AIR Astana is launching direct thrice-weekly flights from Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, to Tehran, Iran’s capital, which its senior vice president sales and marketing Ibrahim Canliel said would provide convenient connections to Iran to Air Astana’s CIS and Asian network, in particular to the cities of Beijing and Urumqi.
The flights will be served by Embraer 190 aircraft with nine business seats and 88 economy seats. The journey takes about 3.5 hours.
Lead-in return economy class fares, including all taxes, start at US$290, with return business class fares starting at US$930 based on the current rate.
The new service will offer added ease of travel and enhance business and cultural links between the two countries. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Republic Kazakhstan, the approximate value of trade between the two countries was US$1 billion in 2015. In addition, there are a number of Kazakh-Iranian joint enterprises in Kazakhstan, as well as cultural and scientific ties between the countries, which will benefit from the new service.
Iran, one of the oldest civilisations in the world which boasts outstanding architectural monuments, is also an up-and-coming destination since the recent end of economic sanctions.
