Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana plans to buy three new Western-made aircraft in the next three years, said Yerbol Ospanov, the airline's senior vice president for government, regulatory affairs and security.
Ospanov, speaking in Baku on March 16, said that due to the current economic situation, Air Astana doesn't plan to buy new aircraft in 2015, but the airline expects to buy a new aircraft in 2016, and two more in 2017.
He also said it is possible that the new aircraft to be bought by Air Astana in 2016-2017, will be the ones produced by Airbus.
The airline also considers the possibility to buy new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Air Astana official said that in whole, the company intends to replace five Boeing 757 aircraft that are currently in operation.
Ospanov also said that in 2014, Air Astana acquired seven new aircraft of Western production, making its fleet one of the "youngest" in the world, that is, the average age of its aircraft stood at 5.7 years.
Air Astana has operated flights since 2002, and its fleet includes 30 Western-made planes. The airline's route network includes over 60 international and regional destinations.
The shares of Air Astana are held by the Kazakh national welfare fund, Samruk-Kazyna and the British company BAE Systems.
Edited by SI
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