Air Astana posts profit of US$39.1m in 2017

Air Astana posted a profit of US$39.1m in 2017, returning to profitability after its first ever loss in 2016. The airline recorded passenger growth of 12% and revenue growth of 22% in 2017, after negative growth in both 2015 and 2016 following the devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge in mid-2015. The airline carried 4.2 million passengers in 2017 and recorded total revenues of US$754m. Air freight uplift also grew by 23%. Capacity grew by 7%, with new routes added between Astana and Delhi and Astana and Kiev, and increased frequencies on flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Dubai, Istanbul, London Heathrow, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, St. Petersburg, Seoul, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Urumqi and Yekaterinburg, The airline took delivery of its second Airbus A320neo family, an A321, and confirmed an order for five Embraer new-generation E2 regional jets, with deliveries starting in October 2018, bringing its total outstanding aircraft orders to 23 (15 Airbus A320neo Family, five Embraer E2s and three Boeing 787s).