KAZAKHSTAN's Air Astana plans to stick with expansion plans despite suffering extreme disruption to its routes and travel times following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The state-owned company will focus on domestic growth and Asian services after the shuttering of Russian airspace added 90 minutes to trips to Frankfurt and Amsterdam, boosting the flight time 20 per cent, and forced London-bound jets to refuel en route, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster told Bloomberg.
'We will continue to grow steadily,' Mr Foster said. Air Astana is due to receive four Airbus SE A320 narrow-bodies and three longer-distance A321LRs this year, he said, followed by a further three A320s and two A321LRs in 2022.
Still, there are no immediate plans to convert a letter of intent for 30 single-aisle Boeing 737 Max jets into firm orders, and Mr Foster said that while demand is holding up, it's too early to assess prospects for the summer.
While Kazakhstan hasn't imposed sanctions on Moscow, Air Astana said that insurance cover for flights to, from and over Russia had been withdrawn.
SeaNews Turkey
The state-owned company will focus on domestic growth and Asian services after the shuttering of Russian airspace added 90 minutes to trips to Frankfurt and Amsterdam, boosting the flight time 20 per cent, and forced London-bound jets to refuel en route, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster told Bloomberg.
'We will continue to grow steadily,' Mr Foster said. Air Astana is due to receive four Airbus SE A320 narrow-bodies and three longer-distance A321LRs this year, he said, followed by a further three A320s and two A321LRs in 2022.
Still, there are no immediate plans to convert a letter of intent for 30 single-aisle Boeing 737 Max jets into firm orders, and Mr Foster said that while demand is holding up, it's too early to assess prospects for the summer.
While Kazakhstan hasn't imposed sanctions on Moscow, Air Astana said that insurance cover for flights to, from and over Russia had been withdrawn.
SeaNews Turkey