Air Astana Q2 revenue climbs 18.3% as engine issues push H1 into net loss

Air Astana grew its business at a rapid clip in the second quarter of 2026, adding new routes and pulling in significantly more revenue than a year earlier. 

But the airline’s bottom line tells a different story: engine troubles and rising fuel costs cut deep enough to push the group into a loss for the first half of the year.

The Central Asian carrier, which also owns budget airline FlyArystan, reported that revenue and other income jumped 18.3% to $433.0 million in the second quarter, even though the airline flew roughly the same amount of capacity as a year ago. 

Passenger numbers actually declined slightly, down 1.7% to 2.45 million, while average fares and revenue per available seat both rose sharply. This is an indication that pricing, rather than passenger growth, was the main driver behind the airline’s revenue gains.

Costs outran revenue

Unit costs rose 24.3% in the quarter, outpacing the 18.5% rise in unit revenue. 

Much of that gap came down to fuel: average fuel prices at Air Astana’s international stations nearly doubled year-on-year, an increase the airline links to ongoing volatility from the conflict in the Middle East. 

A stronger Kazakh tenge and higher spending on staff, aircraft ownership, and maintenance added further pressure.

The result was a 3.7% drop in EBITDAR to $93.6 million for the quarter, and for the first half of the year overall, the group posted a net loss of $21.2 million, compared to a $10.7 million profit over the same period last year.

Engine issues easing, but still a drag

A big part of Air Astana’s cost headache traces back to an industry-wide problem: the Pratt & Whitney engine issue that has forced airlines around the world to pull aircraft out of service for inspections since 2023. Nearly all of Air Astana’s Airbus A320 family fleet runs on these engines.

The good news, according to the company, is that the situation is improving. Air Astana said it is seeing about 60% fewer aircraft groundings than at this point last year, and it expects to have no groundings at all during the summer of 2027. 

CEO Ibrahim Canliel said the airline now has significantly improved visibility on the engine issue, adding that the quarter marked what the company described as an inflection point in how the problem affects its capacity.

Expanding east, west, and everywhere in between

Despite the financial squeeze, Air Astana kept pushing forward with its international growth plans. 

China was the biggest focus, with capacity to the country up 81% year-on-year in the quarter. Air Astana launched a new route between Astana and Guangzhou, while FlyArystan added services from Aktau to Urumqi and from Almaty to both Xi’an and Chongqing. Combined with a Shanghai route launched earlier in the year, the group expects to be flying to nine Chinese cities by the end of 2026.

The airline also expanded service to India, doubling its Almaty-Delhi flights to twice daily, and added frequencies to London, Frankfurt, and Istanbul. New leisure routes launched to destinations including Larnaca in Cyprus and Dalaman in Turkey, while seasonal routes to spots like Batumi, Georgia, and Da Nang, Vietnam, resumed for the summer.

That expansion helped connecting traffic through Air Astana’s hubs in Almaty and Astana climb 82% during the quarter, a trend the company points to as evidence that its network flexibility helps it adapt when other regions face disruption.

Air Astana said it expects cost pressures, particularly from fuel, to persist in the near term, and it’s planning to adjust capacity where needed to protect its profit margins. 

Longer term, the airline is sticking with its expansion plans, aiming to grow its combined fleet to 86 aircraft by 2030 and lift its EBITDAR margin back into the mid-to-high 20s over the medium term.

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