Tajik national air company, Tajik Air, has reportedly acquired Bombardier CRJ200.
Tajik Air director, Khairullo Rahimov, noted yesterday that the aircraft had been acquired within the framework of a long-term development strategy aimed at renewing the company’s fleet.
“We plan to acquire four other Bombardier CRJ200s,” Rahimov said noting that the second Bombardier CRJ200 will arrive in Dushanbe before the end of the year.
According to him, Bombardier CRJ200s will be used to operate flights from Dushanbe to Urumqi, Bishkek and New Delhi.
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (formerly known as the Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) are a family of regional airliners designed and manufactured by Bombardier. The CRJ had the distinction of marking Canada's entry into the civil jet industry.
It was based on the Canadair Challenger business jet. An initial effort to produce an enlarged 36-seat version of the aircraft, known as the Challenger 610E, was terminated during 1981. Shortly after Canadair's privatization and sale to Bombardier, work on a stretched derivative was reinvigorated; during early 1989, the Canadair Regional Jet program was formally launched. On 10 May 1991, the first of three CRJ100 prototypes conducted its maiden flight. The type first entered service during the following year with its launch customer, German airline Lufthansa.
The initial variant, the CRJ100, was soon joined by another model, designated as the CRJ200. It was largely identical to the CRJ100, except for the installation of more efficient turbofan engines, which gave the aircraft lower fuel consumption, increased cruise altitude and cruise speed. During the 1990s, various additional versions and models of the type were developed and put into service. During the late 1990s, a substantially enlarged derivative of the airliner, referred to as the CRJ700, was developed; it was soon joined by the even larger CRJ900 and CRJ1000. During 2006, production of both the CRJ100 and CRJ200 came to an end; the majority of produced airliners have remained in revenue service to date. Additionally, several airlines have modernized their fleets to support extended service.
Recall, Tajik national air carrier plans to put more than twenty planes up for sale. Under the plan of action on implementation of the program of the state support for Tajik Air, the company plans to sell the Soviet-era planes that had outlived their service lives this and next year. The company will spend the earned money on improving its financial state.
Tajik Air (Tajikistan Airlines) is the national airline of Tajikistan. The airline has its main hub at the Dushanbe airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at the Khujand airport.
The company started operations on September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation. Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F-13 aircraft. It is the sixth oldest airline still in operation.
Tajik Air now serves the following destinations: China (Urumqi); India (New Delhi); Iran (Tehran, Mashhad); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek); Russia (Moscow, Novosibirsk, St Petersburg, and Surgut); and Tajikistan (Khorog and Khujand).
The Tajik Air management is currently considering potential upgrade of its air fleet with aircraft of modern Western technology.
Until 2008, Tajik Air had an absolute monopoly in Tajikistan’s air transport, owning all planes, airports, and airport and flight services. As a result of restructuring, Tajik Air was split up into several separate companies.
