OREANDA-NEWS.  July 24, 2013. Air Astana increased its passenger numbers by 11% over the corresponding period last year, to 1.698 million.

The Kazakhstan-based carrier took delivery of its 7th Embraer 190 regional jet and its 12th Airbus A320 family aircraft and retired its remaining 2 Fokker 50s to leave the total fleet size at 26 aircraft. The new aircraft were purchased using a combination of cash and export credit guaranteed finance. It introduced new flights to Ho Chi Minh City via Bangkok, from Atyrau to Moscow and from both Almaty and Astana to Kiev. We have also opened Astana – Orenburg, Astana – Bishkek and Almaty – Kostanay as well as increased frequencies throughout the network.

Peter Foster, Air Astana President, stated that “the first half is generally the low season for us and this year is no exception. The results are nonetheless fair, driven by strong growth on routes to Istanbul, helped by the new code share with Turkish Airlines, and on the new routes to Kiev.”

The airline underwent its 3rd IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and was awarded Best Airline Central Asia and India for the second year running at the Skytrax Global Awards held at the Le Bourget airshow in June.