Air Astana

Air Astana
IATA ICAO Callsign
KC KZR ASTANALINE
Founded 29 August 2001 (2001-08-29)
Commenced operations 15 May 2002 (2002-05-15)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer program Nomad Club
Fleet size 30
Destinations 64
Company slogan From the Heart of Eurasia
Parent company Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk Kazyna (51%).
Other Shareholder: BAE Systems PLC (49%)
Headquarters Almaty, Kazakhstan
Key people
  • Nurzhan Baidauletov, Chairman
  • Peter Foster, President & CEO
Website airastana.com

Air Astana (Kazakh: Эйр Астана) is the principal airline and the flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.[1] It operates scheduled domestic and international services on 64 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its secondary hub, Astana International Airport.

It is a joint venture between Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%).[2] It was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on 15 May 2002.

Air Astana is the "Official Air Carrier of EXPO-2017"[3] and the official carrier and general partner of the 28th Winter Universiade, which will take place from 29 January to 8 February, 2017

Air Astana is the only Kazakhstani airline allowed to fly to the European Union.

History

Air Astana was described by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in January 2012 as having "performed better in its first decade than just about any other start-up carrier" (CAPA, Airline Analysis, 9 January 2012). Yet its origins represent one of the more intriguing and unlikely stories to have emerged from the airline industry in recent times. Originally conceived as purely domestic airline, BAE Systems agreed in mid-2001 to participate in the proposed start-up at the request of Kazakhstan's head of state, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in order to facilitate an air radar contract it was then negotiating with the Government of Kazakhstan. Sir Richard Evans, BAE Systems’ chairman at the time, was instrumental in and key to the deal. However, the radar contract never materialized, and subsequent senior management changes and strategic reviews at BAE Systems led to the closure of its offices in Kazakhstan. Additionally, notwithstanding the support of Nazarbayev and a number of close advisors, the start-up, initially seen as a foreign entity, was confronted with immediate and vocal opposition from many elements of Kazakhstan's media and political establishment.

2002 – 2005

In spite of these gloomy auguries the airline took off on the charge. Under its first operational president, former British Airways executive Lloyd Paxton (there had been a brace of short-lived pre-operational incumbents), it leased its first 3 Boeing 737s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and commenced Commercial operations on 15 May 2002. In late 2003 Fokker 50s were leased from Aircraft Finance Trading BV (AFT) and 3 Boeing 757s from Pegasus Leasing Corp. It declared a net profit in 2003, its first full year of operations. Upon the bankruptcy of the previous flag carrier Air Kazakhstan in February 2004, it moved quickly to expand from its domestic network to key international routes to Dubai, Istanbul, Moscow and Beijing, followed by Frankfurt and London.

2005 – to the present day

Early growth pains and disagreements over fleet plans and hub strategy led to tensions between the shareholders and a management change in autumn 2005. Peter Foster, a former executive of Cathay Pacific Airways who had led the rehabilitation team at Philippine Airlines in 1999 before a spell as CEO at Royal Brunei Airlines, was appointed as the airline's president on 1 October 2005. Long-term development plans and management structures were established that have remained largely unchanged since then. The airline has been consistently profitable and was listed in the top 20 most profitable airlines in terms of net margin in the world for the years 2010, 2011, and 2012, according to Airline Business and Air Finance Journal, which ranked it 20th in its 2015 survey of global airline financial ratings, with a score of BBB-.

In an article on BAE Systems' offset programmes (10/10/13) the Financial Times stated, "BAE’s 49 per cent stake in Kazakhstan’s Air Astana became one of the company’s highest-yielding investments".[4]

Operations

Activity in Russia

In September 2002 the airline launched flights between Astana and Moscow with a frequency of 3 times a week and daily flights between Almaty and Moscow performed by Boeing 737–700. In 2014, the number of weekly services on the Astana – Moscow route was increased up to 9 flights a week, and Almaty – Moscow flights up to 14. The airline operates 54 weekly services on 11 routes to Russia: Almaty – Moscow performed by Airbus A321 and Boeing 767, Astana – Moscow, Almaty – St.Petersburg performed by Airbus A320 and Astana – Novosibirsk, Astana – Yekaterinburg, Astana – Omsk, Astana – St.Petersburg, Almaty – Kazan, and Almaty – Samara performed by Embraer 190.

Air Astana is represented in Russian Federation in Moscow city on Bolshoi Gnezdnikovskii pereulok 1, building 2 (Tverskaya metro station). There is also a ticket office at the Sheremetyevo airport (Terminal E).

Activity in the rest of C.I.S.

Air Astana has built on its geographical strength by expanding its network to cover all key cities of the region with short haul flights. In Central Asia and Caucasus Air Astana offers services to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia) both from Almaty and Astana. Services to Dushanbe (Tajikistan) are currently performed from Almaty and will be extended from Astana starting IATA Summer 2016 navigation season. Air Astana closed its last gap in the region in 2013 by launching services to Kiev (Ukraine) from Almaty with 3 flights per week. Since the launch of services, Air Astana has rapidly become a key provider for air transport to Central Asia and Far Eastern destinations from Ukraine and v.v. The extensive regional network provides for access to all major cities in the region with Air Astana’s medium and long haul flights from Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Istanbul, Frankfurt, London and others.

Activity in China

While many people are aware that Kazakhstan is located in the territory of the ex-USSR, it is only a few that are aware of its close vicinity with China. Kazakhstan neighbors China through its South East border with a flight time of less than one and a half hours to Ürümqi and under five hours to Beijing. The close vicinity of Air Astana’s hubs allows for competitive regional operations to China. The fact that not a single European carrier is operating to Ürümqi, provides a strong competitive edge for Air Astana. The Western hub of China is served both from Almaty and Astana with 11 services per week, offering connectivity to its entire CIS network as well as Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Delhi, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Paris and others. The daily services to Beijing connect with the entire CIS network as well as European network such as Frankfurt, Istanbul and particularly London.

ICAO and the EU

The airline's international route development was heavily influenced by regulatory factors from 2009 until April 2014. In April 2009, an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), found the Kazakhstan Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) to be non-compliant in key areas of regulatory oversight. This resulted in, with the exception of Air Astana, a blanket ban of all Kazakhstan-registered airlines from flying to, from or within the European Union by the EU's Air Safety Committee (ASC). Air Astana was exempted from the ban "...taking into account oral and written presentations made...." particularly the registration of its aircraft with the Department of Civil Aviation of Aruba, a Netherlands dependent territory, and its operations safety management programme as presented to the ASC. However, it was included on the ASC's Annex B, restricting its EU operations to the level of frequencies and fleet operated at the time of imposition of the ban in July 2009. The ASC removed the fleet restriction in November 2012 for the Boeing and Airbus fleet based on the airline's fleet renewal programme but retained the restriction on Embraer aircraft. On 10 April 2014 the ASC lifted the frequency restrictions based on the airline's safety performance, including Safety Audit of Foreign Airlines (SAFA) monitoring programme results, as well as continuing transparent communications. This allowed the airline to start planning for new destinations in Europe and increases to its daily service to Frankfurt from Astana, its 6 weekly service to Amsterdam from Atyrau, and its 4 weekly services to London. The airline subsequently commenced service between Astana and Paris in April 2015. The restrictions on the Embraer aircraft, which were the last to be banned from the EU, were removed in December 2015, and all Air Astana aircraft are now allowed to enter EU airspace.[5]

Destinations

Air Astana's 64 routes include most major cities in Kazakhstan and an increasing number of neighboring Central Asian and Russian cities. The latter is the result of a decision to implement what its managers refer to as an "extended home market strategy", to leverage its reputation for high standards of service and air safety compliance in the region's growing air transport markets. Since 2009 it has launched services to Baku, Tashkent, Ürümqi, Tbilisi, Dushanbe, Bishkek, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Saint Petersburg, and from the middle of 2012 – Kazan and Omsk. Almaty – Kiev, and Astana – Kiev were launched in spring 2013.

Its long haul growth has been towards south and east Asia, with flights to Delhi, Seoul (operated in code share with Asiana Airlines), Beijing, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong (28 August 2012) and Ho Chi Minh City (January 2013). In addition to its existing Almaty-Seoul services, Air Astana launched direct services from Astana to Seoul in June 2015. Air Astana operates daily services from Astana to Frankfurt, three weekly services to Heathrow and three weekly services to Paris (launched 29 March 2015). The European services are connected with Air Astana’s extensive domestic services as well as regional services in South Russia, Central Asia and China. The airline launched a non-stop flight from Almaty to Tehran, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Iran (30 June 2016).

Codeshare agreements

Air Astana has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[6]

Fleet

Current fleet

Air Astana Airbus A320-200
Air Astana Boeing 757-200
Air Astana Boeing 767-300ER

The Air Astana fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of June 2016):[7][8]

Air Astana Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Seats Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — 12 114 126
Airbus A320-200 8 — 16 132 148
Airbus A320neo 1 2 16 132 148 to be delivered from 2016[9]
Airbus A321-200 4 — 28 151 179
Airbus A321neo — 8 28 151 179 to be delivered from 2017[9]
Boeing 757–200 5 — 16 150 166 to be replaced by Airbus A321neo from 2018[9]
Boeing 767-300ER 3 — [10][11] 30 193 223
Boeing 787-8 — 3
TBA
 to be delivered from 2019
Embraer 190 9 —[12] 9 88 97
Total 30 14

Fleet development

From 2006 to 2008 Boeing 737 were gradually replaced by leased Airbus 320 and two the very first widebody Boeing 767-300ER's were leased from ILFC. In 2008 and 2011 two Boeing 757s were leased from ILFC company and MacQuarie Aviation Inc. In mid-2008 the first purchase order for 6 Airbus A320 aircraft was made. The aircraft were delivered at the end of 2012. In 2011 the company introduced 3 new Embraer 190 regional aircraft, two of them were purchased in leasing from Jetscape Inc, and 1 from Aircraft Lease Corporation (ALC). In 2012 the airline received 3 Embraer 190 aircraft, one of which became the company's property. The purchased Embraer 190 aircraft joined the fleet in 2012 and 2013. On 1 December 2012 the airline retired the Fokker 50 fleet, replacing them all by Embraer 190's. In February 2012 the airline concluded the largest in the country's aviation history contract on supply of Boeing 767-300ER in late 2013 and three Boeing 787–8 in 2017.

In 2013 Air Astana received its 7th Embraer 190 and 2 more Airbus A320 with sharklets. The airline has taken delivery of two new Boeing-767s in 2013 and a third in June 2014. At the Paris airshow in June 2015 Air Astana announced that it would be the launch customer for the A321 NEO Long Range, 4 of which will be acquired from Air Lease Corp Inc of the USA in 2019, in addition to 3 short range NEOs to be acquired from 2016.

Air Astana operates a fleet of 30 aircraft. As a result of the fleet restructuring and replacing all its Airbus A320 and Boeing 767 aircraft with brand new ones, Air Astana's average fleet age is only 6 years as of 2015. The company plans to expand its fleet to 34 aircraft by 2016 and up to 43 by 2020. It also plans to commence flights to USA upon arrival of the Dreamliners.

Fleet history

Air Astana’s fleet history:[13]

Aircraft Put into operation Out of operation Number of out of service
Airbus A319 2008 —
Airbus A320 2006 — 4
Airbus A321 2007 —
Boeing 737–700 2002 2007 1
Boeing 737–800 2002 2007 2
Boeing 757–200 2003 —
Boeing 767-300ER 2007 — 2
Embraer 190 2011 —
Fokker 50 2004 2012 6

Service and branding

During the ATW's 41st Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards ceremony in Washington, DC on 25 February 2015 Air Astana was awarded the Airline Market Leader of the Year.[14]

Class types

Air Astana operates a 2 class service, Business and Economy, on all aircraft, and Economy Sleeper on its Boeing 757 fleet. The Boeing 767 and 757 are equipped with the individual in-flight entertainment system supplied by RAVE in both cabins. On other aircraft it offers hand-held personal entertainment systems (「KCTV」) in the business class of all flights longer than 3 hours. Hot meals and alcoholic beverages are offered on all flights in Business, Economy, and Economy Sleeper.

New products

In Feb 2015, Air Astana started offering a new class type: the Economy Sleeper. Passengers of the Economy Sleeper Class get a row of three Economy Class seats, turn-down service, Business Class amenity kits and KCTV, along with various perks at the airport, including access to Business Class lounges. The new product is currently featured exclusively on the Boeing 757–200 on routes from Astana to London, Frankfurt and Paris, and from Almaty to Hong Kong.[15]

Nomad Club

The "Nomad" frequent flyer club consists of Gold, Silver and Standard membership tiers, and has reciprocal agreements with Lufthansa's 「Miles & More」and Asiana Airlines' "Asiana Club" programmes.

Shanyrak Lounge

Air Astana has recently opened its lounge "The Shanyrak", the only airline lounge at the Astana International Airport.

Personnel

Air Astana numbers more than 4,000 people. Despite the fact that the company directly hires staff for international offices, most of the employees are citizens of Kazakhstan. It employs 320 pilots, about a third of whom are non-Kazakhstan nationals recruited principally in Europe. In 2012 company has introduced a general management training program at Cranfield University, England. The airline’s cabin crew consists of over 1,100 flight attendants with the citizenship of Kazakhstan, most of them are women. Its management is a combination of Kazakhstan and foreign nationals.

Activity indicators

Number of passengers transported:[16]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Head Office". airastana.com. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  2. ↑ Hofmann, Kurt (11 April 2014). "Air Astana eyes Paris and Prague services after EU lifts safety ban". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Astana Expo 2017 has an official air carrier". www.eturbonews.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
  4. ↑ "Offset side deals spark calls for transparency". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  5. ↑ "European Commission clears Air Astana and adds Iraqi Airways to EU air safety list | CAPA - Centre for Aviation". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  6. ↑ "Profile on Air Astana". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  7. ↑ "Air Astana – ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.
  8. ↑ Air Astana Fleet Details and History https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Air-Astana
  9. 1 2 3 flightglobal.com – PARIS: Air Astana takes long-range A321neo to replace 757s 16 June 2015
  10. ↑ Air Astana announces $1.3 billion 767–787 order, retrieved 10 February 2012.
  11. ↑ Website, Boeing. "767 Model Summary". Boeing Company. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Air Astana takes delivery of first Embraer 190, retrieved 10 February 2012.
  13. ↑ "Air Astana Fleet – Airfleets aviation". airfleets.net.
  14. ↑ "Air Transport leaders celebrated at ATW Achievement Awards". Air Transport World. 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  15. ↑ "Air Astana Introduces Economy Sleeper": New Economic Business Class Concept". >talkairlines. >talkairlines. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Annual Reports". airastana.com. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  17. ↑ "A-Z Airline Quality Rating". SKYTRAX.
  18. ↑ http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards/airline_award_winners_2012.html#byregion
  19. ↑ http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards/best_airline_staff_by_world_region.html
  20. ↑ "ATW's 41st Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards". atwonline.com.
  21. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 2015-12-31.

External links

Media related to Air Astana at Wikimedia Commons

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