Air Astana
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| Founded | 14 September 2001 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 15 May 2002 | ||||||
| Hubs | Almaty International Airport Astana International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Nomad Club | ||||||
| Fleet size | 21 (+8 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 32 (15 domestic, 17 international) | ||||||
| Parent company | Government owned (51%) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Head office: Almaty, Kazakhstan Registered office: Astana, Kazakhstan | ||||||
| Key people | Peter Foster | ||||||
| Website | http://www.airastana.com/ | ||||||
Air Astana is a Kazakh airline with its head office in the Air Astana Centre 1 in Almaty and its registered office in Astana.[1] 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[2]. Air Astana is one of the sponsor of the Astana Team, a professional road bicycle racing team[3].
History
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)[2]. The airline recently entered partnership with Lufthansa expanding flight offering for the passengers of both airlines.
Destinations
By September 2009, Air Astana served 15 domestic and 17 international destinations. Recently opened routes to Bishkek, Baku, Novosibirsk and Kuala-Lumpur, improved its regional route network. Service frequencies were also increased to Bangkok, Frankfurt, Istanbul and Moscow.[4]
Codeshare
Air Astana have code share agreements with the following carriers:
- airBaltic (Riga)
- Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
- KLM (Amsterdam)
Fleet
Air Astana has a modern fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes, reflecting a vested interest among former Soviet nations in preferring Western versus Russian equipment. The Air Astana fleet includes the following aircraft (as of 18 September 2008)[5] :
| Aircraft | In Service |
Orders | Passengers (Business*/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 1 | 0 | 126 (12/114) | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 7 | 6 | 148 (16/132) | [6] |
| Airbus A321-200 | 2 | 0 | 176 (28/148) | |
| Boeing 757-200 | 4 | 0 | 170 (20/150) | Equipped with winglets |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 2 | 0 | 220 (30/190) | |
| Fokker 50 | 5 | 0 | 50 | |
| Embraer 190 | 0 | 2 | 97 (9/88) | |
| TOTAL | 21 | 8 |
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.[7]
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.[8]
Air Astana will soon take delivery of its first A319. It has placed an order for six further A320 family aircraft with deliveries due to commence in 2012. By 2022 the airline hopes to have tripled its fleet to over 60 aircraft.[9]
Air Astana made 3 commitments for ordering 3 Boeing 787-800's by 2012.
In October 2009 the memorandum of understanding for the 787 expired with no firm order being placed.[10]
Previously operated
The three aircraft above were acquired by Air Berlin in December 2006[11]
External links
References
- ^ "Head Office." Air Astana. Retrieved on 8 October 2009.
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-03-27. p. 52.
- ^ "Astana cycling team sponsors".
- ^ "Flag Carrier remains on track for long-term development despite challenging conditions".
- ^ "Air Astana Fleet". CH-Aviation. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-15.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Air Astana signs a firm order for six A320s Airbus Press Centre, 11/06/2008
- ^ 7DAYS
- ^ "Airbus A320s leased". Airliner World. July 2007. p. 11.
- ^ "Air Astana plans to treble fleet to over 60 aircraft by 2022 to help put Kazakhstan on the global map". anna.aero. 15th August 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=18243
- ^ "Aircraft acquired by Air Berlin". CH-Aviation. 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2007-06-15.