Lufthansa Consulting supports expansion plan of Kazakhstan’s national carrier

Against the background of continuous economic and aviation traffic growth in Central Asia and within the scope of its strategic development, Kazakhstan’s national airline Air Astana decided to contract Lufthansa Consulting to assist the carrier with its expansion plan.

The consultancy validated the growth plan and optimized the current network and schedule in order to realize the potential of the “extended home market” including Kazakhstan, Central Asia and Russia under the current constraints at the airports in Almaty and Astana. The aviation experts developed a 5-year network and fleet plan with some new destinations. In addition, they helped Air Astana to improve the crew planning process.

Air Astana which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012 was established as a joint venture between the Government of Kazakhstan and the British multinational defence, security and aerospace company BAE Systems in May 2002, with a service between Almaty and Astana.

The airline now provides scheduled services on more than 50 domestic and international routes within Kazakhstan, to Central Asia, Russia and the CIS, Europe, the Middle East and Far East and transported almost three million passengers in 2011. It currently operates 24 aircraft (A320 family, B757, B767 and E-Jets).

Just recently, Air Astana received its sixth Embraer 190 aircraft which will operate on the carrier’s fast expanding network to countries in Central Asia, the Caucasus and southern Russia. Further 14 aircraft are on order, of which 10 will be delivered in the course of 2013. These measures are part of the airline’s overall development strategy that Lufthansa Consulting will continue to support.