Kazakhstan, Astana, Dec.13 / D. Mukhtarov /
Kazakhstan's national airline Air Astana will purchase 15 new aircrafts by 2017, the managing director of Kazakhstan's Sovereign Wealth Fund 'Samruk-Kazyna', and chairman of the national company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy's and Air Astana's board of directors Nurzhan Baidauletov said at a press conference on Thursday.
"Air Astana will purchase 15 aircrafts by 2017. By the end of this year, the company will own four airplanes, while in the middle of 2012, the company had none. A new Airbus will be delivered tomorrow," Baidauletov said.
He said today the national company's fleet consists of 27 planes, 23 of which are in an operating lease and the remaining four will pass to the ownership of the company by the end of this year.
"According to the decision of the company's shareholders adopted in January of this year, an order has already been placed for the purchase of four Boeing 767s. Their delivery will be carried out in 2013 -2014. Three more Boeing 787s, the so called Dream liners will be delivered in 2017-2019," he added.
He said these planes will be used for developing new routes.
"We are planning to open new routes by 2017 from Almaty to Saigon, Kiev, Islamabad, Mumbai, Male, Warsaw, and from Astana to Oman, Tbilisi, Bangkok, Paris, and Milan through Aktau," Baidauletov said.
He noted that the issue on limitation of the Air Astana flights to Europe will also be resolved by late 2013.