Last year, I read about Kazakhstan-based Air Astana’s purchase of Boeing 787s. At the time, I hypothesized that they’d be used for flights to New York City, London, Istanbul, and Seoul. According to recent news, it seems that 2027 will be the year for the first-ever nonstop U.S. – Kazakhstan flights.
It certainly makes sense to me, now more than ever:
- Air Astana can overfly Russia
- Flying through Central Asia avoids the wheel-of-conflict in the Middle East
- Astana has connecting flights to a bunch of destinations, including Beijing, Phuket, and Seoul (and if really like flying, Tbilisi and Podgorica). Me thinks a nonstop U.S. – Kazakhstan flight will compel Air Astana to get rights for India routes.
- Plus, don’t underestimate Kazakhstan’s tourism potential.
On that note, why not take a couple of days to explore the bizarrechitecture of the Kazakh capital Astana? Earlier this month, the city inaugurated its first rail line (with service to the airport, to boot).
If your next question was, “are they going to join any airline alliances?” Can’t answer that right now. But if you also flew with Asiana Airlines or Lufthansa, you could accrue/redeem Nomad Club points…on flights to those respective countries.
Nevertheless, you will soon be able add the nonstop U.S. – Kazakhstan routing to your list of unique Transatlantic hops.
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