Uzbekistan Airways (HY, Tashkent International) has put its fleet of seven Il-114s up for sale after having officially withdrawn them from service on May 1. The Uzbek carrier had originally intended to lease out the Ilyushin Design Bureau turboprops, which average 11 years of age, but appears to have failed to have found a willing taker. It was the only large-scale operator of the type.

In a statement, Uzbekistan Airways said the move is part of a fleet rationalization drive aimed at increasing cost efficiency by reducing fleet complexity. As such, all Il-114 flightcrews will undergo retraining to operate Uzbekistan Airways' fleet of nine A320-200s, five B757-200s, two B767-300Fs, seven B767-300(ER)s, and two B787-8s.

Concerning the B787s, the carrier has a further four on order from Boeing (BOE, Washington National) of which the first is due to arrive later this month. It will, however, feature an increased number of seats - 270 - with 24 in business class and 246 in economy class. It will also feature a special compartment for the rest of the crew.