Air Astana still plans US flights, pending Russian overflight rights

Air Astana's long-planned services to the United States remain dependent on permission to cross Russian airspace, the airline's chief executive Ibrahim Canliel has said. According to Canliel, the polar route is the shorter option and is what would make the flights feasible at all.

The Kazakh national carrier first announced ambitions to fly to New York, and later to other US cities, four years ago, with a start date set at the time for 2025. That year passed without a launch. Delivery delays on the Boeing 787s ordered for the long-haul routes pushed the schedule back, and no fixed date was set instead.

Canliel said Air Astana has so far avoided Russian airspace, partly over insurance questions, but that this could change. A safety assessment is under way, he said, and the situation will be reviewed regularly as any launch approaches, with continued monitoring even after operations begin.

On the fleet side, the airline expects to take delivery of one Boeing 787-9 by the end of this year and two more next year. According to the carrier, a start to US flights, if it happens, is now seen around the end of 2027.