Uzbekistan is witnessing a notable shift in consumer behavior within the aviation sector: over the past year, demand for premium flight segments has grown by a quarter. Whereas business class was once perceived as an exclusive luxury for a select few, it is now a consistent choice for the country's affluent and paying audience.
Analysts from the service Aviasales.uz confirm this trend with figures: from March 2025 to March 2026, the number of business class bookings increased by 25%, while interest in such tickets in search queries rose by 30%. Meanwhile, the average ticket price for a premium journey settled at 32.1 million Uzbek soums, which is only 2% higher than last year's indicators.
However, average price statistics pale in comparison to individual records. The absolute maximum during the reporting period was set by a passenger on Turkish Airlines' Tashkent–Miami flight: a one-way trip cost him nearly 91 million soums (90,605,729 soums). Such investments are justified by the logic of ultra-long-haul distances—the longer the flight, the greater the value of proper rest onboard.
The geography of business class flights is also expanding. Traditional destinations like Russia, Kazakhstan, and the UAE now share leadership with China, which has entered the top destinations for the first time. The surge in interest in China is a direct consequence of the visa-free regime introduced in June 2025, simplifying life not only for tourists but also for entrepreneurs. Concurrently, demand for business class is growing on routes to the United States, Germany, and South Korea.
Interestingly, comfort has become a priority even for long-distance family travel. Parents with children most often choose business class for flights to exotic resorts and countries with complex logistics. Leaders in this segment include Egypt (17%), Vietnam (15%), Canada (11%), Indonesia (9%), and Malaysia (8%).
The growing demand for long-haul destinations has inevitably pushed prices upward. Most noticeably, business class costs spiked on flights to Canada—by 59%, to South Korea—by 32%, and to the United States—by 13%. Nevertheless, booking dynamics prove that Uzbeks are increasingly viewing air travel not as a loss of time but as an investment in their own well-being, preferring to arrive at their destination well-rested despite multi-million soum bills.
Source: podrobno.uz