Air Astana to launch low-cost airline

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, plans to launch its own low-cost airline, called ‘FlyArystan’, in the first half of 2019.

FlyArystan is the result of much serious thought and internal business planning, and comes as a result of a rapidly changing local and regional airline business environment. It will be good for the mid to long-term prospects of Air Astana, and we hope, very welcome to the Kazakhstan travelling public, who will be able to benefit from significantly cheaper airfares on domestic and regional routes.Peter Foster, President & CEO of Air Astana

As a low-cost carrier, FlyArystan will offer approximately 50% lower fares than Air Astana, the airline said in a statement.

FlyArystan will operate with Airbus A320 aircraft. The fleet will initially consist of four aircraft, but it is planned to add at least 12 additional aircraft until 2022. All airplanes will be configured as an all-economy cabin with 180 seats. In comparison, Air Astana’s current Airbus A320s feature a total of 148 seats.

The low-cost carrier will fly from multiple aircraft bases in Kazakhstan. In the beginning, FlyArystan will mostly operate domestic routes. However, there are plans for an expansion in the mid-term. More detailed information on routes and aircraft bases will be announced over the coming months, the airline says.