23 May 2011
Central Asia hub in
Almaty set to expand with new services to Tbilisi,
Georgia and Samara, Russia.
Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s
principal airline, is marking its ninth anniversary by officially presenting
the first new Embraer E-190 airliner at a ceremony attended by VIPs, government
officials and the media in Almaty today. The Embraer E-190 has been
selected to increase domestic and regional services from Almaty, the carrier’s
hub for Central Asia, with new services to Tbilisi,
capital of Georgia and
Samara in southern Russia
starting on 2nd June 2011.
The first aircraft arrived in Almaty on 30th April and has already started
operating on domestic routes from Almaty to Karaganda,
Pavlodar, Aktau and Atyrau, as well as on
regional routes from Almaty to Tashkent, capital
of Uzbekistan, Dushanbe, capital of Tajikistan and Bishkek, capital of
Kyrgystan.
Air Astana is committed to an initial fleet of six Embraer E-190s, with three
leased aircraft being delivered in 2011 and two purchased plus one further
leased aircraft arriving in 2012. Air Astanas’ E-190s are configured with
97 seats in a two class layout and will operate alongside the existing fleet of
Airbus A320 Family aircraft on the regional/domestic network. The new aircraft
will also gradually replace the fleet of six Fokker 50 turboprops that will all
be retired by the end of 2012.
A total of 23 Air Astana pilots have been trained to fly the Embraer E-190 at
Flight Safety International in Paris,
with more crews for the next two aircraft already under training at the same
facility. Pilot training for the E-190 will be brought in-house following the
installation of an Enhanced Virtual Procedures Trainer (EVPT) at Air Astana’s in-house
training
facility in Almaty in early 2012. The airline already has Airbus and Boeing EVPT
capability. Air Astana has additionally trained cabin crew and engineers for
Embraer E-190 operations.
"The Embraer E-190's range, efficiency, size and passenger comfort is
ideal for Air Astana and will enable us to further grow our network within Kazakhstan, Central Asia
and the CIS, as we continue to develop our position as the region's airline of
choice in terms of network and service. We expect to expand our E190 fleet in
the future as more traffic flows onto our long haul Asian and European services
out of Almaty," said Peter Foster, President of Air Astana.
The Embraer 190 was selected for its advanced design, passenger comfort and
operating efficiency, with low maintenance costs and fuel burn. The twin engine
jet is optimised for medium range flights, with a maximum capability of flying
4,500 km.
Air Astana achieved
a record net profit of US$ 77.71 million (audited) in 2010, up 61% over 2009,
on sales of $656 million. Total seating capacity increased by 4% to 7.4 million
RPKs and the number of passengers carried increased by 17% to 2.59 million.
Service highlights during 2010 included the launch of several new regional
services from Almaty and Astana, the introduction of KCTV in Business Class on
long-haul services, and the installation of flat beds in Business Class on the
Boeing 757.