Eznis Airways

Foundation and early years

In 2004, the Newcom Group, researched the feasibility of initiating new domestic air transport services in Mongolia: In January 2006 they founded Eznis Airways, a wholly owned subsidiary. Eznis was granted Air Operator Certificate (AOC) No. 11 by the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA), and Eznis launched its inaugural service on December 6, 2006.

In July 2008 Eznis Airways launched the Radixx computer reservation system: the airline intends to introduce Internet booking for tour operators, travel agencies and the public. Eznis Airways gained a dominant position in Mongolia's domestic air travel market and by 2008 had carried its 100,000th passenger. The airline's first international regular services began in August 2009 to Hailar, China. In March 2010 Eznis Airways initiated flights to Hailar via Choibalsan in Mongolia. Launched in June 2010, Ulan-Ude, Russia was Eznis' second scheduled international destination.

Demise and restart

Eznis Airways LLC ceased operations on 22 May 2014 due to the financial difficulties, after restructuring measures failed during the previous two years. Eznis Airways, under a new ownership group, relaunched services in the second quarter of 2019, operating Boeing 737s on international routes. A Boeing 737-700 had already been acquired pending the airline's launch.

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Eznis Airways operates the following aircraft:

The airline's sole Boeing 737-700 has been stored since 9 March 2025.

Fleet development

The airline decided to introduce jet aircraft in early 2011 and two Avro RJ85 aircraft (both ex-Lufthansa Cityline airframes) joined the fleet. The first was delivered from the UK in June 2011 (registered as JU-9909) with the second arriving in September 2011 (JU-9915). The aircraft were primarily destined to be used for charter flying to mining sites in the Gobi desert and were modified for operations on gravel runways. Both Avros were retired on 24 May, 2013. With both of them initially going to Ukraine Mediterranean Airlines, then being sold to Mahan Air five days later. The aircraft were also used on services to Khovd, Ulaangom and Ulgii, but declining load factors and unrealistic fare structures made the routes uneconomic for the RJs to operate. Consequently, the airline looked to the Bombardier Dash8-Q400 to ply longer domestic routes while the Avros continued to provide the lift capacity required by the mining companies. The Q400s had their Danish registration cancelled by 2015 (OY-YAG repainted and now operates as S2-AGW for US-Bangla Airlines).

The Boeing 737 venture was a four-month exercise for the company. It was leased with a view to Eznis opening routes to Seoul, Beijing and Hong Kong. However, Eznis' access to international routes was denied, thus making the Boeing 737 project nonviable. Apart from operating a few charter flights, the aircraft never entered scheduled service.