Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, has set in operation its first long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner – Boeing 767-300.

The airliner reportedly operated its first flight from the Dushanbe International Airport last Tuesday, December 13.  It was used to operate the Dushanbe-Moscow flight.  

According to Ato.ru, this 29.9-year-old airliner had previously been operated by the United States’ Delta Air Lines and Nigerian Kabo Air. 

The 767-300, the first stretched version of the aircraft, entered service with Japan Airlines in 1986.  The type features a 6.43-meter fuselage extension over the 767-200, achieved by additional sections inserted before and after the wings, for an overall length of 54.9 meters.  Reflecting the growth potential built into the original 767 design, the wings, engines, and most systems were largely unchanged on the 767-300.  An optional mid-cabin exit door is positioned ahead of the wings on the left, while more powerful Pratt & Whitney PW4000 and Rolls-Royce RB211 engines later became available.  The 767-300's increased capacity has been used on high-density routes within Asia and Europe.  As of July 2016, 54 of the variant were in airline service.[123] The type's main competitor was the Airbus A300.

Tajik Air now operates its regular flights to the following cities in Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Surgut; also, it flies to Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Iran (Tehran), China (Beijing, Urumqi), and India (New Delhi).

From the Khujand International Airport, regular flights are operated to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Surgut.

As regards domestic destinations, the Air Company flies from the capital city of Dushanbe to Khujand.

Currently, the Tajik Air’s air fleet has 36 aircraft, 12 of which are operated on flights including two Boeing 757-200s, two Boeing 737-400s, one Boeing 737-300, one MA-60, one AN-28, one AN-26 and three Mi-8 MTV helicopters.  The remaining 24 aircraft, mainly of the USSR production, are on long-term storage.

The Tajik Air management is currently considering potential upgrade of its air fleet with aircraft of modern Western technology.