I got to the airport about two hours ahead of my 2:30PM flight from Almaty to Astana. Before this flight I had heard that Air Astana’s lounge in Almaty was a bit underwhelming. Well, that’s an understatement…
The Almaty Airport terminal was quite small, and upon entering I turned right to follow the signage towards the domestic area.
Almaty Airport domestic terminal
Almaty Airport domestic terminal
Once there I saw a sign pointing towards the business class lounge, and I was a bit surprised to find that it was landside (before security).
Almaty Airport business class lounge signage
Air Astana signage Almaty Airport
I figured the signage was just incorrect, and that this was referring to business class check-in, given the counters near the entrance. I already got my boarding pass for the flight to Astana when I checked in at Incheon Airport. So I presented my boarding pass, and then they invited me to wait in the “lounge” until the flight was ready for boarding.
Air Astana business class check-in Almaty Airport
Hmmm, apparently this room was in fact the lounge. The “lounge” featured several couches, which were at least well padded and in decent condition.
Air Astana business class lounge Almaty Airport
While the lounge was pretty full at first, it quickly emptied out.
Air Astana business class lounge Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge Almaty Airport
There was a bathroom along the wall near the entrance, which was disgusting — it smelled horrible.
Air Astana business class lounge bathroom Almaty Airport
The lounge had a surprisingly extensive food and drink selection, along with two people working the counter. However, everything had to be purchased, including water. The business class lounge was basically just couches with access to a bar where you can buy stuff.
Air Astana business class lounge food & drinks Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge food & drinks Almaty Airport
The food itself looked fine, though during my time there I didn’t see anyone else buying anything, so I have to wonder how fresh the stuff was.
Air Astana business class lounge food selection Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge drinks Almaty Airport
I was quite hungry, so ended up buying an ice cream.
Air Astana business class lounge ice cream Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge ice cream Almaty Airport
There was also a menu with further food and drink options.
Air Astana business class lounge food selection Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge food selection Almaty Airport
Air Astana business class lounge drink selection Almaty Airport
Perhaps the worst part of the lounge was that it didn’t have functioning Wi-Fi. That’s ridiculous.
Boarding was scheduled for 1:50PM (40 minutes ahead of departure), so at around 1:30PM I decided to head for security, given that I was bored. There was no queue at security, and the process was a bit of a joke. I didn’t have to take anything out of my bag, and best I could tell the person screening bags wasn’t even looking at the screen as my stuff went through.
Almaty Airport airside terminal
The terminal was bigger than I was expecting. There was one central seating area with a coffeeshop.
Almaty Airport airside terminal
Almaty Airport airside coffee shop
Then there were some other gates, though best I could tell they didn’t seem to be in use, as the area was significantly emptier than the rest of the terminal.
Almaty Airport domestic terminal
From the far end of the terminal I had a good views of the Air Astana A321 that would be flying me to Astana.
Air Astana A321 Almaty Airport
My flight was departing from gate 5, and boarding was a mess. Basically there was one “entrance” to the jet bridges for several of the gates, so they can only service passengers for one flight at a time. A flight at an adjacent gate was deplaning around the same time that boarding was supposed to start, so we had to wait until that plane was empty before we could board our flight.
At around 2:05PM boarding started. There was no boarding call, but rather the barrier was removed, at which point people pushed their way towards the jet bridge. At the front of the jet bridge was the gate agent, who checked boarding passes and passports.
Almaty boarding gate
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the airport experience was that there was a wedding party on our flight, including the bride in her dress. I’ve never seen that before…
Flying in a wedding dress…
Air Astana Lounge Almaty Airport bottom line
The domestic Air Astana business class “lounge,” if it can even be called that, was extremely underwhelming. The lack of Wi-Fi and lack of any free drinks or snacks (not even water), makes this the worst lounge I’ve ever visited. I’d certainly make an effort to cut it closer the next time I travel through Almaty Airport.
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