Aviation News –
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Air Astana JSC (the “Company” and, together with its subsidiary FlyArystan, the “Group”), the leading airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size, announces its results for the first quarter ended 31 March 2026.
Ibrahim Canliel, CEO of Air Astana, commented:
“These are my first quarterly results as CEO of Air Astana and I am pleased to report that we have seen continued growth in revenue and in traffic despite the market environment and ongoing cost challenges. With a modest increase in traffic (RPK +3.0%) we have seen revenue up 13.2% for the quarter, and unit revenues (RASK) +12.4%.
The first quarter of 2026 has posed challenges for the entire aviation industry but has also given Air Astana a further opportunity to demonstrate our agility and resilience in the face of aversion. Within 48 hours of the Gulf conflict starting, we had already begun reallocating our aircraft to support the rapidly evolving demand conditions which have become a new norm. I am immensely proud of my colleagues’ response: from flying repatriation flights, to providing the increased transit opportunities for our business and leisure passengers.
Alongside this operational response, we continued to advance our long-term network strategy. In Q1 we launched our first flight to Shanghai, a city with a greater population than our home nation. This adds both additional destinations and frequencies to our existing routes into China and capitalises on the huge growth opportunity within our nearby megamarkets. We have also boosted capacity to India, Central Asia and the Caucasus providing a robust substitute for the Gulf destinations.”
Q1 Summary*
Revenue and traffic growth continues, with improving load factor.
- Total revenue and other income increased 13.2% to USD 331.0 million (Q1 2025: USD 292.4 million).
- EBITDAR decreased 19.6% to USD 48.2 million (Q1 2025: USD 59.9 million). EBITDAR margin 5.9pp lower to 14.6% (Q1 2025: 20.5%).
- PAT decreased to USD -21.1 million (Q1 2025: USD -7.3 million).
- ASK up 0.7% to 4.72 billion (Q1 2025: 4.69 billion).
- RPK increased 3.0% to 3.94 billion (Q1 2025: 3.82 billion).
- RASK-CASK differential negative for the quarter:
- RASK increased 12.4% to USD 7.01¢ (Q1 2025: 6.23¢)
- CASK increased 19.8% to USD 7.30¢ (Q1 2025: 6.09¢).
- Group passengers carried remain stable at 1.95 million (Q1 2025: 2.01 million) with average load factor improving to 83.3% (Q1 2025: 81.5%).
*See full details attached