Malaysia-based Airasia X will expand its operations to Central Asia by launching three weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tashkent.
The Uzbekistan capital is the second city for medium and low-cost airlines in the region after Almaty, Kazakhstan, launched in 2024.
Airasia X's Airbus A330S will run three flights per week between the two cities starting October 15th.
Airasia X says the choice to launch Tashkent is “to further promote air travel between Southeast and Central Asia and promote stronger trade, tourism and business relations between the regions.”
Airasia X will become the third operator of the route. National ArrierUzbekistan Airways and low-cost operator Batik Air Malaysia also operate flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tashkent.
In pursuit of his ideas about competition on the route, AirAsia X's Chief Venjamin Ismail points to the “immeasurable possibilities” in the Central Asia region and the growing demand for travel between the two regions.
Speaking at a launch event in Kuala Lumpur, Ismail also noted that the two competing carriers also operated low frequencies on the route. Uzbekistan Airlines currently operates twice a week, while Batik, owned by Lion Air Group, has two flights per week.
“An important difference between us (another) and other airlines is our network. We connect over 130 destinations to Tashkent.” We'll be referring to the wider network of airline AirAsia Group and adding ISMail.
He expects that the percentage of traffic on the new Tashkent route will split “50-50” between point-to-point and transit passengers.
