Turkmenistan Airlines

[Ianbutty]

Apparently FRA returns from October 26th.

I read an article claiming that they may have lost their LHR slots for good. If so I wonder if there is scope for more to BHX once they're up and running again.

I have always thought that BHx could develop a niche market of exotic visitors from that part of the world. Astana, return of Tashkent, bishket, Dushanbe and Yerevan. Baku. Maybe even Kabul. Of course depends on many geo political factors as well.

 

[Paulsstrange]

Turkmenistan To Resume Flights To EU After Safety Ban

The government in Ashgabat has announced this week that Turkmenistan Airlines will be allowed to fly to European Union countries nine months after the

caspiannews.com

BHX flights to resume December ??

 

[rollo]

Good news indeed so long as it happens which hopefully it will

 

[Ray Finkle]

Apparently when contacted Turkmenistan said that they hoped to resume UK flights in Jan?

It will be interesting to see what happens with LHR and whether they still have their slots.

 

[Llandudno]

Turkmenistan have lost their LHR slots so have applied to serve LGW instead.

 

[Ianbutty]

Turkmenistan have lost their LHR slots so have applied to serve LGW instead.

Why do that? If it is okay for midlanders to travel to London airports to catch flights, then surely it is fine the other way round? If I was them I would run all flights from BHX.

 

[Coathanger16]

Why do that? If it is okay for midlanders to travel to London airports to catch flights, then surely it is fine the other way round? If I was them I would run all flights from BHX.

Plenty of choice from London - easier to fly with another airline (even via somewhere) than travel across land to BHX.

 

[Nethercote2019]

I did read somewhere a while ago that midlanders are happy to & more likely to travel outside local area to catch flights than others do, if we could only get midland people to insist on flying from their local airport ...... start a campaign - fly from BHX our local airport!

 

[Ray Finkle]

Chicken and egg situation.

Birmingham doesn't offer the flights, frequencies or even the price needed so passengers go elsewhere, as long as the locals are willing to do that the airlines will happily sit back and just let people come to them.

Paul Kehoe said in an interview that they needed a huge change in passengers habits and behaviour, something that will be incredibly difficult to do.

 

[Ianbutty]

Plenty of choice from London - easier to fly with another airline (even via somewhere) than travel across land to BHX.

Yeah but Ashgabat is served from so few other airports that choice does not come into play. I just see BHX having the UK market. Hopefully we will see the return of other destinations in that area...

 

[rollo]

Its really a route for onward connections to India usually at competitive prices, little actual traffic to Ashkabat I would think.

 

[Coathanger16]

Yeah but Ashgabat is served from so few other airports that choice does not come into play. I just see BHX having the UK market. Hopefully we will see the return of other destinations in that area...

How many flights per week did/will Turkmenistan serve BHX with? If its a case of fly with Turkmenistan from BHX on particular days that don't suit your itinerary or fly via somewhere on days that do fit your itinerary, most people will do the latter.

There's probably also a matter of 'entitlement' with travellers in the south east. As London is the largest airport system in the world, and Heathrow the busiest in Europe, passengers will likely not look elsewhere for flights, even if they are direct/non-stop. "If there aren't direct flights there from Heathrow or Gatwick, how could there possibly be flights there from any other airport in the UK?"

We're always saying on here that people should fly from BHX even if it means with a stop rather than taking a direct flight from London. It's unrealistic to say the same shouldn't apply to the south east.

 

[Matt995]

How many flights per week did/will Turkmenistan serve BHX with? If its a case of fly with Turkmenistan from BHX on particular days that don't suit your itinerary or fly via somewhere on days that do fit your itinerary, most people will do the latter.

There's probably also a matter of 'entitlement' with travellers in the south east. As London is the largest airport system in the world, and Heathrow the busiest in Europe, passengers will likely not look elsewhere for flights, even if they are direct/non-stop. "If there aren't direct flights there from Heathrow or Gatwick, how could there possibly be flights there from any other airport in the UK?"

We're always saying on here that people should fly from BHX even if it means with a stop rather than taking a direct flight from London. It's unrealistic to say the same shouldn't apply to the south east.

Turkmenistan were flying 5 times a week, Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun peak season from BHX in the last couple of years.

 

[Glenn Eldridge]

Confirmed BHX will be returning

Turkmenistan To Resume Flights To EU After Safety Ban

The government in Ashgabat has announced this week that Turkmenistan Airlines will be allowed to fly to European Union countries nine months after the

caspiannews.com

 

[Ray Finkle]

Its really a route for onward connections to India usually at competitive prices, little actual traffic to Ashkabat I would think.

Delhi and Amsitsar were obviously the main connection points but Turkmenistan did used to see a decent amount of connections to Bangkok. I think it was 2015 where BHX-BKK was Turkmenistan's 5th most popular connection, even topping BHX-ATQ.

From the article posted above by Glenn

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow has already met with Dovran Saburov, who heads the country’s flag carrier, and ordered to determine the most popular destinations based on the market prices and resume flights within two months, by December. The first flights to be dispatched this winter include those to Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Frankfurt in Germany.

 

[Ianbutty]

Delhi and Amsitsar were obviously the main connection points but Turkmenistan did used to see a decent amount of connections to Bangkok. I think it was 2015 where BHX-BKK was Turkmenistan's 5th most popular connection, even topping BHX-ATQ.

From the article posted above by Glenn

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow has already met with Dovran Saburov, who heads the country’s flag carrier, and ordered to determine the most popular destinations based on the market prices and resume flights within two months, by December. The first flights to be dispatched this winter include those to Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Frankfurt in Germany.

Very positive. Frankfurt and Brum...when has that ever happened? Excellent.

 

[Brum X]

Very positive. Frankfurt and Brum...when has that ever happened? Excellent.

Both cities are Twinned

 

[rutamkrd]

Ian there is zilch nien nada local traffic . Bearly a handful of Turkmenistan reside in the UK. These flights are about mega cheap connections to Amritsar and Bangkok combined with an infinitesimally small number of inveterate adventures

Travel opportunities for Turkmens are very limited by the state !


Now some might say but its the 5 possibly 4 biggest natural gas producer on the planet at the moment - True but their customers ain’t the UK ! No they are China Pakistan and Russia - Indeed the Russians still effectively OWN the place period stop !

A very few Petrochemical engineers cant keep these flights afloat anytime soon !

That said there is some outbound freight from time to time

 

[nwoody2001]

this is all true...

Notwithstanding the above, Turkmenistan is a country and airline who has a vision

Along with the construction of a new airport terminal, the airline has identified the strength of its strategic location in the world. Whilst the likes of Dubai and Qatar are ideally suited for transit of flights between Europe and Australia, Turkmenistan is equally ideally suited for links between Europe and southern or southeast Asia. Having seen the vast success of the MEB3, Turkmenistan’s strategy is to work to a similar model, although admittedly, on a much more smaller scale, at least to start with.


Ok, will Turkmenistan ever become an Emirates of Qatar – no. However, can they become a significant carrier within the region and a viable low-cost alternative to those travelling either regularly or on a budget between Europe and southern asia, yes I think they can!

 

[Ianbutty]

Ian there is zilch nien nada local traffic . Bearly a handful of Turkmenistan reside in the UK. These flights are about mega cheap connections to Amritsar and Bangkok combined with an infinitesimally small number of inveterate adventures

Travel opportunities for Turkmens are very limited by the state !


Now some might say but its the 5 possibly 4 biggest natural gas producer on the planet at the moment - True but their customers ain’t the UK ! No they are China Pakistan and Russia - Indeed the Russians still effectively OWN the place period stop !

A very few Petrochemical engineers cant keep these flights afloat anytime soon !

That said there is some outbound freight from time to time

I would rather have them than another....yawnfest...rotation to Alicante or even a connection to Orlando (sorry Ray) If a few flights on from Ashgabat to India or China or Japan bring people to Brum rather than taking investment away then I am very happy. If they are good enough for Frankfurt then I will take that.