SURREAL TURKMENISTAN AIRLINES - BIZARRE GHOST PLANE AND AIRPORT!

This is a comprehensive Flight Review of Turkmenistan Airlines.

Class: Economy
Route: Beijing (PEK) to London (STA) via Ashgabat (ASB)
Plane: Boeing 777-200LR

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#turkmenistan #joshcahill #aviation

[JoshCahill]

What do you think of Turkmenistan Airlines? Also follow me on for daily updates :)

[filipdabrowski]

While other aviation YouTubers post another boring business class review and complain of the current state of British Airways or whatever, here is Josh giving us quality aviation content. This is next level stuff and I am happy that you show us airlines and destinations other people in your space never want to touch. Well done. More of this please!

[speedbird]

Turkmenistan Airlines used to be very popular for British Indians with Punjabi heritage a decade ago. The airline was operating LHR via Ashgabat to Amritsar twice a week by B757. The flight was always full load.

[MiguelMoital]

I went to Turkmenistan twice for work. In 2007 and 2008. This video brought back lots os memories. I remember that the person who checked our passports on arrival was the same even though the two trips were 8 months apart. The airport completely deserted. Domestic flights were on a 727 that the country had just received from the US. The airport was still litered with parked planes from the USSR time. The people are kind. Even though it is a muslim country it is a different take on Islam. White ks the colour! The entire city is covered in marble, as is the airport. Definitely an experience of a lifetime. There isn't much to see as 90% is desert. Some cultural attractions related to the silk road are worth visiting.

[thalesofmiletus]

Flew from Ashgabat to Türkmenbaşy twenty years ago. Interesting experience. Never seen so many policemen in one area in my life and most of them wanted to see your passport. There was a curfew from 11pm -7am so you had to get to the airport before then if your flight was before 9am. The airport at Türkmenbaşy was something out of a movie. KGB listening in was still a ‘thing’ so the bar owners used to turn the music up very loud to help obscure our conversation. Almost got arrested outside Türkmenbaşy airport after flying in by helicopter from a Jack up rig as our agent was 15 min ultra late. The aircraft was held together by sticky tape and glue and every seat was taken. I seem to recall the price of a ticket was $5 but as Europeans we were charged $400 each way. A bloke with a broken back was carried onto the aircraft in sheets shaped like a hammock. The people in the front row on both sides of the aircraft were turfed out and off the aircraft. The stewardesses stepped over the guy when serving tea and sweets. (Candy). All in all an experience never to be forgotten. The mushroom soup in the hotel in Ashgabat was and still is the best mushroom soup I have ever tasted. Another lasting memory was none of the locals ever smiled.

[Chrisag]

Hey Josh, as you asked for it in the video. The Airline makes money with cargo. I was able to handle it a lot as I'm a former Ramp Agent for Fraport. We also had almost no passengers on it but it was everytime absolute full with cargo. Most of the time Cargo from Frankfurt via Ashgabat to Beijing. Sometimes also Cargo in the cabin and flowers! Flowers, flowers, flowers^^. The hole bulk hold was full of packed flowers most of the flights. So yes, they do the most money with cargo. Also they have 2 A330F now in the fleet that fly to Frankfurt sometimes.

[susipaterson]

This is the best video you've ever done. The whole experience was surreal, bizarre, and hilarious, all at the same time. Thanks, Josh.

[nickflintoff]

“He finds help in Austria.” World class. Bravo 👏🏼

[PplEtr]

My thoughts:
1) Window in the loo!
2) Plane is either well maintained or barely used.
3) "Prisoner of Ashkabat"
4) Slightly like N Korea: big, empty buildings... except these buildings are more than a shell, but still big. And empty.
5) Don't end up like Warmbier. Exploring a hotel / airport may not be taken as "innocent fun" in some countries.
6) Also, your sponsor, that VPN thing: Bypassing internet police may also get you the Warmbier treatment.

[DeniseSommerRoque]

No wonder their aircraft are so well maintained…they hardly transport any passengers….what a bizarre and surreal experience this must have been…the gentleman at the airport gave me major Borat vibes 😆

[videbytes]

In 1967 I was the only passenger on a DC3 on Wien Alaska Airlines from Fairbanks to Nome, Alaska - a 500 mile trip. The flight attendant sat down on a seat across the aisle from me, and we had a nice conversation on the trip.

[Hrolfr]

I spent about a week in Ashgabat 20 years ago. Niazov was still the President and ruled his country with authority and...weird decisions. If I remember well, he decided to rename the days of the week, monday being his mother's name, tuesday, his sister's etc etc... He built also a kind of marble Eiffeil Tower with his golden plated statue on top, this statue rotating so that it always face the sun. He also wrote a book of poetry (the Rukmana ?), that every kid at school had to learn. He also sent that book on space and it's now rotating around earth.
I remember also to 2 very big stadiums in Ashgabat which were always empty and his portrait was everywhere in the streets. The cars have to be all white, and clean. If Police notice a stain on your car, you'll get trouble.
I left the country by a night flight with a Armenian Airline Antonov 24. A great moment also...🤣🤣🤣

[Iamwatchingyou]

I laughed way harder than I supposed on the stab at Nonstop Dan.

[namanula]

What an experience, Josh! I too can’t see how the airline, the hotel, the airport & more can survive with literally no customers to pay staff wages & other expenses. I’m still surprised at how you’re able to discreetly use your GoPro, without being discovered & locked up in a cell in some of these lesser known locations! A great journey, & so well told mate ❤

[tombauer]

I used to fly with them very, very often from Frankfurt to Bangkok and back again with only a very short change in Aschgabat. At that time, the flight tickets were over 300 euros cheaper than with the other airlines that also flew to Bangkok.
Food and drink was very, very plentiful because those on board had it

[domdom]

I work for a fret airline, we go to Ashgabat sometimes and stay in the same hotel that you did the "Lachin". The reasons there are very little windows and so high is that Hotels accommodating airlines crew have to provide rooms sort of day light proof. (we often do night flights and good sleep is very important) hence these funny windows. Mostly the clients of the duty free shops are the airport personal and airlines crews (like in every airports, except this one have no passengers as clients base) but still I don't know how they survive! We only go to the Fret terminal and walk to the hotel, trust me the Fret terminal is as empty as the passengers one ! Its my first time on your channel, its very interesting ! I never met anyone flying this Airline in my life!

[simonhutchings]

Josh as a fellow av geek you’ve found a golden nugget of an Aircraft/operator there . Very informative video too 👍

[frausmithy]

It was worth watching this video just for the 'crew wearing hotel slippers'! That's brilliant! And as for being locked inside an empty transit hotel...that was super creepy! Great video, loved it!

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

Such a beautiful airport! Turkmenistan is one of my favorite flags because while I typically like a simpler flag, I make an exception for certain flags that look cool because of it being more complex, and Turkmenistan is one of them. There are five stars on the Turkmen flag to represent both the five regions of the country (Ahal, Lebap, Mary, Balkan, and Daşoguz) and the Five Pillars of Islam. A carpet is on the hoist side to signify the historic Turkmen carpet industry. There are five different designs for the five major Turkmen tribes, which from top to bottom are the Teke, Yomut, Saryk, Chowdur, and Ersari. The olive branches at the bottom were added in 1997 to represent peace as Turkmenistan became a neutral country in 1995.

Besides former president Gurbanguly, their first president Saparmurat Niyazov or as he called himself Turkmenbashi was just as weird! He almost built an ice palace with penguins in the middle of a desert, built only one hospital in the country to make people go to the capital, ordered all libraries outside the capital to shut down, renamed the months of the year after his mother, the Ruhnama, national icons, etc, and named a city after himself. He made people read his book the Ruhnama, basically his book of opinions that all Turkmen had to agree with. If you want to drive, you had to pass a test about the Ruhnama. He even had a golden statue of himself that rotated so that it would ALWAYS face the Sun, to symbolize that his era was the golden age! Yeah, he was insane.

[MultiTopgearfan]

As an aviation geek who loves flying but also hates sharing space with strangers, Turkmenistan Airlines offers my dream flights where you can have an entire row (or 15!) all to yourself 🥳