Air Astana signs Memorandum of Understanding for up to 50 Airbus A320neo family jets
November 21, 2025
On Friday, Air Astana signed an agreement for up to 50 A320neo family aircraft with Airbus. The deal follows the Dubai Airshow which took place this year and garnered 194 orders for the European manufacturer.
Air Astana’s order will include a mix of A320neo and A321neo aircraft, the majority of which will be the A321LR, the company said in a press statement announcing the deal. It will complement the carrier’s existing fleet of A321LR planes, which operate to destinations across Asia and Europe.
This marks Air Astana’s largest ever aircraft order.
Up to 50 Airbus A320neos on order
Air Astana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 50 A320neo family jets, comprising 25 firm commitments and 25 options. It expects to begin taking deliveries of the factory-fresh planes from 2031.
“Air Astana’s large order for a new fleet of Airbus A320neo family aircraft reflects a commitment to maintaining its reputation for operational efficiency and service excellence in the long term,” says Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana. Foster is stepping down as CEO in March after nearly two decades in charge.
“The Airbus A320neo family has proven to be an outstanding success in service with Air Astana over many years and I’m confident that the new fleet will continue to boost sustainable growth and profitability in the long term.”
The CEO oversaw the entry-into-service of the carrier’s first A320ceo back in 2006. Most of the planes were moved to low-cost subsidiary, FlyArystan. The carrier received its first A321LR in 2019.
| Aircraft type | First delivery year | Total in fleet over time | On order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320ceo | 2006 | 14 | 0 |
| Airbus A320neo | 2016 | 11 | 0 |
| Airbus A321LR | 2019 | 17 | 1 |
Aside from the Airbuses, Air Astana currently flies three Boeing 767s. These are set for retirement as it begins to take delivery of its upcoming Boeing 787s, of which it has 18 on order.
Current use of the A321LR
Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows that the Airbus A321LRs operate primarily on Air Astana’s long-haul flights to Europe and Asia.
This month, its top A321LR routes include the Astana to Dubai connection that runs 10x weekly with the aircraft. It also flies them 7x weekly on a domestic leg between Astana and Almaty.
Elsewhere from Almaty, it flies 6x per week to Bangkok with the A321LR, 5x to Dubai, Beijing and Phu Quoc, and 4x to places like Istanbul, Tashkent and Tbilisi.
A321LR challenges and opportunities
As Foster revealed in an interview with Aerospace Global News in Kazakhstan earlier this year, the carrier has faced several challenges with its A321LR fleet.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant that it ceased flying to Moscow. – a core route for the carrier – and had to reroute its European flights that used Russia’s airspace. He said it cost the carrier an additional 90 minutes of flight time per sector, ultimately exceeding the A321LRs range for some destinations.
To counter this, it retrofitted its A321LRs with a third auxiliary centre tank, “That has increased the range of the aircraft, so we can now get roughly 4,200 nautical miles,” he told this publication Foster.
Featured image: Collab Media | stock.adobe.com
