Air Astana postpones its Boeing 787 deliveries – again

Blaming unfavourable market conditions and the devaluation of its local currency, Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, has postponed – yet again – the delivery of three Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The airline’s recently-published 2018 annual report reveals that the delivery of the first aircraft of this type has now been re-scheduled for 2023.
The intention to acquire the Boeing 787-8 was announced in 2012. At that point, the contract for the development of the airline’s long-haul fleet, which also included four Boeing 767-300ERs, was valued at US$1.3 billion, by far the largest order in the history of Kazakhstan’s civil aviation.
Initially, deliveries of the Boeing 787 were scheduled for the 2017-2019 period, but were postponed first until 2019 and then until 2021. The airline points to the economic downturn in Kazakhstan and a significant devaluation of the local currency as the reasons for the delay.
The Air Astana fleet now consists of 35 aircraft, including three Boeing 767-300ERs, five Boeing 757-200s, 16 Airbus A320 family aircraft, including three A320neos and one A321neo, and 11 Embraer E190s, including three E190-E2 variants.
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