Very Nice: Kazakhstan’s Air Astana Orders Up To 18 Boeing 787-9s

It’s an exciting period for aviation in Central Asia. Uzbekistan Airways has placed a huge Boeing 787 order, Somon Air has placed a Boeing 737 MAX and 787 order, and now Air Astana has boosted its Boeing 787 order.

Air Astana orders up to 18 Boeing 787-9 aircraft

Air Astana is the national airline of Kazakhstan, and the airline has a fleet of nearly 35 planes. This includes Airbus A320 family aircraft, as well as Boeing 767s. It’s quite a cool fleet, as the airline flies modern A321neos and A321LRs, as well as the world’s youngest passenger 767s.

Air Astana has now announced plans to purchase up to 15 additional Boeing 787-9s, to grow and modernize its fleet. The agreement was signed at the C5+1 Summit, and the order has not yet been finalized, so we’ll see if this ends up looking exactly as we expect or not. For what it’s worth, the airline hasn’t indicated when these planes will be delivered, and how many of those “up to 15” planes are firm orders.

For context, this latest order is in addition to Air Astana’s previous plans to acquire three Boeing 787-9s through lessors, as the first of those planes is expected to be delivered in 2026. That means in total, the airline is expected to have up to 18 Dreamliners. Air Astana intends to use these planes largely for service to Asia and Europe, as well as for expansion to North America.

Here’s how Air Astana CEO Peter Foster describes this:

“Air Astana is strategically committed to boosting its service capabilities from Central Asia / Caucasus to Asia, Europe and the rest of the world over the next decade, with the arrival of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner next year marking the start of this exciting phase of development. With its customer friendly cabin, fuel efficiency and range flexibility, the fleet of up to 18 Boeing 787-9 aircraft is destined to become an outstanding success with the airline and its discerning passengers.”

Air Astana runs a stellar, reliable operation

As I’ve said repeatedly, Central Asia is a fascinating area of the world, including for aviation. I’d argue that Air Astana is by far the region’s most well run carrier. The airline has a modern fleet, great operational reliability, a solid onboard product, and the company even does reasonably well financially.

I’ve enjoyed my flights on Air Astana in the past, and have been wanting to fly the carrier’s new A321LRs, though I’ve been waiting for the airline to take delivery of its initial batch of Dreamliners before doing so. The first three 787s are intended to replace the 767s, and then it seems the additional up to 15 787s will be used for incremental growth, if/when they’re delivered.

I wish we’d see Air Astana partner with more airlines, whether it comes in the form of joining an alliance, or at least having more loyalty collaborations. Basically, I’m just looking for a way to redeem miles for the carrier’s business class, rather than paying cash. 😉

Bottom line

Air Astana is planning a big long haul expansion, as the airline is placing an order for up to 15 incremental Boeing 787-9s. We don’t yet know when the planes will be delivered, and how many of those orders are firm vs. options. This is in addition to the three 787-9s that were previously ordered through a leasing company, which are expected to be delivered as of 2026.

It’s very cool to see the amount of growth in aviation in Central Asia at the moment, and I look forward to seeing how this all plays out.

What do you make of Air Astana’s Dreamliner order?