the -800, seating capacity was limited to 189 in a single-class layout. The 737-900 also retained the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) and fuel capacity of the -800, trading range for payload. These shortcomings until recently prevented the 737-900 from effectively competing with the Airbus A321.

Somon Air is an airline based in Dushanbe.  It is Tajikistan's first private airline.  Somon Air is also the first airline in Tajikistan to launch an online booking system. The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet.

Somon Air now operates to the following destinations: China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Russia (Khanty-Mansisysk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).