Kazakh flag carrier Air Astana expanded its route network in 2023 with new service launches and increased frequencies to destinations in China, India, Central and Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, Mediterranean, Middle East and the United Kingdom.
The Almaty-based airline currently operates 50 routes to 34 destinations and carried 4.4 million passengers for the period from 30 September 2022 to 30 September 2023.
The year also notably marked 20-year route anniversaries for Air Astana on services to Bangkok, Frankfurt, Istanbul and Seoul, whilst those to Beijing and Dubai stretch back even longer to the airline’s earliest days.
The fleet of Air Astana and its dedicated low-cost carrier FlyArystan increased to 49 aircraft, including Airbus, Boeing and Embraer types.
The group plans to further expand the fleet over the next five years, which will then only comprise of Airbus A320neo, A321neo, A321LR and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft as Air Astana parts with its Embraer E2 fleet.
Air Astana says its continued fleet expansion demonstrates the airline’s commitment to operate environmentally efficient aircraft, which also offer increased passenger comfort.
With the fleet expanding and an associated need for increased flight and cabin crew numbers, Air Astana recently officially commissioned a new flight training center in Astana equipped with the very latest generation L3 Harris full-flight-simulator.