Air Astana has successfully launched a new three-times weekly service to Paris.
The service will run on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It originates in Almaty, with no change of aircraft in Astana, before flying on to the French capital. Flights will be operated by a B757 in a two-class configuration with 16 seats in business and 150 in economy.
For years, Air Astana had restrictions imposed on it by the EU’s Air Safety Committee preventing it from increasing its flight frequency in Europe. This was lifted in April last year, thereby allowing the carrier to start planning for new destinations in Europe, as well as increasing the number of flights it makes into the region.
Business class
Along with the standard business and economy class offerings, the B757 will also feature the carrier’s new Economy Sleeper Class. Similar to Air New Zealand’s Skycouch concept, the Sleeper Class provides passengers with the opportunity to rest and sleep in a lie flat position, by combining three economy seats.
The Economy Sleeper Class seats are located in a dedicated cabin, and passengers sat here will also receive a business class mattress, pillow and duvet for an extra comfortable experience. Furthermore, they will receive additional benefits including priority check-in, 30kg baggage allowance, business class lounge access, priority boarding, Fast Track for immigration, and business class amenity kit.
Flight schedule: Almaty–Astana–Paris route
KC623 departs Almaty at 1100 and arrives in Astana at 1235
KC223 departs Astana at 1400 and arrives in Paris CDG at 1705
Flight schedule: Paris–Astana–Almaty route
KC224 departs Paris at 1955 and arrives in Astana at 0605 +1
KC624 departs Astana at 0725 and arrives in Almaty at 0855+1
“The new service to Paris is a major step in developing Air Astana’s European network and serves to strengthen economic, diplomatic, cultural and tourism links between France and Kazakhstan,” said Peter Foster, president of Air Astana.
For more information, visit airastana.com
Clement Huang