19 Nov 2010
Air Astana,
the flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is launching a series of new
routes from Almaty, Astana and Aktau to destinations in Russia, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan and Turkey during November and December.
New routes to Russia
are the twice weekly (Monday/Thursday) service by A320 from Almaty to St Petersburg (Pulkovo)
commencing on 2nd December and the twice weekly (Wednesday/Sunday) service by
Fokker 50 from Astana – Yekaterinburg commencing on 8th December. These new
services bring the total number of routes to Russia
up to five, with existing services already including Almaty to Moscow,
Astana to Moscow and Astana to Novosibirsk.
The capital of Tajikistan, Dushanbe will be served three times a week
(Wednesday/Friday /Sunday) from Almaty by Fokker 50 commencing on 21st November
and the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, will be served three times a
week (Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday) from Almaty by A320 commencing on 2nd December.
A new once a week service from Aktau in western Kazakhstan
to Istanbul by
A320 will commence on 28th November. Existing Air Astana services operate to Istanbul from
Almaty, Astana and Atyrau.
“Air Astana was rated as one of the best airlines in Eastern Europe by Skytrax
earlier this year and continues to grow in strength and reputation as Central Asia’s leading carrier. With these latest new services
destined to prove popular with government, business and leisure travellers,
more and more passengers will have the opportunity to conveniently
connect to Air Astana's award winning long-haul services from Almaty to
major cites in Asia, Europe and the Middle East,“ said Peter Foster,
President of Air Astana.
The launch of the new Air Astana services to the CIS reflects another
significant step in the process of developing Almaty and Astana as major air
hubs for the region. Services from Almaty to Baku,
capital of Azerbaijan,
Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan,
Astana to Novosibirsk in southern Russia and Astana to Urumqui in western China
were launched in 2009 and from Almaty to Urumqui in mid 2010. New services to
be launched in 2011 include Astana to Samara in Russia, Almaty to Kiev
in Ukraine, Almaty to Novosibirsk and Almaty to Bodrum in Turkey.
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 and Fokker 50 aircraft operate these
services in the interim.
Air Astana commenced regular flight operations on 15th 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 an all
western fleet comprising of two Boeing 767s, four Boeing 757s, ten Airbus A320
Family and six Fokker 50 aircraft. Air Astana is a full member of the
International Air Transport Association and is the only airline in Kazakhstan
with EASA Part 145 aircraft maintenance certification. Air Astana is a joint
venture between Kazakhstan’s
JS Company Sovereign Wealth Fund SamrukKazyna (51%) and BAE Systems (49%).
Air Astana is the official carrier of
the 7th Asian Winter Games 2011 and looks forward to welcoming visitors to this
world class sporting event in Kazakhstan!