Air Astana destined to become one of the largest Airbus A320neo Family operators in Central Asia and CIS

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, is destined to become one of the largest A320neo Family operators in Central Asia and CIS over the next three years. The airline became the first operator of this type in the region in 2016 and the fleet will grow to 17 aircraft by 2020. Air Astana will then operate 6 A320neo, 7 A321neo and 4 A321neo LR types. All aircraft will be acquired on operating lease basis in accordance with agreements that were signed for 11 aircraft in 2015 and 6 aircraft in 2017. The delivery of the new generation A320neo Family aircraft will allow for an overall increase of capacity by up to 40% over the next three years. The A320neo and A321neo will operate on domestic and medium haul destinations, whilst the A321neo LR has the capability to operate long-range services from Almaty and Astana to destinations in Asia and Europe. As well as boosting frequencies on existing routes, the aircraft will also be deployed on new services to CIS and South Asia.