Air Astana takes the Boeing 767/787 route

Boeing and Air Astana have announced an order for four 767-300ERs and three 787-8s.  The airline, jointly owned by the Government of Kazakhstan and BAe Systems, was established in 2002 and currently operates a fleet of 26 aircraft including Fokker 50, Embraer 190, Airbus A320 series, and both the Boeing 757 and 767

"Our decision to order the Boeing airplanes is part of Air Astana's long-term growth strategy to expand and modernize our fleet with newer, more fuel-efficient airplanes to serve domestic, regional and international routes," said Peter Foster, President, Air Astana.  "In addition, we want to offer an enhanced travel experience for our customers which we shall be able to do on these airplanes."

On the London route Air Astana is twice weekly for the eight hour service.  If BA take over bmi, who offer the same frequency, it will be interesting to see their future plans. 

Boeing’s order book for the 767 stands at around 1,300 including 178 of the tanker version for the US military.  Whilst the Air Astana order will be amongst the last for the aircraft the much later 777 continues to sell with 1,361 commitments, the 1000th model rolled out last week. www.boeing.com/commercial

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