Aviation

Qatar Airways Announces Summer Flights to Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Qatar Airways Top 8 trending Desitination for 2025

Qatar Airways announces the latest addition to its summer schedule: four weekly flights to Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, beginning June 2, 2024, and bookable now.

Tashkent sits in the centre of Central Asia, a region noted for its rich history and various cultures. It shares borders with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

After Almaty, Kazakhstan, the destination is the second city in Central Asia that the State of Qatar’s national carrier serves. Passengers may now travel to over 170 destinations worldwide with seamless global connectivity to Tashkent via Hamad International Airport, the best airport in the Middle East, thanks to a new service operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft.

With its ancient buildings, breathtaking architecture, and lively cultural encounters, Uzbekistan provides a very unique travel experience. The ancient cities of Samarkand and Bukhara are well-known, and tourists may explore and take in the breathtaking Uzbek scenery. This stunning location provides a genuine taste of robust Uzbek food, friendly and hospitable locals, and a distinctive fusion of contemporary and traditional experiences.

When paying 100% of the fare with Avios, or when purchasing with a combination of cash and Avios, members of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club will accrue Avios and may enjoy even higher savings. Along with dining and shopping at Qatar Duty-Free, members can use their Avios for cabin upgrades, packages that include Qatar Airways Holidays, and much more.

The network of Qatar Airways expands:

Four weekly flights will operate from 2 June to 25 October 2024 to Tashkent.

Doha to Tashkent flight QR377 departs at 19:50 and arrives at 01:20+1 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

Tashkent to Doha flight QR378 departs at 03:20 and arrives at 05:20 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Aviation

Airbus Enhances A350 Cabin with 10-Abreast Seating

Airbus has announced a new partnership with Jiatai Aircraft Equipment, a Chinese aircraft seating manufacturer, to supply upgraded economy-class seats for the A350 widebody series.

This collaboration, unveiled at the 2024 Airshow China, focuses on developing a newly designed economy seat tailored for the A350‘s New Production Standard (NPS) cabin.

One of the key features of the NPS cabin is the ability to accommodate 17-inch wide economy seats, compared to the previous 16.5-inch wide seats that airlines were limited to in the A350’s earlier configurations.

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This change is made possible by the expanded space in the NPS cabin, which is 35 inches longer and 4 inches wider than the previous version. This extra space is achieved by slightly moving the cockpit wall forward and shifting the rear pressure bulkhead back by one frame.

The wider cabin allows airlines to add up to 30 extra economy seats without compromising comfort. For airlines opting for a 3-4-3 seating layout, the 17-inch wide seats are an excellent choice for a more comfortable passenger experience. However, some airlines, such as Iberia, may choose to retain a 9-abreast layout with wider seats for added comfort.

The NPS cabin also offers enhanced flexibility for airline operators. One major advantage is the ability to easily switch between a 9-abreast and 10-abreast seating configuration without requiring significant downtime for aircraft reconfiguration. Airlines can use the same seat rails, tracks, and IFE interfaces, making the transition smoother and quicker.

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In addition, the design of the floor attachments and air-conditioning systems has been optimized for 10-abreast seating, meaning airlines can upgrade their cabins without needing to make substantial modifications to the aircraft’s structure.

Though it’s still unclear when Jiatai’s economy-class seats will be officially added to the A350’s Buyer Furnished Equipment (BFE) catalogue, the collaboration marks a significant step toward enhancing the A350’s cabin offerings.

With this partnership, Airbus is providing more seating options for airlines, ensuring that they can meet diverse customer needs while improving overall operational efficiency.