Air Astana launches low-cost unit with international ambitions

Kazkahstan's flag carrier Air Astana could give its new budget arm FlyArystan an international debut later this year and follow this by establishing subsidiaries in neighbouring countries under plans to make the unit a pan-Central Asian low-cost carrier. Air Astana CE Peter Foster says FlyArystan – which today launched domestic flights – could add several cross-border routes by year-end, once more aircraft have been delivered. The airline is initially operating six domestic routes from Almaty, to Karaganda, capital Nur-Sultan (formerly named Astana), Pavlodar, Shymkent, Taraz and Uralsk, using two Airbus A320 narrowbodies provided by parent Air Astana. Cirium schedules data shows that SCAT subsidiary Southern Sky already operates the Taraz route, while Air Astana itself flies to Karaganda, Nur-Sultan, Shymkent and Uralsk from the city. Bek Air and Qazaq Air provide competition on the Nur-Sultan route. Bek Air is also present on the Pavlodar and Uralsk routes, and Qazaq on the Shymkent one. Foster says that once the carrier's third and fourth A320s are delivered, later this year, international services to neighbouring countries, including Russia, could follow. FlyArystan would use Air Astana's AOC for these. Beyond this, Foster says new airlines with "similar" branding to FlyArystan could be established in other Central Asian countries to tap demand for low-cost travel within the region, which has a population of around 100 million.<br/>