Air Astana

In the last year I have flown Air Astana on 14 different legs now (ALA-SGN ALA-BKK-SGN ALA-ICH and ALA-DEL). During the past the service has been getting better and better. Some irritants during flights such as flight attendants bumping in to your elbows (aisle seats) or waking you up for meals have disappeared. Meals have got better. The old 757 interiors are being renovated. Long flights know offer personal entertainment systems for each person in Economy. All the ticket prices have been reasonable though it is hard to build up miles with Air Astana's Nomad Club. That is one complaint I have with Air Astana. With most airlines I would have gotten free upgrades by now. Many of Air Astana's low fares exclude you from accumulating frequent flier miles. I hope this changes in the future. Overall I say Air Astana is a good carrier to choose nowadays.

I took six flights over two weeks London-Astana Astana-Almaty and Almaty to Tashkent and all of them were very good and I was impressed with the staff quality of food and video/TV system. The flight between Astana and London both ways wasn't very busy and the planes were very modern and well maintained. It was a pleasure and relaxing to fly with them.

Bangkok-Almaty on 5 Oct 2014 KC932 and return Almaty-Bangkok on 12 Oct 2014 KC931. Check-in staff were friendly and speak good English. The B757 used was clean and have a new look about it. The IFE was reasonably good with offerings of some of the latest films. The cabin crew was friendly helpful and attentive. The overnight flight from Almaty to Bangkok took off at around 1 am. About two hours into the flight a full meal was served. Before landing in Bangkok at around 8.45 a.m. no breakfast was served. For a flight like this suggest that two light meals be served – one shortly after take-off and breakfast before landing. Overall it was a pleasant experience flying with Air Astana.

Heathrow to Almaty return via Astana in Business Class. This was the first time that we had flown Air Astana and we were generally pretty impressed. Not quite up to the standard of the top Airlines but worth their 4 star Skytrax status. Outbound the meal was one of the best I've experienced in the air; with multiple courses presented separately and the food options varied and delicious. Inbound was another matter however with tasteless cold fish chicken that was a bit dry and less attractive options. Maybe the Caterer in Astana isn't as good as in London. Service both ways however was excellent with pre take-off drinks offered boiled sweets hot face towels drinks and nuts or canapés and very attentive staff. The seats were pretty comfy and whilst not fully flat (hopefully their Dreamliners on order will have fully flat seats in Business) they still had very decent recline and allowed for some sleep. (we were on a 757 for all sectors so if you get this aircraft type or a 767 on Domestic sectors then you're doing pretty well in Business Class for such a short flight - nothing like the terrible Business Class European Airlines offer on short haul flights). The Etihad Lounge at Heathrow was excellent; and it's very quiet at the time that Air Astana fly as there are no Etihad flights at this time however the Lounge in the Domestic Terminal at Almaty is really an embarrassment (small pokey room no natural light small snack counter charging for everything right down to a cup of tea!). Air Astana hand out tablets in Business Class as there are no seat back TV's. We found that we could hardly hear through the headphones on the way out but this was much better on the way back. The Moving Map however wasn't working on the way back and since the tablets aren't connected to the flight systems at all we had no idea where we were or how long until arrival for the whole flight. (even Economy Class presumably can access this info). Other minor irritations were the same 2 songs played continuously on loop when the aircraft is on the ground and the lovely new anti jet lag ceiling lighting system being inexplicably put through it's paces for the first few hours of the flight jumping between colours every few seconds. Terminal 4 at Heathrow was relatively quiet at the times Air Astana flew which made for a pleasant experience; and I can recommend Terminal 4 Long Stay Parking which is actually just across the main road from the Terminal - no more than 5 minutes in the shuttle bus! Overall we enjoyed our experience with Air Astana perhaps more so than we were expecting and given that they are often keenly priced I would recommend them.

Moscow - Astana - Almaty - Bangkok. Two of the three sectors were very late at night or early morning and I chose sleep rather than food. It seemed a little strange serving dinner at about 2.00am! It would be better to offer breakfast when flights depart after 11.30 at night. Cabin crew were good and friendly (all seemed to speak good English) and I was allowed to take some items from the dinner menu prior to landing in Bangkok. The Astana - Almaty meal was good and the quantities perfectly adequate. Check in for all flights was quick and easy. I was disappointed that there is no business lounge in Astana for domestic passengers and the lounge in Almaty is one of the worst I have been in for International Business Class. Luggage was relatively quick off the plane especially in Bangkok. The seating was reasonably comfortable and there was adequate leg room on the flights from Moscow to Almaty. From Almaty to Bangkok it is an angled bed which is reasonably comfortable. IFE is very limited but not so important when you only want to sleep on the flight. I had my own entertainment for the Astana Almaty sector. I continue to fly Air Astana because I think that they are probably the best airline in Eurasia and not bad at keeping to their schedules. The flight from Moscow was delayed for about an hour because of a technical problem. We were promptly advised by the crew of nature of the problem and the likely time needed to fix it.

Three flights around Central Asia this last week. FRU-ALA ALA-TSE and TSE-AUH. The FRU-ALA flight was so short they offer a cabin drinks service on the ground. ALA-TSE we were offered a drink and small snack on the B757 overhead screens played a silent sketch show. TSE-AUH was on an A320. A full cabin service was offered. Entertainment was on overhead screen and amenity packs were provided. One movies and a couple TV shows. Leg room was good on all sectors. Staff all spoke English. But check-in always seemed to be chaotic.

Bangkok - Almaty - Astana - Novosibirsk. Good quick check and priority lane in busy Bangkok airport luggage slow off in Almaty (did not get priority despite the label). Good crew and food and wine. The 757 from Bangkok to Almaty was a little tired and angled seats should exclude an airline from four star status. The service from Almaty to Astana was good - a full meal served. From Astana to Novosibirsk there were problems in security checks and no fast lane for business class passengers. Staff helped people with tight connections. The domestic Business lounge in Almaty is very poor but the new lounge in Astana was good. I don't think that they deserve their four star rating but they are improving and the English of the Cabin attendants is a lot better than when I first flew with them 10 years ago. I will continue to choose to fly with them in Central Asia.

All in all its OK for a relatively short journey and the food's nice. But you should know this: I travel a number of times a year TSE-FRA and am finding more frequent delays with no information given. The last 3 times there were 40 minute-2 hour delays so beware! Quite a lot of confusion at FRA last time when the plane was 90% filled with a single group of Chinese travelling to Urumqi. Don't take a window seat in winter - the a/c isn't up to it and there's an arctic draft every time. Inflight entertainment not much only overhead screens and reruns of candid camera type stuff and one movie repeated on 6 hour flight. Internally in KZ the prices are ridiculously high because they are the only airline which is up to international standards.

7 Feb from ALA To IST. I travel internationally and domestically frequently. Based on my experience Air Astana is a cut above the rest. As a person who is afraid of flying it is a pleasure to see the rapid modernization of the fleet. I am 193cm tall and leg room is important for me Air Astana usually offers the most. The inflight entertainment is current and changes frequently. Lastly I have found the cabin crew to be very supportive. there was one occasion where I complained about the temperature of the cabin being too hot and the senior flight attendant had a customer complaint book where she recorded my complaint. A great initiative which I have never experienced on other airlines.

Ala-Astana KC 683 back Astana Almaty KC 954 Almaty-Atyrau (Guriev) - KC 889B Atyrau (Guriev) - Almaty KC 890-B. Good service. Perfect take off and landings. Air Astana continues to work on their services and airfleet and I continue to see an ongoing positive development of the company. Some destinations are more expensive than others but generally good value for money.