Qazaq Air

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QAZAQ AIR (VIETJET QAZAQSTAN)
Qazaq Air logo.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign
IQQAZSAMRUK
Founded1 April 2015;10 years ago (2015-04-01)
Commenced operations27 August 2015;10 years ago (2015-08-27)
Hubs Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport
Fleet size5
Destinations25
Parent company VietJet Air
Headquarters Astana, Kazakhstan
Key peopleNauryzbayev Yerkin Anesovich, [1] CEO
Website www.flyqazaq.com/en

Qazaq Air, in transition to become Vietjet Qazaqstan, 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.

Contents

The spelling of the airline's name reflects the ongoing change in the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin verses. The carrier is recently acquired by VietJet Air, making it a overseas subsidiary of the Vietnamese airline.

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 QAZAQ AIR flot.jpg
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 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 QAZAQ AIR fleet.jpg
Qazaq Air De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400

In autumn 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 route map.png
Qazaq Air route map (September 2021)
CountryCityAirportNotesRefs
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan Almaty Almaty International Airport
Aqtöbe Aliya Moldagulova International Airport
Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport [4]
Atyrau Atyrau Airport
Jezqazğan Jezqazğan Airport
Kökşetau Kökşetau Airport
Oral Oral Ak Zhol Airport
Öskemen Öskemen Airport Terminated
Pavlodar Pavlodar Airport Terminated
Petropavl Petropavl Airport
Qarağandy Sary-Arka Airport Terminated
Qostanai Qostanai Airport
Qyzylorda Qyzylorda Airport
Şymkent Şymkent International Airport
Taldyqorğan Taldyqorğan Airport
Türkistan Äziret Sūltan International Airport [4] [5]
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Kazan Ğabdulla Tuqay Kazan International Airport Terminated
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport
Omsk Omsk Tsentralny Airport
Yekaterinburg Koltsovo International Airport Terminated
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Samarqand Samarqand International Airport [4] [5]

Airline partnerships

Qazaq Air currently has a Interline agreement with Hahn Air. [6]

Fleet

De Havilland Dash-8-Q400NG UP-DH004 Flot QAZAQ AIR.jpg
De Havilland Dash-8-Q400NG

As of August 2025, Qazaq Air operates the following aircraft: [7]

Qazaq Air fleet
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
JYTotal
De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 5——7878
—7676
—8686
Total50

References

  1. ↑ "QAZAQ AIR возглавил Еркин Наурызбаев". kapital.kz. 2022-10-05.
  2. ↑ "Corporate profile". QAZAQ AIR. Archived from the original on 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  3. ↑ Nadalet, Ivan (2024-05-23). "Qazaq Air set to be sold to Viet Nam's Sovico Group". According to the agreements, the Vietnamese investor plans to equip Qazaq Air with at least twenty B737-8s and A320/321 jets within five years.
  4. 1 2 3 Temirgaliyeva, Arailym (2 May 2025). "QAZAQ AIR launches new international route from Astana to Samarkand". Qazinform.com. Kazinform International News Agency. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 Liu, Jim (14 August 2025). "Qazaq Air Revises Turkistan – Samarkand Schedule in Sep/Oct 2025". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
  6. ↑ "QAZAQ AIR expands its airline ticket distribution network". Qazaq Air. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  7. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Qazaq Air". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 64.
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