The Covid crisis had a lasting impact on the business ofAir Astana. The national Kazakhstan, which had become a specialist in air transport between Europe and Asia, was forced to completely overhaul its strategy.
At a recent conference, the CEO of Air Astana, Peter Foster, explained that " the market in South-East Asia is at a complete standstill. We no longer operate flights to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Vietnam. On the other hand, we have realised that other point-to-point leisure routes have become extremely popular" .
Air Astana has reopened a handful of international flights. The airline connects Almaty to Dubai several times a week, and recently to Male in the Maldives. Charter flights are also offered to Antalya and the Red Sea in Egypt. In addition, it continues to connect a number of European cities, including Frankfurt, Istanbul and Kiev.
According to Eric Didier, Senior Regional Manager Western Europe & Americas, the flights to Paris remain suspended for the time being. The only existing alternative is for French travellers to take a pre-carriage to Frankfurt.
Launch of Economy Premium on Embraer aircraft
The Frankfurt route serves Frankfurt airport. Nur Sultan with three weekly flights. A fourth flight also links the German metropolis to Uralsk. The aircraft are Airbus A321LRs with 16 business seats, every second row of which has a separate, completely independent seat.
However, Air Astana continues to adapt its offer and services. It has just launched a premium economy class on its domestic routes served in Embraer 190. This product is largely modelled on business class - except for the seat - and costs 35% lower to a classic Business Class.
Passengers are entitled to priority check-in and boarding at the airport, lounge access and enhanced inflight services. Premium Economy seats are configured in a 2-2 configuration. The middle seat has been eliminated.
The new product made its debut on 23 November on several domestic lines.
