Kazakhstan's Air Astana completes Irish fleet registration

Air Astana hires advisors for 1Q24 dual-listing - report

Air Astana (KC, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev) has hired advisors for the local and international market ahead of the long-awaited Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KaSE), aiming to list the shares in the first quarter of 2024, inside sources told Bloomberg.

The carrier plans to sell a mix of shares currently held by the two owners, sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna (which holds a 51% stake) and BAe Systems (49% stake), and new shares. The two current shareholders plan to sell around 50% of their current shareholding but will not exit the company altogether, contrary to earlier reports. The sale will be organised in a way that will ensure that the majority of Air Astana's shares remain in the hands of Kazakh nationals or companies.

Air Astana can fetch a valuation of up to USD1 billion and will be listed at both the LSE and the KaSE.

The Kazakh flag carrier first flirted with plans to list almost ten years ago, targeting...

Kazakhstan looks to lure VietJet into LCC market - report

Kazakh authorities in talks about a foreign-backed LCC

Air Astana eyes E190-E2 phase-out, mulls A321XLRs

Air Astana (KC, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev) is planning to retire its five E190-E2s in 2024-2025 as it expects to exit the regional jet market, Chief Executive Peter Foster told aviation journalist Kurt Hofmann.

The airline added its first E190-E2 in 2018, with the other four following in 2019, all of them on lease from Azorra Aviation. It remains the second-largest operator of the variant globally behind Helvetic Airways (2L, Zurich). They are used exclusively on domestic services out of Almaty International and Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Air Astana operated up to nine E190s between 2011 and 2020, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. It does not have any other regional aircraft in its fleet or on order.

Foster also said that the airline was evaluating adding an additional centre tank (ACT) to its A321-200NX(LR)s. The carrier currently employs ten aircraft of the type, including on long-haul routes from Almaty to London Heathrow (via Aktau), Antalya, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Bodrum Milas, Istanbul Airport...