Air Astana wins first Skytrax 4-Star rating in Russia/CIS/Eastern Europe, launches a new route to Kazan, Tatarstan

Air Astana (Almaty) has become the first carrier from Russia/CIS/Eastern Europe to be awarded the prestigious 4-Star rating in the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2012. Kazakhstan’s international flag carrier now ranks amongst the world’s best airlines for passenger service, with other 4-Star rated airlines including British Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa, QANTAS Airways and Thai Airways International.

Air Astana first won a Skytrax 3-Star rating in 2009 and was also ranked second amongst carriers for the “Best Airline: Eastern Europe” award in 2011.

Skytrax’s star rating audit examines more than 800 different areas of product and service delivery for each airline, where the ratings range from 1-Star to 5-Star. Most of the world’s best known airlines are rated either 3 or 4-Stars, with only five airlines currently rated as 5-Star.

In other news, Air Astana launched a new direct flight connecting Almaty to Kazan, capital of Tatarstan, Russia on June 2, 2012. The service is operated three times a week (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday) using Embraer ERJ 190 airliners in 98 seat, two class configuration.

The new service from Almaty to Kazan is Air Astana’s seventh destination in the Russian Federation, with existing services operating from Almaty to Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Samara, as well as those operating from Astana, Kazakhstan’s capital, to Moscow, Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg. Passengers travelling from Kazan will be able to easily connect to Air Astana services from Almaty to Asian destinations including Bangkok, Dehli, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.