History
Air Astana is a joint venture between the Government of Kazakhstan and BAE Systems, with 51% owned by the government and 49% by BAE.
Flight safety and high quality passenger service are the airline’s main principles of operation.
Air Astana was registered in 2001 and began flight operations in May 2002.
Since that time, Air Astana has increased its fleet from 3 up to 18 aircraft, employs more than 1800 people worldwide and expanded its route network to include 25 domestic and 21 international routes.
The airline is a full member of the IATA (International Association of Air Transport) and is the only airline in Kazakhstan which is EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) JAR-145 certified to perform aircraft maintenance.
In ratings published in August, 2005 by the well-known industry magazine Airline Business, Air Astana was rated fourth among the world’s 200 leading airlines in terms of the rate of growth of passenger volume and total number of kilometers traveled by passengers in 2004.
Peter Foster was appointed as president of Air Astana in 2005 and by the end of the same year, a ten-year Strategy Plan for the development of the airline was completed. It can be summarized by two key goals – the expansion of its fleet and network and the continual improvement of service to its customers.
A number of changes will be implemented in the immediate future. New aircraft and an increase in the frequency of flights on both domestic and international routes, new menus, enhanced in-flight entertainment systems, and a frequent flyer bonus program for its passengers will all be introduced by Air Astana.