Qazaq Air enjoyed 22 per cent growth in 2018

Qazaq Air served 307,000 passengers using a fleet of three Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprops (Qazaq Air)

Young Kazakh carrier Qazaq Air enjoyed a 22 per cent year-on-year growth in passenger numbers in 2018. The state-owned regional airline served 307,000 passengers on 5,500 flights, achieving 81 per cent dispatch reliability, with the average seat load factor reaching 72 per cent, reveals the airline’s latest report.

“Whereas in 2017 we associated our steady performance improvement with a flow of visitors to the EXPO-2017 world fair [in Astana], the figures this year indicate the organic growth of Qazaq Air’s business, as more Kazakh citizens and travellers to our country use its services,” comments Adel Dauletbek, Qazaq Air’s acting executive chairman of the board and head of its commercial department.

One of the milestones the young airline reached last year was achieving IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a standard which paves the way to eventual IATA membership – as well as the launch of scheduled international services and the development of new partnerships with international airlines, including code-share arrangements.

In the short-term, Qazaq Air is counting on continuing on this path of success in 2019. In the spring period it expects to take delivery of two new Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprops, bringing its fleet to five aircraft, a move which suggest route network expansion.

Qazaq Air currently focuses on regional routes inside Kazakhstan. It is 100 per cent owned by Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund. Since its launch in 2015 the airline has served in excess of 750,000 passengers.