Air Astana Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to enter a strategic partnership with Neos, the second Italian airline and part of the Alpitour group. The strategic partnership will encompass several areas of cooperation, including:
- A codeshare agreement under which Air Astana will apply a marketing code to Neos-operated flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Almaty (ALA) and vice versa.
- Service collaboration on Boeing aircraft from 2025 when Air Astana Group will receive delivery of three Boeing 787-900. Where permitted, the Parties will share technical and operation insights gained during existing operations by Neos and entrance into service by Air Astana.
- The Parties will consider and evaluate the formation of a joint-venture for route(s) between Italy and Kazakhstan, where regulatory, anti-trust and governmental authority permits.
Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana Group, said: “We are delighted to enter a strategic partnership with Neos and look forward to exploring initiatives together so we can better serve our mutual customers. This agreement will provide Air Astana passengers with more flexibility, convenience and choice of flights between Kazakhstan and Italy. The first interline agreement was signed by Air Astana in 2005 and since then, the Group has steadily grown ties with other international carriers in Asia and Europe as we endeavour to offer our customers even more choices for travelling around the world.”
Air Astana switches to summer schedule
Air Astana has switched to a summer flight schedule, with the resumption of popular scheduled and seasonal services, as well as increases to the frequency of flights to a number of international destinations. The airline will resume direct international flights from Astana to Seoul and domestic flights from Astana to Kostanai. Seasonal flights from Astana and Almaty to Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica will operate three times a week, together with flights at the same frequency from Astana to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and from Almaty to Heraklion in Crete.
The summer flight schedule also includes increases in the frequency of flights from Almaty to Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent up to 14 times a week; to Kyrgystan’s capital, Bishkek up to eight times a week and Tbilisi up to nine times a week; to Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe up to four times a week; to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku up to three times a week and to Urumqi in western China up to five times a week. Flights from Almaty to Seoul will now be operated daily. The frequency of flights from Astana to Tashkent has increased to three times a week.
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