On Thursday, Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana unveiled its newest Airbus A321LR, which arrived in the country on Wednesday. The Central Asian airline now has ten longer-range A321s and an Airbus fleet of 34 single-aisle aircraft.
The Airbus A321LR has been a big success for Air Astana, operating on its international routes to destinations including London, Bangkok, Dubai, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Sharm El Sheikh, Antalya, and Phuket in Thailand. Given the more extended flight sectors Air Astana operates with the narrowbody, the cabin has a two-class layout of 16 seats in business class and 150 in economy.
A321LR number 10 is here
Business class passengers are in a 2-2 layout with fully lie-flat seats set at a pitch of 45 inches (114 centimeters), while in the economy cabin, the pitch is 30 inches (76 cm) with the standard 3-3 configuration. All passengers have an in-seat video to keep them amused, and with its range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers), that will come in handy.
Often aircraft ferry flights involve stops in exotic locations, and while this A321LR didn't need to stop, it took a roller-coaster-looking route. Operating as flight KC1386, the A321LR departed Germany from Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport (XFW) at 15:46 on Tuesday for the seven-hour flight, landing at Astana's Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) at 03:47 on Wednesday. The aircraft carries registration EI-KGI and manufacturer serial number 10902.
Taking into account the impact of COVID-19, Air Astana has assembled its fleet of ten A321LRs in a relatively short time of three years. The first was delivered in September 2019, introducing the airline to new generation engines delivering a 20% saving in fuel costs per seat and a 50% reduction in the aircraft's noise footprint.
This year Air Astana is celebrating its twentieth anniversary, and in the two decades since its launch, the airline has carried more than 60 million passengers and around 280,000 tonnes of cargo and mail. This year it will carry more than seven million, a 12% increase over 2021, and in the first ten months of 2022 has posted a net profit of $65 million, 84% higher than the same period last year.
Air Astana Group President and CEO Peter Foster said this success would not have been possible without the professionalism of its employees and the support of customers.
"Despite the global and local challenges, we have been able to strengthen our position in both the regional and international markets, creating a base for new achievements. We believe that delivery of advanced aircraft to our fleet, such as the Airbus A321LR and Boeing 787, brings a bright future ahead for Air Astana."
Boeing 787s are on the way
While the airline relies on Airbus narrowbodies, data from ch-aviation.com shows it also has three Boeing 767-300ERs. These three registrations EI-KEA, -KEB, and -KEC, have 223 seats, with 30 in business and 193 in economy. Air Astana is eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the three Boeing 787-8s it has on order, with the first due in 2025. Rounding out the Airbus and Boeing airplanes are five Embraer E190s.
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With travel restrictions virtually a thing of the past, Air Astana is expanding its network to put these new aircraft to work quickly. The airline now operates 42 routes, 27 international and 15 domestic, while its low-cost carrier FlyArystan is flying on 26 domestic and eight international services.
In 2022, Air Astana launched new flights to Heraklion (Greece) and Bodrum (Turkey) while resuming services from Almaty to Bangkok and Beijing. It will also launch flights to Tel Aviv and Medina (Saudi Arabia) next year. FlyArystan launched or resumed services from Aktau to Baku, Aktau-Istanbul, Aktau-Dubai, Shymkent-Dubai, and Shymkent-Kutaisi in Georgia.
With more new-generation aircraft, the airline is also looking to hire pilots, flight attendants, and engineers, with training at its own expense. It is establishing a training center equipped with a full flight simulator and a rescue training simulator. The center is located in Astana and will open in 2023.
It would be great to hear from Air Astana A321LR passengers in the comments.