About Air Astana

Fleet update

It is expected that the utilization of air transport should provide a catalyst to the Karaganda region’s economic upturn on account of the high traffic on and inadequate capacity of the region’s railways.

Air Astana Company President Peter Foster:

“The Almaty-Karaganda flight has been opened owing to considerable growth in Karaganda’s regional economy. Since Karaganda is an industrial center, this route demonstrates the need for new commercial flights. Also, it will resolve the problem of inadequate air access from Almaty to Karaganda. The flight will be carried out five times a week using A320 and Fokker 50 aircraft, and provide service for up to 1500 people per month in both directions. The opening of the Almaty-Karaganda flight is a part of a strategy aimed at increasing the volume of domestic flights, as stated in Air Astana’s strategic development plan.”

The implementation of strategic plans will allow Air Astana to increase the frequency of domestic flights, using jet aircraft in place of the turboprops on some routes. At the end of February Air Astana Company opened daily Astana-Atyrau-Aktau flights utilizing modern Boeing 737-700 aircraft. In the current year, the seating capacity for 9 selected routes from Almaty to other cities in Kazakhstan will increase from 20% to 128%. On the domestic route between Astana and Atyrau the seating capacity will increase a total of 18% to 67%. The flight from Almaty-Karaganda flight is no exception since the Airbus A320 holds up to 148 passengers with 16 business class seats and 132 economy class seats and the Fokker 50 can hold up to 50 people.

Nurlan Nigmatulin, Karaganda Regional Akim

“The location of the Karaganda region in the very center of Kazakhstan and of the whole of the Central Asian region determines its advantageous role as a convenient transit point for local and likewise for international transport. In view of regional tourism and industrial development more flights will consolidate the region’s status as one of the industrial centers in Kazakhstan. The Almaty–Karaganda flight could be the catalyst to trigger an upturn in the region’s economy.”

From its onset, the implementation of Air Astana’s flight from Almaty to Karaganda starts a new era of air service from the Karaganda region to the southern capital - Almaty. The opening of the present flight is advantageous to both the passengers and to the entire region as a whole and offers the following benefits:

• The utilization of modern Airbus A320 will offer flights with a higher level of passenger service, including for VIPs and businessmen.
• For passengers, it opens a wider possibility for fast comfortable flights to the Southern Capital, especially for weekends and public holidays when there is a sharp increase in the route’s demand.
• Increasing the seating capacity up to 450 passengers per week will create favorable conditions for the growth of passenger volume and provide a link between a major industrial region and Almaty.
• The price of a ticket will decrease for passengers making it affordable for a greater number of people who desire to make use of air transport.
• The possibility of enlarging business connections in the Karaganda region for foreign businessmen and officials located in Almaty or beyond in the rest of the world. Anyone who might have in the past been hesitant to fly on obsolete AN-24 aircraft may now fly via modern western aircraft.

Besides, the offering of such flights permit a more effective and advantageous use of the Karaganda Airport, whose technical capabilities allow it to serve not only aircraft like the Fokker-50 and Аirbus 320, and but also a Boeing 747.