In 2018, Air Astana recorded a net profit of USD 5.3 million

Kazakhstan carrier Air Astana has announced an unaudited net profit of US$5.3 million for 2018, fuelled by increased revenues but also higher jet fuel costs.

Airline revenue was up 10% to US$840.8 million and capacity rose 5%.

Transit traffic through its Almaty and Astana hubs now accounts for nearly 40% of all international traffic.

Operating costs were up 14% driven mostly by a 27.5% increase in fuel costs.

“2018 was a challenging year due to higher-priced fuel, and pressure on international yields and domestic market share due to competitive capacity increases on key routes,” said Air Astana CEO Peter Foster.

Foster cites falling fuel costs since mid-year 2018 and the upcoming launch of its new low cost unit FlyArystan later this year as cause for optimism.

“The low-cost airline is a great business opportunity on domestic and shorter regional routes. The travelling public will be delighted by the low fares as long as the government facilitates the legislative changes required to enable FlyArystan to launch,” he added.

source: Travel Mole