Review of Tez Jet Airlines flight from Bishkek to Osh in Economy

Hi, dear flight-report members and readers!

Having covered the theme of Kazakhstan aviation - ALA-UKK on SCAT B735, UKK-KGF on Southern Sky An-24, KOV-CIT on SCAT CR2, ALA-NQZ on Air Astana B763, NQZ-ALA on Sunday Airlines B752 - which will be continued soon (but with generic aircraft types), with this FR I'd like to open a short series about aviation in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, and this is where things get especially interesting.

This FR covers a domestic flight on TezJet BAe Avro RJ85 from Bishkek (BSZ) to Jalal-Abad (JBD), which was my first ever flight on a 4-engined narrowbody and also first ever flight on a high-wing jet. Please don't get distracted by incorrect destination in the header - it's because JBD is not in the FR airport database, and I kindly ask moderators to add it, so I'll be able to correct the header. I also kindly draw the moderators' attention to the fact that the IATA code of Bishkek airport was recently changed from FRU to BSZ. 

The geography of Kyrgyzstan, divided by several quite high mountain ranges, conditions the necessity of domestic flights. Several local airlines serve short (less than 1 hour) flights to the remote parts of the country, which otherwise require long overland journeys via winding (and not always safe) mountain roads, which can consume the whole daylight time (some of these roads are even closed from mid-October to May when winter comes to the mountain passes). As Kyrgyzstan is significantly poorer country than its neighbours, this makes local airlines to stick with some old-gen aircraft, which are almost extinct in today's world and are truly gems for avgeeks.

Airlines in Kyrgyzstan

Currently there are 5 airlines in Kyrgyzstan, which seems quite extraordinary for the country of this size. Though, all these carriers have very small fleets. All of them are banned from flying to EU. Let's list them and their fleets.

TezJet (K9): 2 RJ85s plus 1 MD83.

SkyFRU: 1 B733. The irony is that from 2025 Bishkek Airport is no longer FRU (from the city's Soviet name Frunze), but BSZ.

Avia Traffic Company (YK): 2 B733s plus 2 A320s.

Asman Airlines: 3 DH4s (the youngest aircrafts in Kyrgyzstan).

Aero Nomad Airlines (KA): 1 A332 (the only passenger widebody in Kyrgyzstan, currently stored) plus 2 A320s.

As I already flew B733 in Bolivia in 2019 and DH4 from Norway to Faroe in 2024, the only Kyrgyz airline of my interest was TezJet. The one-way ticket BSZ-JBD costed me about 50 USD (the price holds at the same level until 1-2 days before departure).

BAe 146 / Avro RJ Remaining Passenger Operators

BAe 146 (produced also as Avro RJ with some modifications) family is a kind of its own, being a small narrowbody quadjet with high wing and nicknamed "mini-Jumbo" or "Donkey" ("Oslik" in Russian-speaking countries).

The BAe 146 / Avro RJ family consists of 3 variants:

BAe 146-100 / Avro RJ70 - the smallest member with 26.2 m. length and 70-82 seats capacity.

BAe 146-200 / Avro RJ85 - the mid-sized member with 28.6 m. length and 85-100 seats capacity. 

BAe 146-300 / Avro RJ100 - the largest member with 31 m. length and 97-112 seats capacity.

It would be interesting to list the world's remaining passenger operators of this family and their layouts, as these jets become close to extinct. 

1) Aerovias DAP: 2 RJ85s (Y80) plus 2 RJ85s (Y82) plus 6 RJ100s (Y97). This airline operates world-famous flights (marketed by Antarctic Airways) from Chilean Southern Patagonia to Chilean Antarctica.

2) Air Libya: 1 RJ85 (Y92) plus 3 RJ100s (Y92).

3) Cronos Airlines: 1 RJ100 (Y92).

4) Ecojet: 3 RJ85s (Y93) plus 1 RJ100.

5) Mahan Air: 7 RJ85s (Y100) plus 3 RJ100s (Y112). 

6) Mehr Airways: 2 RJ100s.

7) Qeshm Airlines: 3 RJ100s (Y110).

8) Summit Air: 2 RJ85s (Y90) plus 4 RJ100s (Y111 or Y97).

9) TAM Empresa Publica: 1 RJ70 - the world's last passenger RJ70.

10) TezJet: 2 RJ85s (Y96).

11) Yazd Airways: 1 RJ85 (Y85) plus 1 RJ100 (Y112).

As one can see, passenger operators of BAe 146 family are located only in Canada, Chile, Bolivia, Libya, Equatorial Guinea, Iran and Kyrgyzstan. The first 2 countries, being the First World's ones are the notable exeptions from the rule. 

TezJet RJ85 LOPA

As TezJet LOPAs aren't listed anywhere, I'll show a screenshot from their website from "paid seat selection" menu. I preferred to skip pre-selection of the seat and to choose it in the airport for free. The all-economy cabin consists of 96 in 17 rows with the 3 last rows having duo seats on the left side.

Bishkek Manas International Airport (BSZ)

BSZ is located north-west of Bishkek city and is connected with the city centre by bus service (large "express" buses and small "marshrutkas"). Until 2025 BSZ's IATA code was FRU (after Bishkek's Soviet name Frunze). The airport is named after Manas - the main hero of the Kyrgyz national epic.

BSZ has single old Soviet-built terminal, housing both international and domestic flights. Currently the terminal ungergoes some renovation, but it's still light years behind the modern terminal in Kazakh airports. Though its charm is in retaining the post-Soviet athmosphere.

BSZ terminal from outside.

FIDs for arrivals and departures.
International destinations displayed: Moscow, Urumqi, Istanbul, Tashkent, Yekaterinburg, Xi'an, Novosibirsk, Sharja, Saint Petersburg, Almaty, Islamabad.
Domestic destinations displayed: Razzakov, Jalal-Abad, Batken, Osh.

Welcoming posters.

The domestic check-in desks on the ground floor. The staff is not there as I came early.

Displays above the counters promote nature sightseeing in the Osh region, but my visit there will be very brief, as the next day I'm returning to BSZ on another interesting aircraft (you can easily guess the type!).

These post-Soviet vibes!

The name of this shop - "Ak Zhol" - literally "white way", which in Central Asian countries means "have a nice trip".

A charging point near domestic check-in hall.

Beautiful Soviet-era panels on the way to the international arrivals.

The international arrivals hall.

Cellphone operators.

Currency exchange and air ticket offices.

A flower shop.

An islamic travel agency.

The international check-in hall is located 1 level above, and on the way there one can see a beautiful mural:

The international check-in hall, featuring panels themed with the local fauna and screens, promoting sightseeing in Kyrgystan's regions.

Self check-in counters.

Calibrators of some international airlines, serving BSZ.

The most famous Kyrgyz writer Chingiz Aytmatov was the author of the idea to name Bishkek airport after Manas.

SU and CZ offices (with a reminder of the good old pre-Covid times when CZ operated whalejets).

Some national Kyrgyz souvenirs in the shop.

A beautiful national-themed cafe named "Valley of Taste".

Eventially the check-in counter for my flight opens…

… and I obtain my BP with the window seat in the front of the cabin (it wasn't a good decision, though, to sit there, as you'll see further).

The domestic airside is very dull with no jetbridges. 

Planespotting in BSZ

Planespotting in BSZ turned to be quite interesting.

Ahh, this nostalgic Soviet-era stair!

4 ancient cargo widebodies: 2 B742Fs and 2 A310s.

A French-registered private Dassault Falcon 900EX (F-GPNJ).

The single B733 (EX-37012) of SkyFRU.

Cargo A300-600 (TC-MNV) of MNG Airlines.

A Luxembourg-registered Gulfstream G600 (LX-TTS).

An old A320 (EX-32009) of Aero Nomad.

An A321 (RA-73792, ex VP-BIH) of Ural Airlines from Russia.

The entire TezJet's RJ85 fleet.

1997-built EX-27005 was going to operate a rotation to Osh (OSS) later that day.

The Aircraft

1996-built EX-27003 was the aircraft that took me from BSZ to JBD.

Boarding

Boarding was via built-in stair to the 1L door.

Ahh, this wing with LY LF507-1F engines and this MLG!

The 1L door.

The Economy Seat

My seat 4F is located in the front part of the cabin near the engines. The detailed photos of the cabin will be shown further. The window blinds, albeit being mechanical, are very nonstandard, consisting of 2 pieces.

The seat is incredibly tight in all dimensions: not only the seatwidth is humble 16.5", but the row pitch is also abysmal. It's definitely the tightest economy I've ever flown. Any CRJ, DH or ATR feel much more roomier than this "Donkey"! The only excuse is the short duration of the flight, otherwise it would've been a nightmare.

The seat has rather thick padding (its only advantage), "leather" upholstery, antimacassar, tray table, seat pocket and oldschool ashtrays in armrests. The seatbelt buckle, though, is quite modern.

The seatpocket contaits only safety card.

The overhead panel and overhead bins.

It turned out that seat 4F was very inferior choice view-wise: he inner starboard engine blocks almost the entire view. Moreover, the window was murky (obviously, due to the airplane's age; I guess the other windows here are in the same condition). I should've thought a bit more when I was choosing the seat.

The Flight

Pre-departure view of the cabin.

A couple of views of the cargo aircrafts (2 B742Fs and 2 A300Fs) parked in BSZ as we're thundering down the runway on takeoff.

Engine view as we're climbing out of BSZ.

These flights are usually very scenic, but not only the view were severely limited by the engine's nacelle in the window, there were a lot of clouds (a vast cyclon was rolling on the region, as you'll see in the next FR). Only a couple of time the views were worthy.

Engine view at the cruising FL.

Time to get off from the ultratight seat and to stretch the legs. Worth noting that K9 provides no service on its domestic flights.

An inflight cabin view. Note that the last 3 rows (16-18) have duo seats on the left side, and the aisle makes kind of zig-zag here. These seats seems to be the best on this plane and I should've chosen one of them in the airport…

The right overhead compartment of row 17 is reserved for the emergency equipment.

The 2L door.

Tour de lavatoirie. There was no water in the sink and the crew provided a bottle of water instead.

As we're already descending into JBD, one can see how south-Kyrgyz villages look from above.

Reflections of the fuselage and the sun in the engine's nacelle.

Approach to JBD and landing.

My seat 4F after the flight.

The Cabin After The Flight

Detailed views of the cabin upon disembarkment. Thanks to the crew (which were really friendly) for giving me some extra time!

The Aircraft After The Flight

The last views of our "Donkey" as I disembark via the 2L door.

Jalal-Abad Airport (JBD)

JBD terminal is a really tiny building. One can also see a Russian-built KamAZ firefighting truck in this gallery.

BTW, "jalal" means "glory" and "abad" means "settlement". In September 2025, soon after my visit, the town was renamed after the national epic hero Manas, but the airport still retains the name Jalal-Abad.

JBD is located just 1 kilometer from the intercity bus station, from where I took a marshrutka to Osh (which are frequent).

Planespotting in OSS

Having arrived to Osh, I visited the vicinities of the OSS airport, where I spotted the another TezJet RJ85 (EX-27005), departing for BSZ…

… as well as Asman's DH4 (EX-21002), also departing for BSZ.

Thank you for your attention and see you in the next FRs!