FlyArystan, based in Kazakhstan, is further expanding its international route network by introducing flights to China. The LCC will commence services from Kazakhstan's capital city, Astana, to Urumqi in the Xinjiang region. The new Astana-Urumqi-Astana route is scheduled to begin in September and will operate twice a week.

To accommodate this growth, FlyArystan plans to add three more Airbus A320ceo/neo aircraft to its current fleet of 15, reaching a total of 18 aircraft by the end of 2023. FlyArystan's managing director Adrian Hamilton-Manns explains more about the expansion of the Air Astana subsidiary.

What are FlyArystan's general plans for China beyond its first route, Astana-Urumqi, which connects Kazakhstan's capital with Western China?
We already have plans to operate to four cities: Urumchi is the first, with the next opportunity being Xi’an. Initially from Astana we will also launch services from Almaty and other cities in Kazakhstan. Our modelling shows a large volume of demand for China.

Is FlyArystan's decision to suspend flights to Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine causing any issues for your China operations?
The Russian airspace is a small problem—not as much for routing, but more for alternative airports in diversion. It is this limitation that has hindered our move to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in 2022.

Have you struggled obtaining traffic rights to China?
Traffic rights are difficult to get access to, but the governments are encouraging visa-free activity, and we anticipate that the relaxation of the visa requirements, the entry of low fares from FlyArystan and the building demand for China will all add to high demand, resulting in the further relaxing of bilateral agreements. This will create a virtuous cycle where more and more flights are allowed between the countries.

What levels of demand do you expect for service to China?
Demand for China is significant. The work done on trade between the countries will support the increase in flights, and we expect to see large volumes of passengers between Kazakhstan and China. While we have no visibility to the upper-bound of travel demand, we believe it is magnitudes greater than the current volumes.

China will be the eighth country FlyArystan operates to, alongside Azerbaijan, Georgia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, the UAE and Uzbekistan. What other destinations are in the pipeline for FlyArystan's international expansion?
We have just completed the phase-one rollout to India, and China launches in September. In the near term we plan to add Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Oman to our network. We are also evaluating Abu Dhabi and routes into Eastern Europe from our bases in Aktau and Atyrau.