KAZAKH FLAG carrier Air Astana celebrated the first revenue flight of its new low-cost subsidiary, FlyArystan on May 1. Positioned as a ‘low-fare, high-quality’ airline, it is the latest entry into the increasingly competitive CIS market. The budget firm is based at Almaty International, and starts with six domestic routes: Taraz; Shymkent; Pavlodar; Uralsk; Nur-Sultan (previously Astana) and Karaganda. Due to the enormous size of Kazakhstan, some sectors have scheduled journey times of up to three hours.
A 160-strong workforce supporting the new business has been established in Almaty, the former Kazakh capital, and home to Air Astana’s headquarters. According to the airline, this figure includes 25 pilots and 45 flight attendants, with many seconded from the parent company. The remainder are new recruits who, in addition to undertaking call centre reservations work, “are being trained to assist in ambassador roles at check-in as part of the [carrier’s] ground services team across the first seven cities served.” Fleet-wise, an initial two Airbus A320 jets have been supplied by Air Astana under its Air Operator Certificate. Both sport a bold red and white livery, emblazoned with the FlyArystan brand…
