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Air Astana purchases new Boeing aircrafts

21 February 2012 12:48 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Air Astana, the national flag carrier of Kazakhstan, announced that it has agreed to purchase four Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, and 3 Boeing 787-8 â€œDreamlinersâ€, an order worth $1.3 billion at list prices and the largest ever in Kazakhstanâ€™s civil aviation history. The B767s will be delivered in 2013 and 2014 and the B787s in 2017 and 2019.

The airlineâ€™s Chairman, Nurzhan Baidauletov, Managing Director of its majority owner, sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna, stated at a press conference in Almaty on 4 February 2012, that the introduction of the Dreamliner â€œwill place Air Astana amongst the leading airlines of the world in terms of operating highest quality, environmentally friendly air servicesâ€. Mr Baidauletov also stressed that in keeping with its history of financial self-sufficiency, Air Astana would not require state or shareholder funds for the purchases but â€œwill fund the new aircraft through a combination of its own cash and financial instruments through the air finance marketâ€.

Air Astanaâ€™s President Peter Foster stated the B767s, equipped with winglets, would replace its present two leased aircraft of the same type and progressively replace its leased Boeing 757s. Mr Foster stated that the Boeing 767 has proved capable of operating efficiently on all of Air Astanaâ€™s present route network without restriction. Mr Foster also stated that the B787s, with its superior range, will enable the airline to operate routes to the USA, Australasia and Africa as its business plans develop.

The airline also announced unaudited operating results for 2011. Net profit declined by 19% to $61.9 million. Capacity grew by 15% and the number of passengers carried grew by 16% to just over 3 million. Revenues grew by 16% to $760 million. According to Mr Foster, the decline in profitability was entirely due to fuel price rises of more than 130% over 2010. Nonetheless, â€œa net margin of 8.1% is very respectable by industry standards and ahead of our ten year averageâ€. During the year the airline introduced its first three Embraer 190 regional jets and one additional Boeing 757, and begun flights to Samara in Russia and Tbilisi in Georgia. It increased frequencies on most of its other routes.

Air Astana is a joint venture between Samruk Kazyna (51%) and BAE Systems PLC (49%). It will mark 10 years of operations in May 2012.