Air Astana Uses E190s to Build Regional Links

Kazakhstan carrier Air Astana has utilised its recently delivered Embraer E190 regional jets to inaugurate flights from Almaty to the Georgian capital Tbilisi and the southern Russian city of Samara earlier this month. The three times weekly schedules are part of the operator’s strategic plan to expand its Central Asian network. Already this year it has added seven additional international routes including services from Almaty to Baku, Bishkek, Dushanbe, St Petersburg, Tashkent and Urumqi in western China.

“Air Astana is delighted to launch new services to Tbilisi and Samara, which will help to boost business, economic and cultural relations between these cities and Kazakhstan,” said Peter Foster, President, Air Astana. “Passengers on the expanding regional network out of Almaty can now start to enjoy the airline’s award winning service service aboard the new fleet of Embraer 190s.”

Air Astana took delivery of its first E190 in late April and has subsequently added a second example to its fleet. It will eventually operate six examples by the end of next year and will use the jets to replace its smaller Fokker 50 turboprops. They are configured in a two-class layout seating 97 passengers.