Air Astana profits rise

Air Astana recorded a net profit of US$16.5 million in the second quarter of 2014, 7% more than the same period last year.

Kazakhstan’s national carrier generated revenues of US$230m in the three-month period, up 4% year-on-year, as traffic increased slightly to 939,000 passengers.

These figures represent a rebound for Air Astana, following a first quarter that was adversely affected by the devaluation of Kazakhstan’s currency, the tengue.

“Markets have not been affected as severely as expected by regional currency and political issues and are showing resilience,” said Peter Foster, Air Astana’s president. “Having further reduced unit cost by 6% we are expecting a strong performance in the third quarter and expect to again finish the year profitably.

“Our investment and aircraft acquisition programmes are proceeding as planned,” he added.

Air Astana took delivery of three new Airbus A320s and one new Boeing 767-300ER during the second quarter of 2014.

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