Azerbaijan Airlines will launch flights from Baku to the Maldives in November.
Launching flights to the Maldives
Azerbaijan Airlines is the only carrier offering scheduled commercial services in the country. The airline operates a number of different aircraft types, from narrowbodies to widebodies and has more than 2,000 flights this month. Later this year, the airline plans to launch operations to Malé, the capital of the Maldives.
According to an announcement yesterday, Azerbaijan Airlines will launch nonstop flights to the Maldives this November. This will be the first time in the airline’s history it will serve the Maldives. Starting on November 8, the airline will fly to Velana International Airport in Malé.
Service will only be available twice weekly, on Fridays and Sundays. The return leg will operate on Saturdays and Mondays. According to Google Flights, the carrier plans to deploy its Boeing 787s on the 6+ hour route. A roundtrip on the first weekend of operations currently costs $633.
In its announcement, the airline said,
“This direct flight greatly reduces travel time, eliminating the inconvenience of layovers. It’s the perfect option for those who value their time and comfort.”
It added,
“Don’t miss the opportunity to be among the first passengers on AZAL’s new route. Immerse yourself in the beauty of sunny beaches and discover new horizons with Azerbaijan Airlines!”
Airline operations
According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Azerbaijan Airlines has 2,180 roundtrip flights this month. The airline operates aircraft from four different families and six variants altogether. Its fleet includes the Airbus A319, A320, A320neo, Boeing 767-300, Boeing 787-8, and Embraer E190.
Its flights this month are broken down as follows:
|
Aircraft |
Number of flights |
|---|---|
|
Airbus A320 |
683 |
|
Embraer E190 |
600 |
|
Airbus A319 |
329 |
|
Airbus A320neo |
242 |
|
Boeing 787-8 |
198 |
|
Boeing 767-300 |
128 |
Only nine of the airline’s routes are operated on a daily basis, including two daily roundtrips to two Moscow airport. The busiest route is to Tbilisi International Airport in Georgia, with five daily roundtrips. The flight to Tbilisi is also the third-shortest route in the airline’s network at 279 miles.
The longest route that Azerbaijan Airlines serves is to Kongolo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The flight between Baku and Kongolo is 3,478 miles long. The airline also serves destinations like Beijing, London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Barcelona, Paris, Milan, and more.
Until the COVID-19 pandemic began, Azerbaijan used to serve John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York. When the pandemic came, it suspended its services and became the 12th Asian airline to cut service to the US since 2004.
Previous history
In 2022, Azerbaijan Airlines was the only airline worldwide operating an Airbus A340-500. In fact, it only had one of the type. In December 2021, the airline began deploying the A340 to Dubai, along with other aircraft types. According to a previous Simple Flying report, the airline had two A340-500s, one of which had not been flown since November 2020 and the other was scheduled to operate through January 5, 2022.