By Alisher A. Djumanov
Richard Branson once famously said: "If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline."
During the past several years, a record number of 64 airlines went bankrupt worldwide, largely due to the COVID pandemic. Despite widespread airline bankruptcies, bailouts, and investor losses elsewhere, Uzbekistan is charging ahead with a world-beating surge in new airline launches.
Central Asia’s most populous nation has gone from one to eleven airlines in three years, a ten-fold increase in the number of airlines that must be the world record for the last three years.
Located at the heart of the Eurasian region where many countries have been suffering from acute depopulation, Uzbekistan, a demographic growth star, has seen its population nearly double, from 20mn in 1990 to 37mn in 2024. Yet, for 30 years, the country had only one national airline and restricted foreign airlines. To paraphrase both Henry Ford and Soviet-era monopoly airline Aeroflot: “You can fly, as long as it is Uzbekistan Airways!".
Then, it is good to see the emergence of new airlines, more competition, and more air travel options. In fact, Uzbekistan has a strong potential to become one of the main air travel hubs in the region. Starting from a low base – one airline for a country of 37mn people –Uzbekistan bucking the global trend of airline industry consolidation makes sense. At least now and for many years to come.
But the airline industry is notoriously famous for the destruction of airline owners' wealth.
How will these numerous new Uzbekistan-based airlines fare in the coming years? ECA50 Plc will follow the evolution of the airline industry in Uzbekistan and the wider ECA region.
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