In Europe, the included onboard service in economy class on short-haul flights has been and continues to be cut. But what is the situation in Kazakhstan with Air Astana? This report takes a closer look at economy class on a domestic flight operated with an Airbus A321.
Unfortunately, many Europeans still have reservations about airlines based in the successor states of the Soviet Union. Some people have an image of outdated aircraft from the Soviet era, staff that are not always friendly and the occasional indefinable catering. This is definitely no longer the case for most providers, as there have been major improvements and the free market has separated the wheat from the chaff. Many of the former "problem airlines" no longer exist at all.
Air Astana's predecessor didn't exactly have the best reputation. As a new company, they wanted to do everything better and set themselves the ambitious goal of being an attractive full-service carrier using only western aircraft. But can they do that? In economy class on a domestic flight?
Domestic flight in economy class from Almaty to Astana
The test flight went from Almaty, the economic center of Kazakhstan, to the capital Astana. An Airbus A321 was used, which was equipped with short-haul business class seats in the front area of the cabin. In economy, state-of-the-art seats were installed, as is customary in the industry. In contrast to many European providers, however, these have an eye-catcher: Air Astana has equipped the "economy class" with an in-flight entertainment system with individual screens. This is something you will look for in vain on short-haul flights with competitors such as Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and others, because if it was available at all, it was abolished many years ago for cost reasons.
There are also charging options for smartphones on Air Astana's Airbus A321. These are USB-A sockets. It should be noted in this context that the electronics industry has increasingly focused on the USB-C standard in recent years, but seat manufacturers have not yet been able to react so quickly. In addition, economy class seats are also very expensive to buy and are therefore in use for several years.
In terms of content, the IFES offering on Air Astana's Airbus A321 is identical to that offered in business class and on long-haul flights. This also means that an annoying block of advertising in Kazakh must be "endured" before films are shown. This is the case in both economy and class C, and especially in business class, something that travelers neither expect nor have to accept.
Almaty: Domestic terminal with much potential for improvement
The structural conditions of the domestic terminal in Almaty are not really adequate. Although it certainly makes a modern impression, there is not nearly enough space for the large number of passengers.
It quickly becomes crowded and in the so-called "lounge" - a kind of corridor with a few seats (not comparable to a real lounge) - travelers from all classes of travel are standing on their toes before their flight is finally called. The other areas are a little more spacious, but everything is built in a bit of an angle. But Air Astana can't do much about that, because the airport is operated by a joint venture consisting of TAV Airports - Groupe ADP.
Warm snack and drinks included
Air Astana's economy class appears to be of high quality at first glance, simply because of the presence of individual screens of an IFES system. In addition, the cabin gave a fresh and new impression. There is nothing to criticize in terms of cleanliness, because it was clean. The seat spacing also seemed quite good. Thanks to the IFES screens, a very creative safety video is played.
Drinks and snacks are included in the flight price. A kind of warm chicken sandwich was offered on the domestic flight. Alternatively, this was also available with cheese instead of meat. It tasted OK, but not earth-shatteringly good. As a "dessert", the crew handed out a piece of individually wrapped chocolate. There were no restrictions on the choice of drinks, so the passengers could order as much and as often as they wanted. After the meal, tea and/or coffee were also proactively offered by the crew.
Conclusion: European premium carriers should seek inspiration here and not from low-cost airlines
Air Astana's economy class product certainly reminds Europeans of the "good old days" here in Europe. It used to be common practice for full-service carriers to serve at least a small, warm meal and a free choice of drinks in economy class. The emergence of low-cost carriers has led to the once standard onboard service being increasingly reduced or even made subject to a charge. However, ticket prices have not become cheaper for so-called European premium carriers.
Kazakhstan is an extremely large country. The flight time on Almaty-Astana is around 1,5 hours, which is comparable to city routes within the European Union. Air Astana has decided to go with included meals and drinks. According to the airline, they have no plans to change this. They have consciously positioned themselves as a full-service carrier and anyone who wants a "modular system" can book with the competition. In order to be able to serve this market segment as well, the airline launched its own low-cost airline, Fly Arystan, some time ago.
In summary, it can be said that Air Astana is trying to offer passengers a solid product on short-haul routes and within Kazakhstan, even on the Airbus A321. In economy class, this is far superior to many European providers, as it offers individual screens, a free choice of drinks and at least one small, hot meal included in the ticket price. With many European carriers that explicitly present themselves as premium airlines, you will look in vain for this or have to pull out your credit card if you are hungry and/or thirsty.
With Air Astana it is included and therefore one or two European "premium providers" could learn from them that it is better to offer passengers more and to make them satisfied customers through the service and included services and not continue to act as a "copy machine" for Ryanair, Wizz Air and the like. Either you are a premium provider, in which case you should also offer a reasonable service and the most important services included, or you are a budget airline. Air Astana, in any case, says of itself that it is a full-service carrier. It remains to be hoped that the level can be maintained in economy class too. The Kazakh company can certainly exceed expectations - from the perspective of a European service desert.
Finally, in the interests of transparency, we would like to point out that the flight ticket on the Almaty-Astana route on which this report is based was provided by Air Astana. The company had no influence on the reporting and certainly did not get to read this report in advance.
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