34 I Business in... Astana


online baggage systems and air bridges. The new airport will be able to handle four million passengers – with forecasts suggesting this should comfortably serve capacity until 2050 as the country expects modest growth. “Growth potential is quite limited,” reveals Ricciotti.


financial institution headquarters in the vacant lots, as well as university departments, research centres and a dedicated energy legacy centre. As such, serious infrastructural investment is under way not just to facilitate the expo, but also to ensure the successful longevity of the venture and more firmly cement Astana’s position as the capital and the epicentre of Central Asian affairs.


An important aspect of this is the creation of a second terminal at Astana International Airport (TSE), with the aim of establishing it as Kazakhstan’s primary port. Paolo Ricciotti, CEO of Astana Airport, explained: “The original design of the airport had a capacity of 600,000 – we’re now nearly at 900,000 and increasing as the centre of attention shifts from Almaty to Astana.” Like the rest of the city some innovative construction has been taking place. Due to space constraints, the original plan was to build an entirely new international airport and leave the current one as a domestic terminal. However, time pressures and a clever design have allowed authorities to expand vertically, building a unique double-layer docking system while improving the existing runways.


A dedicated business terminal was also completed


this year accommodating 40 business jets. It is equipped with comfort rooms, meeting rooms, showers, an arrival lounge and private limousine service. In addition, creaking baggage systems and old-fashioned check-in counters have been replaced with state-of-the-art technology, fully automated


NOVEMBER 2016


From top: An illustration of the airport’s clever extension plan; and the main bridge across the Esil River to the old town


“We’re never going to become something like Dubai, so we would never think of offering competition for Hong Kong to London via Astana. But definitely we will offer competition for Hong Kong to Kiev via Astana. What we’re looking for is transfer business, connecting major cities with secondary cities.” Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s national carrier, confirmed that the airline’s future plans focus on consolidating its dominance in Central Asia: “We continue to be the strongest airline in this region by a country mile. We’re definitely faring best in the region thanks to protection from a good reputation where others have gone under. For example Transaero, the Russian carrier, was regarded as a massive up-and- coming force in the aviation industry, but they went bankrupt last year.” Moving forward, the plan is to further concentrate on


their role as an intermediary airline rather than look to broaden the route network, revealed Foster: “Too many routes are less than daily at the moment – which is bad for connectivity, very difficult for network planners to schedule the connections sales managers want with such low frequencies. So the intention is to thicken up those routes that have long-term potential – in particular, routes to St Petersburg, Tblisi and Kiev have performed well for us.” Additionally, Kazakhstan’s key location on the “new Silk Road” (the Eurasian land route network called “One Belt, One Road” by China) gives Air Astana a natural base to take advantage of East-West links, and particularly focus on the China market. As Ricciotti says, “China presents a fantastic opportunity and Astana is a natural gateway. I’m a big believer that the 250 million people in the western part of China would be an easy target for transfer traffic. Air Astana started transfers from Urumqi initially, but I would be looking closely at Chengdu.”


Fleet modernisation is also taking place, helping to bolster Air Astana’s status as a symbol of the “new” Kazakhstan. The airline received its first A321 in September, with ten more on order, to replace the ageing B757 fleet completely by 2019, while retrofitting existing aircraft will see improvements such as upgraded IFE and the introduction of wifi. As the “Official Air Carrier of Expo 2017”, and a major sponsor, the airline will be giving a free Expo pass to every passenger who comes into Astana during its three-month duration. Foster is optimistic: “We look forward to supporting what will be a fascinating and enjoyable extended event, as Astana opens its arms to the world.” n


businesstraveller.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76