Air Astana has announce the resumption of its air service from Astana, Kazakhstan to Seoul, South Korea. These services, operated by Airbus A321LR, will have a frequency of twice weekly and will begin on June 15, 2024. Astana to Seoul service was initially introduced in 2015 but had to be temporarily suspended in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recently introduced flights connecting Astana and Seoul will complement the daily flights connecting Almaty and Seoul, all of which are operated through a codeshare agreement with Asiana Airlines. The Almaty-Seoul route was inaugurated in 2003, and since then, around 800,000 passengers have flown on this route in the last 22 years.
Air Astana has also introduced additional services in their 2024 Summer Schedule. These services involve an increase in the number of flights from Almaty to various destinations. The frequency of flights to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, has been increased to 14 times a week. Similarly, flights to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, have been increased to eight times a week, while flights to Tbilisi have been increased to nine times a week. Additionally, flights to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, have been increased to four times a week. Lastly, flights to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, have been increased to three times a week.
Air Astana is an airline group and the flag carrier of Kazakhstan. Based in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the carrier is the largest airline in Central Asia and the Caucasus region with 69% and 40% of market share on domestic and intra-regional routes from Kazakhstan.
The airline was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on 15 May 2002. It is one of a small number of airlines that has required neither government subsidy nor shareholder financial support to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, thus preserving its central corporate principle of financial, managerial, and operational independence.