Regional services already operate from Almaty to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan and Novosibirsk in southern Russia. Additional new routes to other cities in southern Russia, including Omsk and Yekatenburg are also under consideration.
A fleet of new generation Embraer E-190 airliners have been selected to specifically operate on Air Astana’s expanding Central Asia network, with the first of three leased aircraft scheduled for delivery in early 2011. Airbus A320 Family aircraft will operate these services in the interim.
“Services launched from Almaty to Central Asian destinations in 2008/09 have proved enormously popular with government, business and leisure travelers and we are delighted to now start offering more destinations in China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Passengers traveling from Central Asian cities have the opportunity to conveniently connect to Air Astana’s long-haul services from Almaty to major cites in Asia, Europe and the Middle East,“ said Peter Foster, president of Air Astana.
Air Astana achieved a record net profit US$49 million on revenues of $546 million for the full year 2009, a gain of 176 per cent over 2008 and a 34 per cent increase over the previous best year of 2007. This was in spite of a decline in revenues of 16 per cent.
The airline commenced regular flight operations in May 2002 and currently operates a network that serves 21 domestic and 23 international destinations from its hubs in Almaty, Astana and Atyrau. Air Astana flies a fleet comprising two Boeing 767s, four Boeing 757s, ten Airbus A320 Family and six Fokker 50 aircraft.