Air Astana is an airline based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is the national carrier of Kazakhstan and operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport. Air Astana is the main sponsor of the Astana Team, a professional road bicycle racing team.

History

The airline was established on 14 September 2001 and started operations on 15 May 2002. Air Astana leased its first three Boeing 737 aircraft in May 2002. Three Boeing 757s were added and in 2004 five Fokker 50s were acquired, the latter to largely develop the domestic network. It became the national carrier after the government closed Air Kazakhstan in February 2004 and transferred all route authorities to Air Astana. It is a joint venture owned by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (51%) and BAE Systems (49%). It has 1,761 employees (at March 2007). The airline recently entered partnership with Lufthansa expanding flight offering for the passengers of both airlines.

Destinations

Air Astana operates the following destinations (as of January 2008):

Asia

Central Asia Kazakhstan

• Aktau (Aktau Airport)
• Aktobe (Aktobe Airport)
• Almaty (Almaty International Airport)
• Astana (Astana International Airport)
• Atyrau (Atyrau Airport)
• Karaganda (Sary-Arka Airport)
• Kostanay (Kostanay Airport)
• Kyzylorda (Kyzylorda Airport)
• Oral (Oral Ak Zhol Airport)
• Oskemen (Oskemen Airport)
• Pavlodar (Pavlodar Airport)
• Petropavl (Petropavl Airport)
• Semey (Semey Airport)
• Shymkent (Shymkent International Airport)
• Zhezkazgan (Zhezkazgan Airport)

Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan

• Bishkek (Manas International Airport)East Asia

China

• Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport)
• Urumqi (Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport)

South Korea

• Seoul (Incheon International Airport)Southeast Asia

Thailand

• Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport)South Asia

India

• Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport)Southwest Asia

United Arab Emirates

• Dubai (Dubai International Airport)

Europe

Eastern Europe Russia

• Moscow (Sheremetyevo International Airport)

Turkey

• Antalya (Antalya Airport)
• Istanbul (Atatürk International Airport)Western Europe

Germany

• Frankfurt (Frankfurt Airport)

Netherlands

• Amsterdam (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)

United Kingdom

• London (London Heathrow Airport)

Fleet

Air Astana has a modern fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes, reflecting a vested interest among former Soviet nations in prefering Western versus Russian equipment. The Air Astana fleet includes the following aircraft (as of 18 September 2008) :

Air Astana Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (Business*/Economy)	Notes
Airbus A319-132	1	126 (12/114)
Airbus A320-232	7 (6 orders)	148 (16/132)
Airbus A321-231	2	176 (28/148)
Boeing 757-200	4	170 (20/150)
Boeing 767-300	2	220 (30/190)
Fokker 50	5	50

Air Astana introduced its first wide-bodied aircraft in 2007. Lease deals had been agreed for two Boeing 767-300 and one Airbus A330 aircraft, all for delivery during 2007. It introduced four Airbus A320 aircraft and finalised a deal for two Airbus A321 aircraft for December 2006 delivery. Its Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 aircraft will be retired.

According to Air Astana CEO, Peter Foster, at a series of Press calls in Almaty in December 2006, the airline would increase its fleet from 15 to 22 planes in 2007.

The airline is to lease a further two Airbus A320 aircraft from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) for delivery in May and June 2008 on six-year leases.

Air Astana has plans to increase its fleet size to a total of 34 aircraft by 2014.

Previously operated

• 2 Boeing 737-700
• 1 Boeing 737-800

The three aircraft above were acquired by Air Berlin in December 2006

External links

• Air Astana
• Air Astana Fleet

References