Somon Air to expand its fleet with Embraer aircraft

In 2018, most likely the CIS will become another operator of regional aircraft produced by the Brazilian company Embraer. The customer will be the privately owned airline, Somon Air, which is the flagship of civil aviation in Tajikistan, said Abdulkosim Valiyev, the airline’s Commercial Director, on February 14th. According to him, Somon Air intends to fly additional routes in 2018 and in the very near future it will start flights to Tashkent, Samarkand, Baku and Beijing.

Somon Air’s press office said that they are not yet ready to disclose the number of Embraer aircraft being purchased, or their type, since the project is still under development. The airline’s representative noted that Somon Air needs regional aircraft so it can develop a network of routes across Central Asia.

This year, Somon Air celebrates its 10th anniversary. In February 2008, the airline flew its first regular commercial flight from Dushanbe to Moscow. Now Somon Air operates flights from Tajikistan to Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Russia and Kazakhstan. The airline’s fleet consists of six aircraft: two Boeing 737-300, two Boeing 737-800 and two Boeing 737-900.

In 2018, Somon Air will add a long-haul Boeing 787-8 to its fleet. The Tajik airline agreed to purchase one aircraft at the 2017 Dubai Air Show. In 2017, Somon Air flew more than five hundred thousand passengers.