MOSCOW (Rusiian Aviation Insider) — The national carrier Turkmenistan Airlines has taken delivery of yet another brand-new Boeing 737-800 narrowbody.

The new Boeing 737-800 arrived at the carrier’s base straight from Boeing’s assembly line
(© Leonid Faerberg / Transport Photo.com)

According to open source, the aircraft (EZ-A020) first flew on June 16, 2017. It arrived at the carrier’s base Ashgabat on June 28. The aircraft seats 160, and is one of the three ordered in 2014, the country’s government information agency turkmenistan.gov reports.

The operator intends to expand its route network with the new fleet capabilities. There are plans to launch flights from Asgabat to Milan, Jiddah, Ho Сhi Minh, Tehran, Tbilisi, Tashkent, and other destinations.

Turkmenistan Airlines also operates Boeing 717s, 757s, and 777s. Under the government program to develop the country’s civil aviation sector, the airline’s fleet is expected to double in size to 40 airframes by 2030. The carrier is reportedly looking to purchase aircraft by other manufacturers, including regional airliners seating 50 to 100 passengers to replace its current aging airframes.

According to Boeing, It is estimated that 190 regional jets, both western and Russian built, will be required over the next twenty years; this demand is being driven by the growth that the intra-CIS region has been experiencing. As the political and economic situation improves, international travel will rebound along with a requirement in the CIS region for more twin-aisle airplanes. International traffic is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.8% over the next 20 years. Concurrently, the development of low-cost carriers within the CIS market space will spur demand for single-aisle airplanes. CIS airlines will need 810 single-aisle and 170 widebody airplanes to handle the increased traffic. Additionally there is now pent-up demand for replacing an increasingly aging fleet of Russian-built airplanes. Together with older, western-built airplanes, 47% of deliveries will be used to replace existing stock.