Airline review: Air Astana touts premium service credentials

This week saw the birth of a new domestic airline in Kazakhstan. Qazaq Air has secured three Bombardier Q400 aircraft on lease and plans to serve 12 routes, eight of which will be brand new for the local aviation market, including Almaty-Balkhash and Shymkent-Pavlodar.

The new startup has been bankrolled by sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, which also holds a 51% stake in flag carrier Air Astana. The two airlines will compete on some routes, including the premium Almaty-Astana and Almaty-Shymkent segments (both also served by carriers SCAT and Bek Air).

The Kazakh government says the establishment of Qazaq Air will allow Air Astana to focus on its international growth plans, and Air Astana had previously said it would work with the new startup to feed domestic traffic into its Almaty and Astana international hubs.  

It is a timely development in the Kazakh aviation market, coming just a week after Travelmole visited the sprawling Central Asian country courtesy of Air Astana. I flew round trip from Asia to Kazakhstan and also had the opportunity to sample the carrier’s business class product on the key Almaty-Astana route.

Flying Air Astana domestic business class

The carrier adopts a twin hub strategy – connecting destinations in Europe and Asia with Astana and Almaty respectively. Air Astana’s long haul fleet including Boeing 767-300ER and 757-200 jets also serve the short 1 hour 45 minute hop between the two hubs providing a high quality yet unhurried business class experience. I flew Alamaty-Astana flight KC683 in business class with tiered full flat beds in a 1-2-1 configuration with aisle access from every seat. Each features generous upright seat pitch of more than 50", in-seat power outlets with USB socket and a hugely impressive seat back IFE screen.

The light grey-beige cabin decor is no icon of style but benefits greatly from easy-on-the-eye mood lighting. For a short flight, meal service was more than adequate. Hot meals arrived promptly with a selection of warm bread, accompanying salad and dessert. Service was well managed and unrushed given the fairly tight timeframe.

Aside from plush amenity kits there is little discernible difference in service levels or product compared to long haul. On the ground, the passenger experience becomes more erratic, especially at Almaty airport, which seems ill-equipped to meet future demand. However a yes vote on the city’s 2022 Winter Olympic bid (due to be decided later this month) could be the all the impetus it needs to improve facilities and expand capacity.

Full service remains the focus

Speaking to Travelmole, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster was keen to push its premium service agenda with absolutely no plans to go down the no-frills route. "We will not diminish our product to monetize," Foster said, acknowledging the bare bones business model in the long haul segment rarely bears fruit. This is perhaps a no-brainer as the leisure market – especially in the budget segment – currently represents a tiny proportion of inbound traffic. The aviation market is heavily skewed toward business travel in oil and gas rich Kazakhstan.

by Ray Montgomery