BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jun. 1
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan’s SCAT airline company is switching to new alternative work model, SCAT official told Trend.
“The modern reality conditions dictate new rules. The crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, to one degree or another, affected everyone, but the need to travel by air remains with a large segment of the population. Previous airline’s operation models no longer meet the modern needs of passengers,” the official said.
Thus, SCAT made a decision to switch to the latest alternative work model in June this year.
“First of all, the changes concern the tariff and baggage policies of the company. SCAT will launch a number of baggage-free tariffs starting from 5,000 tenge ($12.1) on over 10 directions across Kazakhstan,” the official said.
Additionally, the maximum category tariff line will offer an increased baggage allowance: up to 46 kilograms per person, and flexible terms for returning and re-booking flights. The re-booking is offered without penalty, even if the flight date has already passed.
Along with changes in the tariff policy, the company is switching to the Piece Concept global baggage system, which allows more efficient use of the luggage space of aircraft and to avoid situations of sending oversized baggage.
Earlier this year the company said that its financial loses exceeded 18 billion tenge ($42.7 million) as a result of operation suspension over the emergency state period imposed in Kazakhstan.
In March 2020, in order to prevent coronavirus spread in Kazakhstan, the number of flights was reduced by 438 flights per week on international destinations on 97 routes, which makes up 99 percent of all international flights implemented.
Additionally, all domestic flights have been cancelled and no regular air services operated in the country over April 2020.
The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.
The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 11,308 cases. This includes 5,404 people who recovered from the coronavirus, and 41 patients who passed away.
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