Tajikistan’s Somon Air reignites B737 MAX plans

Somon Air (SZ, Dushanbe) is again evaluating the B737 MAX and is in talks with Boeing about the type’s B737-8 and B737-9 variants, chief executive Thomas Hallam said during an Aviation Week webinar. “We’ve reintroduced discussions with Boeing for either MAX 8s or MAX 9s to either replace some of our aeroplanes or to retain them. It depends on the finance but we’ll either do it to replace or we could add them to our fleet and have a larger fleet moving forward,” he said. The privately-owned Tajik carrier had a dry-lease commitment for a single B737 MAX 8 from Air Lease Corporation but suspended it in 2019 when the type was grounded after two fatal crashes. Citing a lack of public confidence in the MAX, Somon Air initially suggested converting the commitment to a B737-800 before dropping it altogether last year. Hallam said that the rigorous procedures undertaken during the type’s recertification had restored the airline’s confidence in the MAX going forward. Somon Air currently operates two B737-300s, two -800s, and two -900(ER)s. It is also set to dry-lease two E190-E2s from VTB Leasing. Hallam told ch-aviation in a 2019 interview that the airline was hoping to benefit from the MAX 8’s increased range over its current fleet. The airline’s longest route, to Frankfurt Int’l, is subject to payload restrictions when operated with B737-900(ER)s but could be operated at maximum payload with the B737 MAX.