Air Astana is celebrating 20 years of connecting Kazakhstan and India by expanding its services with a new Almaty-Mumbai route launching on 20 April 2025. Since entering the Indian market in 2004, the airline has steadily expanded its presence and now operates nine weekly flights to Delhi from Almaty, with a regular increase in frequencies during the summer.
Flights to Mumbai will be operated using Airbus family aircraft three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with the first service departure from Almaty on 20th April being at 04.30 and arriving in Mumbai at 09.55. The return flight will depart Mumbai at 11.00 and arrive in Almaty at 14.45. All times local. Flight time to Mumbai is 4h50m outbound and 4h20m on return.
“With the Indian economy growing strongly, Air Astana is delighted to launch services to Mumbai, a vibrant and flourishing metropolis driven by trade, finance and enterprise. Business and leisure travellers will now be able to experience the excellence of Air Astana’s in-services when flying between Kazakhstan’s and India’s most commercial cities.” said Peter Foster, Chief Executive at Air Astana.
Mumbai, located on the west coast of India, bordering the Arabian Sea. The city is a major financial hub and is also home to the Bollywood film industry, which produces the largest number of films in the world. Mumbai also offers a large number of tourist attractions reflecting its rich culture and history. Attractions include the Gateway of India and the Elephanta Caves.
Air India to restart Tel Aviv flights, partners with Kenya Airways
Air India announced it will resume its non-stop services between Delhi and Tel Aviv from 02 March 2025. Air India will operate 5x weekly to Tel Aviv, using its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that offer 18 flat beds in Business Class and 238 spacious, cushioned seats in Economy Class. Bookings for flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv are open on all channels, including Air India’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. Air India’s decision to resume operations on the Delhi-Tel Aviv route follows the requisite approvals.
The Air India group – comprising of full-service global airline Air India and low-cost regional carrier Air India Express – is spearheading a new era of Indian aviation. The Air India story began in 1932 when JRD Tata piloted the airline’s inaugural flight and opened the skies for aviation in India. Today, Air India group employs more than 30,000 people, operates over 300 aircraft and carries customers to 55 domestic and 48 international destinations across five continents.
Air India also announced that it and Kenya Airways have entered a codeshare partnership, reaffirming their commitment to boosting seamless travel between India and Africa, and beyond. The codeshare partnership complements the existing interline agreement between the two carriers. The codeshare and interline partnerships together allow passengers of both airlines to enjoy convenient access to a wider range of destinations across regions, leveraging a single ticket and a unified baggage policy for a hassle-free travel experience.
As part of the codeshare agreement, Air India will place its ‘AI’ designator code on twice daily flights between Nairobi and Mumbai operated by Kenya Airways, which will seamlessly connect passengers via Mumbai on Air India-operated flights to or from Bangkok (Thailand), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Malé (The Maldives), Melbourne (Australia), and Singapore. These are in addition to existing connections that passengers from Nairobi can take to several other destinations within and outside of India via Delhi, when flying Nairobi to Delhi with Air India.
Returning to the Tata Sons in 2022 following 70 years under government ownership, Air India group is in the midst of a five-year transformation program, Vihaan.AI. As part of the transformation, Air India placed the then largest-ever order for 470 new aircraft in 2023. In 2024, sister airlines Air Asia India and Vistara were successfully merged into Air India Express and Air India respectively, and the Airline opened South Asia’s largest aviation training academy. A new flying school is scheduled to open in 2025, and construction of a greenfield maintenance base, to be operational in 2026, is underway. In addition to receiving new aircraft, all existing aircraft are progressively undergoing a full interior refit.