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Our History

Air Astana was incorporated in late 2001 and its maiden flight Almaty - Astana was operated on the 15th May 2002

Timeline

2001
September
Creation of Air Astana as a JV between the Republic of Kazakhstan and BAE Systems
2002
May
First flight—Almaty to Astana
September
First International flight—Almaty to Dubai
2003
August
EASA JAR 145 certification received for Engineering and Maintenance
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2007
December
Launch of frequent flyer programme
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2008
December
Launched pilot training programme
December
Officially registered by IATA as an IOSA compliant carrier
2012
May
First in CIS four star SKYTRAX rating
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October
First own aircraft delivery
2013
SKYTRAX Best airline in Central Asia and India and best airline service
2014
June
Association of Asia Pacific Airlines included Air Astana as a full member
2015
An operating lease agreement was concluded for 11 A320neo aircraft, with deliveries scheduled between 2016 and 2020.
2016
November
Delivery of first A320 NEO aircraft
2017
January- December 2017
An operating lease agreement was concluded for five E190-E2 aircraft, three A320neo aircraft and three A321neo FB aircraft, with deliveries scheduled between 2018 and 2020.
Launch of Part 66 technical training programme
2018
May
Commissioning of the aviation technical centre in Astana
November
Announcement of the launch of FlyArystan – the first low-cost carrier in the region.
November
Delivery of the first Embraer E190-E2 aircraft.
2019
Launch of FlyArystan, the low-cost carrier in Central Asia
2021
March
FlyArystan launched first international route Turkistan—Istanbul
2022
April
Air Astana launched direct flights to Greece
October
Delivery of first new Airbus aircraft to FlyArystan
2023
April
FlyArystan awarded 4-star LCC
June
Best LCC Central Asia and CIS for FlyArystan
September
Inauguration of full-flight simulator
2024
February
Successful IPO across three stock exchanges
Air Astana
Best Airline in Central Asia & CIS according to Skytrax for the thirteenth consecutive year APEX Award for Best Airline in Central Asia APEX Five Star Award in the “Major Airlines” category in 2024
FlyArystan
APEX Five Star Award in the “Major Airlines” category in 2024 Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and own IATA code obtained Successfully passed the Skytrax audit, retaining its 4-star rating in the low-cost airline category
2025
November
Fleet simplification and expansion to 62 aircraft
Skytrax World Airline Awards 2025: Air Astana recognised as “Best Airline in Central Asia & CIS” and “Best Onboard Service in Central Asia & CIS” FlyArystan recognised as “Best Low-Cost Airline in Central Asia & CIS”