Transit Passengers a High Priority for Air Astana

Air Astana has been successfully operating services from Kazakhstan to Georgia for the past four years, with a steady growth in the number of passengers travelling for business and leisure. Popularity of the flight between Almaty and Tbilisi has resulted in the number of services growing to five a week, with an additional twice weekly summer service being launched from Astana to Tbilisi in June this year. The market responded well to the new Astana service, which will operate all year round from summer 2016 onwards.

But now with economic pressures being felt across the region, the high priority for Air Astana on its Georgian routes is to boost the number of passengers that transit through Almaty and Astana for onward flights to destinations in Central Asia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Flight connections in Almaty are very convenient, with onward flights usually departing within a couple of hours of arrival from Tbilisi. For connecting flights with longer waiting times, Air Astana Holidays or the airline’s ticketing office can easily arrange city tour packages and hotel accommodation.

“Adding to the existing year one,” said Ms Tomiris Tleubayeva, Air Astana’s new Country Manager for Georgia. “Our aim now is to position Kazakhstan as a transit point, with good flight connections for Tbilisi flights to Beijing, Delhi, Tashkent, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok and many other cities.”

Ms Tleubayeva added: “With aviation costs largely set in USD, the recent currency adjustment has regrettably meant that Air Astana has needed to adjust its ticket prices. However, we offer a wide range fares, including special low-fare promotions for early ticket booking and payment. I recommend you keep a regular look out for our special promotions throughout the year.”

In closing, Ms Tleubayeva said: “Despite the challenging economic conditions, Georgia has proven to be a very popular destination for Kazakh people over the last two years, with Air Astana carefully matching aircraft type to demand during different seasons. During the busy summer season, we operate to Georgia using Airbus A320s and in the quieter winter season, the smaller Embraer 190 is operated on the service from Almaty. The deployment of different aircraft types makes sure that we can maintain frequencies throughout the year and best serve the Georgian market.”

Eka Karsaulidze