Air Astana is entering a new chapter in its history. Over more than two decades, the company has become one of Kazakhstan’s most important aviation brands. Now it is placing its focus on fleet renewal, digitalization, artificial intelligence, international expansion and a higher level of service, DKNews.kz reports.
On April 29, Kursiv Media and Air Astana held a joint business breakfast titled “Air Astana: 2025 Results, a Change of Era and Growth Strategy.” The meeting brought together leading Kazakhstani journalists and bloggers. The keynote speaker was Ibrahim Canliel, who took office as Chief Executive Officer of Air Astana on April 1, 2026.
Kursiv Media, photographer Oleg Kim
For the airline, this is not merely a personnel appointment. It marks the moment when one major stage of development gives way to another. Air Astana is preserving the strong foundation built over the years, while preparing for tougher competition, new markets and more demanding passengers.
A New CEO and Continuity of Direction
Ibrahim Canliel joined Air Astana in 2003. Over the years, he has built a long career within the company, moving from Director of Commercial Planning to Chief Financial Officer. His appointment therefore does not look like a sudden change of direction, but rather a transfer of leadership to someone who knows the company from the inside.
At the business breakfast, Canliel emphasized that Air Astana will continue to follow the core principles established by Peter Foster over 20 years of work. These are flight safety, high standards of corporate governance and strong commercial discipline.
Kursiv Media, photographer Oleg Kim
At the same time, a new stage requires new tools. The aviation industry is changing rapidly: passengers are becoming more demanding, competition is intensifying, route networks are expanding, and digital technologies are already directly affecting the quality of service.
That is why Air Astana is focusing on digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence. According to Ibrahim Canliel, one example of this approach is the company’s significantly improved mobile application. It should not only help passengers buy tickets or manage their trips, but also understand their expectations more quickly and even anticipate them.
Going Global: Air Astana Wants to Play in a Higher League
One of the key topics of the meeting was the new Going Global initiative. In essence, it is about Air Astana making a more ambitious move into international markets and strengthening Kazakhstan’s role as an aviation bridge to Central Asia and the Caucasus.
For the airline, this means more than new flights and aircraft. It also means meeting the expectations of passengers who are used to world-class service.
“We have also adopted a new initiative called Going Global, which, of course, concerns the fleet and route networks, because when we set ourselves the goal of entering other markets, we are talking about passengers in those markets who are accustomed to the service of five-star airlines. Accordingly, they will expect at least the same level of service from us. We have ambitions to become the leading airline on all routes through Kazakhstan to Central Asia and the Caucasus, and if we want to achieve this goal, we must provide high standards that will meet the expectations of our new customers, as well as the necessary level of infrastructure for growing volumes,” Ibrahim Canliel outlined the company’s plans.
Kursiv Media, photographer Oleg Kim
This statement clearly shows how Air Astana sees its future. The company wants to be not just a national carrier, but a strong international player capable of competing for passengers on transit and regional routes.
For Kazakhstan, this is especially important. The stronger the national airline becomes, the more visible the country’s role becomes as a transport hub between Asia, Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
2025 Became a Year of Fleet Upgrade
A separate part of the meeting focused on the development of the aircraft fleet. Ibrahim Canliel described the current year as a year of significant upgrade. Boeing 787 aircraft are expected to join the company’s fleet. These aircraft are usually associated with long-haul routes, comfort and a new level of passenger experience.
In addition, Air Astana has signed an agreement to acquire 50 new Airbus family aircraft. For the company, this is not just fleet expansion. It is a long-term bet on growth, new routes, increased frequencies and a stronger market position.
Fleet renewal is directly linked to the Going Global initiative. It is impossible to aim for international leadership without modern aircraft, a reliable schedule and service that meets passenger expectations in competitive markets.
The Domestic Market Has Grown, and Flight Load Factors Have Increased
Yerbolat Baissalykov, Senior Vice President for Revenue Management and Commercial Planning, showed how Air Astana’s position in the domestic market has changed in figures.
“In 2019, Air Astana’s share of the domestic market was around 50%. Today it is about 66%. The average load factor of our Air Astana flights at that time was around 70%. Today, statistics show that the number of passengers on domestic flights has doubled since then, while the average load factor is 85% and above.”
These figures point to an important trend: demand for air travel within Kazakhstan is growing. For a large country with vast distances between cities, this is not simply a matter of convenience, but a matter of economic connectivity between regions.
The growth in the number of passengers on domestic flights means that air travel is becoming a more familiar mode of transport for business, tourism, family trips and regional mobility. The high load factor shows that demand remains stable.
Air Astana and FlyArystan: Two Brands, One Strategy
Another important focus was the synergy between Air Astana and FlyArystan. According to Yerbolat Baissalykov, the two carriers complement each other’s international networks.
For example, while Air Astana operates flights from Almaty and Astana to Antalya, FlyArystan flies there from Kazakhstan’s regions, covering a different passenger segment. The same logic applies to other destinations: this summer, FlyArystan is launching flights to Gazipasa, in the Alanya region, while Air Astana will fly to Dalaman.
This model allows the group to work with different categories of passengers at the same time. Air Astana strengthens full-service operations and international routes, while FlyArystan responds to demand for more affordable flights, including from the regions.
For passengers, this means more choice. For the company, it means a more flexible business model. For Kazakhstan, it means an expanded route map and greater aviation accessibility.
China Is Becoming One of the Key Directions
Last year, Air Astana opened 25 new routes. This year, another 6 new destinations are being launched. These include a flight from Almaty to Shanghai, while a direct flight from Astana to Guangzhou is set to start in about a month.
The China direction looks particularly promising in Air Astana’s strategy. Kazakhstan and China are actively developing business, tourism and logistics ties, while direct flights are becoming an important part of this infrastructure.
“I am also proud that last year we entered the Almaty - Guangzhou route with three flights a week, but thanks to a step-by-step policy of developing passenger traffic between China and Kazakhstan, we increased the number of flights to five,” Yerbolat Baissalykov added.
The increase in frequency on the Almaty - Guangzhou route shows that demand between the two countries is growing gradually but confidently. For Air Astana, this is an opportunity to secure a strong position on one of the most important routes in Asia.
Flight Regularity Has Improved
In aviation, passengers judge an airline not only by its aircraft, meals or mobile app. One of the most important indicators is flight regularity and punctuality. Trust in a carrier, especially among business travelers and those flying with connections, depends heavily on this.
Alexander Neboga, Vice President for Ground Operations, said that Air Astana’s flight regularity in 2025 stood at 77%.
“This is 3 percentage points higher compared with 2024. And if we compare it with European and American indicators, America also showed a level of 77% for 2025, while Europe showed 73%.”
According to him, the improvement was made possible by investments in ground equipment. This significantly improved and accelerated the process of preparing aircraft for departure. A whole range of measures taken by partners, airports and service companies also played a role.
In other words, punctuality is not only about the work of the crew or the schedule. It is a whole system in which ground equipment, airport infrastructure, coordination between services and the quality of operational management all matter.
Why Air Astana Compares Itself With Europe and the United States
Ibrahim Canliel separately commented on punctuality and comparisons with international carriers.
“We are proud that our flight punctuality rate is higher than that of European airlines. As for carriers from the United States, whose flight completion rate in 2025 was the same as ours, it should be taken into account that they often simply cancel flights and thus solve the problem of this indicator, but only statistically.
We have a very clear focus on how we see the management of on-time performance. We plan to continue improving this indicator, and if at the moment 4 percentage points separate us from the carrier with which we compare ourselves, in the future we want to increase this gap even further. And we are already seeing the results of the measures we are taking.”
This comment is important not only as a comparison with foreign markets. It shows that Air Astana aims to evaluate itself according to international standards, not only within the local market. For an airline seeking to enter new markets and attract passengers with higher expectations, this is a matter of principle.
Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence Are Becoming Part of Aviation
Just a few years ago, digitalization at an airline, from a passenger’s perspective, mostly meant a website, online check-in and a mobile app. Today, the meaning is much broader.
Air Astana sees digital solutions as tools that improve both production processes and customer experience. Artificial intelligence can be used not only in communication with passengers, but also in planning, demand management, data analysis, customer service and improving operational efficiency.
The improved mobile app is only the visible part of these changes. Behind it is a broader logic: the airline must better understand passenger behavior, respond faster to requests and create a service that feels personalized.
As the fleet grows, routes expand and the company enters new markets, this digital foundation becomes not an advantage, but a necessity.
IPO, New Goals and Resilience Amid Global Crises
The meeting also showed that Air Astana links its current strategy to the goals announced at the time of its IPO. After entering the public market, the company found itself in a new reality: it now receives more attention from investors, analysts, passengers and the business community.
This requires transparency, discipline and the ability to deliver results even amid global turbulence. Aviation remains one of the industries most sensitive to external factors: geopolitics, fuel prices, currency fluctuations, infrastructure constraints and changes in passenger demand.
Against this backdrop, Air Astana is betting on the flexibility of its business model, the development of two brands, fleet renewal, digital tools and the expansion of its flight geography.
Kursiv Media, photographer Oleg Kim
What All This Means for Kazakhstan
Today, the story of Air Astana goes beyond one company. It is about the role Kazakhstan can play in regional aviation.
If the national carrier strengthens its fleet, opens new destinations, develops routes to China, Türkiye, Central Asia and the Caucasus, improves punctuality and introduces digital solutions, this affects not only passengers. It also affects tourism, business activity, investment attractiveness, regional connectivity and the country’s image.
For Kazakhstan, aviation is especially important because of geography. Vast distances inside the country and a favorable location between major markets turn a strong national carrier into a strategic asset.
Air Astana is now trying to solve several tasks at once: maintaining quality, scaling up, becoming more international, strengthening its digital foundation and keeping its focus on safety. This is a difficult balance, but it is exactly what will define the company’s next stage of development.
A Change of Era Has Already Begun
The business breakfast held by Kursiv Media and Air Astana showed that the company has entered a period of serious change. A new CEO, the Going Global program, fleet renewal, growth in the domestic market, a stronger China direction, synergy with FlyArystan, digitalization and work on punctuality are all elements of one strategy.
Air Astana is no longer speaking only about recovery after crises or maintaining its position. The company is speaking about growth, ambition and entering a new level of competition.
The main question now is whether Air Astana will be able to turn these plans into a sustainable advantage. In modern aviation, the winner is not simply the company that flies to more destinations. The winner is the one that can be precise, reliable, digital, convenient and clear for the passenger.
For Kazakhstan, the success of this strategy may mean more than the development of a single airline. It could become part of a larger story about how the country strengthens its role as a regional aviation hub and takes the next step on the global map of air transport.
