Air Astana plans modest expansion in 2016 with Iran, Mongolia routes; more London, China capacity

Kazakhstan's Air Astana is continuing to grow capacity despite weakening demand in its home market. The flag carrier has been increasing its reliance on lower yielding sixth freedom traffic as the devaluation of the Kazakh tenge has impacted outbound demand but cost reductions have enabled it to remain profitable.

Air Astana plans to launch services to Iran and Mongolia in 2016 while adding capacity on existing routes to China, Georgia, the Ukraine and the UK. London expansion comes on the heels of British Airways dropping service to Kazakhstan.

Air Astana plans to expand its fleet by five aircraft over the next four years to 35 aircraft, providing a platform for modest capacity growth. The first of 11 A320neo family aircraft will be delivered in 2016, kick-starting a major fleet renewal initiative.