Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier Somon Air has announced that it canceled in-flight hot meals for economy class for the purpose of lowering passenger fares by 12 percent.  The in-flight hot meals have been canceled but prices of the ticket, for example, for the Dushanbe-Moscow flight have remained the same.  

Recall, Somon Air announced in late May that it canceled in-flight hot meals for economy class on the Dushanbe-Moscow flight that reportedly allowed lowering passenger fares by 12 percent.

Meanwhile, according to data from the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, airline tickets rose in cost by 6.4 percent last year and 54.7 percent over the first four months (January-April) of this year. 

We did not monitor prices for all flights but passenger fares for economy class of the Dushanbe-Moscow flight remain the same – from US$188.  

An airline meal, airline food, or in-flight meal is a meal served to passengers on board a commercial airliner.  These meals are prepared by specialist airline catering services and normally served to passengers using an airline service trolley.

These meals vary widely in quality and quantity across different airline companies and classes of travel.  They range from a simple snack or beverage in short-haul economy class to a seven-course gourmet meal in a first class long-haul flight.  The types of food offered also vary widely from country to country, and often incorporate elements of local cuisine, sometimes both from the origin and destination countries. 

Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with an office headquartered in Dushanbe.  The airline operations are based at Dushanbe International Airport.  The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai.

Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials.

Since formation, Somon Air has been primarily focused on passenger service and transportation to Eastern Europe and other locations.  Most flights to international destinations operate from Dushanbe.

The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet.  Somon Air now operates 2 Boeing 737-300s, 2 Boeing 737-800s and 2 Boeing 737-900ERs.