Air Astana has declared unaudited net profit for 2018 of US$5.3m, driven by higher revenues and higher jet fuel costs. Total airline revenue rose by 10% to US$840.8 million. Capacity as measured in ASKs rose by 5% and total passenger numbers by 3%, to 4.3 million. However, transit business via the airline’s Astana and Almaty hubs rose by 48%, and now represents close to 40% of total international traffic. Operating costs rose by 14%, driven mainly by an average jet fuel price increase of 27.5%.
Commenting on the results, Peter Foster, Air Astana President and CEO stated that “2018 was a challenging year to due to higher-priced fuel, and pressure on international yields and domestic market share due to competitive capacity increases on key routes”. Looking forward to 2019, Foster noted a fuel price reduction of 16% from its peak in June 2018, and pointed also to the expected May launch of its low-cost unit, FlyArystan. “The low-cost airline is a great business opportunity on domestic and shorter regional routes. The travelling public will be delighted by the cheap fares we have in store, as long as the government facilitates the legislative changes required to enable FlyArystan to launch”.
About Air Astana
Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, operates flights to over 60 domestic and international routes from hubs in Astana and Almaty. The company was incorporated in late 2001 and commenced operations on 15 May 2002. The Air Astana fleet consists of Boeing 767/757, Airbus A320 Family aircraft including A320neo and A321neo and Embraer E190 / E190-E2 aircraft.
Air Astana became the first carrier from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe to be awarded the prestigious 4-Star rating by Skytrax at its World Airline Awards 2012 and was also named ‘The Best Airline in Central Asia and India’ that year. Both achievements were repeated in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Air Astana named Winner in TripAdvisor 2018 Travellers’ Choice Awards. Also in 2018, APEX awarded Air Astana a 5-Star in the “Major Regional Airlines” category.
Air Astana is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna, and BAE Systems, with respective shares of 51% and 49%.
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