Qazaq Air

Qazaq Air is a Kazakh airline operating scheduled services from its main hub in Astana and focuses on domestic flights.^[2] It was established to improve the safety and availability of interregional air traffic in Kazakhstan and the border areas of neighboring states.

QAZAQ AIR

IATA ICAO Call sign IQ QAZ SAMRUK
Founded	1 April 2015
Commenced operations	27 August 2015
Hubs	Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport
Fleet size	5
Destinations	25
Parent company	Sovico Holdings
Headquarters	Astana, Kazakhstan
Key people	Nauryzbayev Yerkin Anesovich,[1] CEO
Website	flyqazaq.com/en

The spelling of the airline's name reflects the ongoing change in the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin verses.

History

2015–2018

Qazaq Air was founded in April 2015 by the sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna. The airline was launched on 6 July 2015. It commenced operations on 27 August 2015 on the Almaty to Nur-Sultan route.

Qazaq Air served 15 destinations by the end of 2017.

Qazaq Air Q400

It launched its first international route, from Almaty to Issyk-Kul International Airport in Kyrgyzstan, in July 2017.

In June 2018, China Express Airlines (Huaxia Airlines) expressed its readiness to take part in the privatization of Qazaq Air. The carriers signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of their strategic cooperation.

2019–present

Based on the results of the first half of 2019, the airline reported that it had transported more than 920,000 passengers since the beginning of its operations.

Despite the pandemic and the ban on flights announced in March 2020, Qazaq Air completed the process of relocating its main hub to the capital of the country, Nur-Sultan. It also opened its own website, introduced a new booking and sales system, and launched an electronic ticketing service. These changes resulted in a 14% increase in the number of passengers carried compared to the same period in 2019.

Qazaq Air Q400

In fall 2020, the IQ Bonus loyalty program for frequent flyers was launched.

278,000 passengers were transported in the 1st half of 2021, an increase of 88% from the same period in 2020.

In 2024, it was announced that the carrier will be acquired by the Vietnamese-based Sovico Group - the co-founder and owner of VietJet Air, with proposal to establish a fleet of 20 Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus A320 family narrowbody jetliners.^[3]

Destinations

Qazaq Air, operates both domestic and international flights. Below is a list of cities and airports served by the airline:

Qazaq Air route map (September 2021)

Qazaq Air destinations

City	Airport
Astana	Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport
Almaty	Almaty International Airport
Aktobe	Aktobe International Airport
Atyrau	Atyrau International Airport
Kokshetau	Kokshetau International Airport
Kostanay	Kostanay International Airport
Kyzylorda	Kyzylorda International Airport
Pavlodar	Pavlodar International Airport
Shymkent	Shymkent International Airport
Taldykorgan	Taldykorgan Airport
Uralsk	Uralsk International Airport
Turkestan	Turkestan International Airport
Samarkand	Samarkand International Airport (International route)
Omsk	Omsk Tsentralny Airport (International route)
Yekaterinburg	Koltsovo International Airport (International route)
Novosibirsk	Tolmachevo International Airport (International route)
Kazan	Kazan International Airport (International route)

Fleet

The Qazaq Air fleet is the youngest among the airlines in Kazakhstan.

De Havilland Dash-8-Q400NG

Due to the increasing passenger traffic and demand for air transportation both within Kazakhstan and in the border regions, the airline plans to increase its fleet^[when?] by 3 new aircraft.

Qazaq Air fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			J	Y	Total
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400	5	—	—	78	78
			—	76	76
			—	86	86
Total	5	0