Air Astana

Dubai-Almaty-Ust-Kamenogorsk-Astana-Dubai. Later part of May - beginning June 2010. Flight to Ust-Kamenogorsk via Almaty not too bad or unpleasant considering I was en route already for 25 days (spending 18 hours in horrible Dubai Airport). My suitcase was damaged by rough handling. The flight Ust-Kamenogorsk to Astana was not bad either. Astana-Dubai flight started with a hiccup - since the customs people did not know where Namibia is and I was looked at very suspiciously despite having a private Visa and being with my Kazakhstan wife. The flight was very unpleasant - seats the most uncomfortable for such a flight! Attendants not interested in making the flight a wee-bit more comfortable. Prices not too bad - however flying to the destinations I need to go to there is no alternative to compare. Being the national airline there is much room for improvement.

I never had much of an issue with this airline. Ppolite staff food very reasonable a good selection of drinks and in-flight entertainment. On occasion the flights can be late but this is more due to the weather and the odd mechanical hiccup however this has improved. You may find this airline very expensive (Amsterdam to Atyrau) with 50% saving to be had via other routings. These comments relate to trips Amsterdam to Atyrau Atyrau to Aktau and Istanbul to Atyrau over the last 3 years.

I flew to Bangkok from Almaty December 2009. We had trouble at the beginning. Although we checked in on the website they couldn't provide the same seats so we had to sit separately from my wife. They also sold 1 ticket for 2 people but they just couldn't do anything with the situation. The only way would've been to seat one of these guys to the business class. We waited 2 hours on the plane (of course some people missed their connection in Bangkok in the result of this unprofessionalism) until they saw no other solution but that. Very unprofessional attitude. Later on cabin crew were helpful and friendly food was OK good classical music channel to listen airplane relatively new clean very small legroom though for a tall guy.

A terrible business class lounge. I had to pay for everything except water and cola. They have launched a web check-in service but do not have a terminal to print the boarding pass at the airport. I find it rather uncomfortable due to the fact that you can't often find a printer when traveling on business trips. On my last trip I've checked-in online printed my boarding pass but I have learned that my seat doesn't exist because they've changed the plane. I've found it out only when I was onboard. Maybe not so terrible but not too good.

I recently flew Air Astana from Almaty to Dubai and return and I must say I was impressed with the level of service. We were late out of Almaty but that was not a real problem as the service on the plane was professional. The seat pitch is okay for the 4 hour or so flight to Dubai as is the food. Entertainment was via overhead video units but it was fine to view. No problems with disembarking in Dubai. Equally the return flight was good leaving Dubai at 2300 - good food and service on board.

GUW-AMS B767-300 Business class. I have to say the service has greatly improved. The seating is classic but very spacious. The plane is aging but clean. The onboard service is fair to good and IFE surprisingly diverse. I checked no for "value" for money because this ticket costs double the price of a twice as long flight on CX or AF.

Have flown several times on Almaty - Bangkok route. Whilst not at the level of top airlines I had no problems at all. Flights on time. Food OK. Planes relatively new and clean. Happy to continue as is quickest route for me and no complaints.

GUW-IST-GUW A320. Check in smooth and the flight was on time. The plane was a new A320. IFE was limited but this was a 3.5 hour flight. The onboard service was adequate for a medium haul economy class flight. No complaints except for the incredible rise of prices on Air Astana International flights. From Kazakhstan we do not have much choice of airlines and Air Astana is still the only one with a descent safety record so I prefer to use it despite the ever increasing prices.

The comments about this airline mostly relate to their international flights and I understand that they offer a good service there. It's a different story on their internal and regional flights. I booked on-line for the short hop return from Bishkek to Almaty. It seemed like a good idea at the time but proved to be a disaster. The airline changed their schedule without informing me their records apparently said that they had "tried to contact me" - I'm not even sure how. I turned up at the airport and waited for 5 hours assuming that it had simply been delayed for that time only to find out that they had moved me not to that flight but to one 20 hours earlier. The Air Astana agent acted as though he hadn't seen an e-ticket before claimed I hadn't paid for the outward journey or maybe hadn't paid at all - really any excuse to not allow me onto the plane. I had no alternative but to go back to Bishkek and travel overland the next day - all at my own expense of course. The return flight had been similarly moved but a local agent helped me out to properly arrange that one and got a refund for the outward journey. I complained to Air Astana as my non-arrival had seriously thrown out the plans of my hosts in Almaty not just mine. No answer. I complained again only to receive a fob off reply that they regretted this but they weren't going to do anything further about it and hoped that I would fly with them again: I doubt that very much. I've given 1 rather than 0 as the Almaty to Bishkek "return" flight itself wasn't bad. Their ground service and support in these regional centres very much needs to upgraded to the same standard as their flight experience.

Air Astana is right up there with other non-mainstream airlines who do more to please than most. Great service great food an interior decor and outside livery that have a quality design. Air Astana customers include many oil industry personnel who have flown often worldwide and positive comments are often noticeable among passengers. Agree with a previous comment about FAs who are very pleasant. Service to Atyrau has improved leaps and bounds from the days when a worker cigarette in mouth and large hosepipe in hand used to bang the hull of the plane to talk to the pilot about refuelling. The airport is still a bus station though.