Air Astana

Air Astana
IATA KC	ICAO KZR	Callsign ASTANALINE
Founded		14 September 2001
Hubs		Almaty International Airport Astana International Airport
Fleet size		18
Destinations		26
Headquarters		Astana Almaty
Key people		Peter Foster
Website: http://www.airastana.com/

Air Astana is an airline based in Astana, Kazakhstan. It is the national carrier of Kazakhstan and operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Astana Team 3 Destinations 3.1 Domestic Destinations 3.2 International Destinations 4 Fleet 4.1 Previously operated 5 External links 6 References

History

The airline was established on 14 September 2001 and started operations on 15 May 2002. Air Astana leased its first three Boeing 737 aircraft in May 2002. Three Boeing 757s were added and in 2004 five Fokker 50s were acquired, the latter to largely develop the domestic network. It became the national carrier after the government closed Air Kazakhstan in February 2004 and transferred all route authorities to Air Astana. It is a joint venture owned by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (51%) and BAE Systems (49%). It has 1,761 employees (at March 2007)^[1]. The airliner recently entered partnership with Lufthansa expanding flight offering for the passengers of both airliners.

Astana Team

Air Astana is the main sponsor of the Astana Team cyclying team.

Destinations

Domestic Destinations

Air Astana operates the following domestic destinations (as of January 2005):

• Aktau
• Aktobe
• Almaty
• Astana
• Atyrau
• Karaganda
• Kostanay
• Kyzylorda
• Oral
• Oskemen
• Pavlodar
• Petropavl
• Semey
• Shymkent
• Taraz

International Destinations

• Amsterdam
• Antalya
• Bangkok
• Beijing
• Delhi
• Dubai
• Frankfurt
• Hanover
• Istanbul
• London Heathrow
• Milan
• Moscow
• Seoul

Fleet

The Air Astana fleet includes the following aircraft (at June 2007)^[2] :

• 5 Airbus A320-200
• 1 Airbus A321-100
• 1 Airbus A321-200
• 4 Boeing 757-200
• 2 Boeing 767-300ER
• 5 Fokker 50
• Air Astana is to introduce its first wide-bodied aircraft in 2007. Lease deals have been agreed for two Boeing 767-300 and one Airbus A330 aircraft, all for delivery during 2007. It has already introduced four Airbus A320 aircraft and recently finalised a deal for two Airbus A321 aircraft for December 2006 delivery. Its Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 aircraft will be retired.
• According to Air Astana CEO, Peter Foster, at a series of Press calls in Almaty in December 2006, the airline will increase its fleet from 15 to 22 planes in 2007.^[3]
• The airline is to lease a further two Airbus A320 aircraft from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) for delivery in May and June 2008 on six-year leases.^[4]

Previously operated

• 2 Boeing 737-700
• 1 Boeing 737-800

The three aircraft above were acquired by Air Berlin in December 2006^[5]

External links

• Air Astana
• Air Astana Fleet

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-03-27, p. 52. 
2. ^ Air Astana Fleet. CH-Aviation (June 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
3. ^ 7DAYS
4. ^ "Airbus A320s leased", Airliner World, July 2007, p. 11. 
5. ^ Aircraft acquired by Air Berlin. CH-Aviation (2006-12-13). Retrieved on 2007-06-15.

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