Air Astana intends to modify its entire fleet of 11 Airbus A321LRs with additional fuel tanks, following the successful launch of non-stop flights to London Heathrow from Almaty.
Airline chief Peter Foster says the modifications are expected to be completed by end-2025, allowing the Kazakh carrier to operate more long-range, non-stop flights, on top of London.
Foster, who was speaking at a media roundtable in Almaty, has however ruled out any commitments for the A321XLR, noting that it is still not fully known “what the aircraft can or cannot do”.
“We would rather take something we know works rather than take a chance,” Foster says.
Following the service entry of the first modified A321LR, Foster says two more aircraft have been inducted to be fitted out with additional fuel tanks, a fourth A321LR will be inducted in November, he adds. The modifications will also extend to the seven new A321LRs being brought in from Air Lease that will be delivered from 2026.
Foster says one possible route for the modified aircraft is between Almaty and Tokyo, which it will launch in early 2026 following the signing of a codeshare agreement with Japan Airlines.
FlightGlobal also understands that the airline is looking at launching flights between the capital Astana and Bangkok with the modified A321LRs. Air Astana currently connects Bangkok with Almaty.
Air Astana on 4 October launched non-stop operations from Almaty to London Heathrow with the modified A321LR, eliminating a technical stop in the far western Kazakh city of Aktau. The stop came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which forced the airline to avoid flying near the Ukrainian airspace.
Separately, Foster has warned of uncertainty surrounding the delivery of its first Boeing 787-9, amid ongoing strife at the North American airframer.
The airline in August said its first 787 will be delivered in late 2025, more than half a year later than planned.
Asked if there were updates to the delivery timeline, Foster says: “The last time we were told it would be the end of 2025, but obviously with what’s going on [in Boeing]…its almost like a slowly unfolding Greek tragedy.”
Air Astana signed a lease agreement for three 787s in November 2022, with initial delivery scheduled for mid-2025.
