Air Astana (KC, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev) chief executive Peter Foster, speaking during the company's Capital Markets Day on September 15, flagged the possibility of launching long-awaited flights to the United States, with a stop in Europe, as the airline would not be able to operate directly without overflying Russia. Non-stop flights would only be possible if and when geopolitical circumstances change.
"Even with the B787's range, we can't do Kazakhstan to New York JFK without overflying Russia, which we can't do. So if we do the US, it has to be [operated through] a midpoint," Foster explained. "Evidently, the demand for the US is the East Coast, so we're going to do the US with a European midpoint."
Foster stressed that in these circumstances, US flights would be unviable without securing fifth-freedom rights via a European airport. While conceding that such a set-up would be complex, he did not rule it out entirely, noting it would require "a huge amount of reflection" before materialising.
No concrete plans have been laid out for US operations for now. In March, Foster told local media that the launch could not proceed unless both the Russian overflight and delivery delay issues with the B787-9 were resolved.
Air Astana currently has commitments for three B787-9 aircraft dry-leased from Air Lease Corporation. The first B787 is expected to arrive by the second half of 2026, delayed from the initial 2025 delivery target. It also holds a direct order for three B787-8s directly from Boeing, although it never confirmed whether it would take both variants or rather the -9s would replace the direct orders for the -8s.
The carrier operates a fleet of 33 aircraft, comprising eleven A320-200Ns, three A321-200s, four A321-200Ns, twelve A321-200NX(LR)s, and three B767-300ERs. According to ch-aviation data, its operations are centred around Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev and Almaty International from which it operates 67 routes to 39 destinations.
