New Kazakhstani low-cost airline presented

Presentation of the newly launched Kazakhstani airline Qazaq Air in Astana showcased the first aircraft of the company, Tengrinews reports.

The new generation twin-engine turboprop aircraft Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 is one of the three Bombardier aircraft in the fleet of the airline.

"It is a modern turboprop aircraft, which has excellent technical characteristics, operational flexibility and passenger comfort. Speed ​​characteristics of this model are among the highest for this type of aircraft, fuel consumption is around 30 percent lower than that of a jet aircraft, which it replaces at short distances," the press release distributed at the presentation said.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the new domestic low-coster in February 2014. In May 2015 the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna that manages the country's assets created a subsidiary Qazaq Air, a low-cost domestic airline intended to develop civil aviation in Kazakhstan. The slogan of the airline is "We are better, we are closer."

The first flight is scheduled for July 20. It will follow in the direction from Almaty to Pavlodar.

The average distance of flights made by the air carrier will be about 800 kilometers. Within one year from the launch of the first flight, each aircraft will be flying 7.3 hours per day, which roughly equals to four flights a day. The passenger traffic is expected at around 250,000 people in the first year of operation.

Project Director Blair Pollock did not give exact prices for tickets, but stressed that "they will be attractive."

"When we launch the site, you will see the prices. If you are going to buy in advance, then of course, it would be, say, 7000 tenge, but if you buy for a flight tomorrow, the prices will be higher. We cannot announce the exact figures at the moment," he told the journalists.

Pollock also explained the meaning of the company logo. "Following the theme "Connecting people of Kazakhstan," we have created our logo, which represents the territory of the country with 14 circles representing the regions of Kazakhstan," he said.

The initial network of the airline consists of 12 destinations, most of which are non-stop flights connecting key cities and regions of Kazakhstan:

- Almaty- Kostanay, up to three flights per week,
- Almaty-Shymkent, up to 8 flights per week,
- Almaty-Pavlodar, up to 3 flights per week,
- Almaty-Astana, up to 7 flights per week,
- Shymkent-Pavlodar, up to 2 flights per week,
- Shymkent-Kyzylorda, up to 3 flights per week,
- Shymkent-Aktobe, up to 3 flights per week,
- Aktobe-Kostanay, up to 3 flights per week,
- Aktobe-Atyrau, up to 3 flights per week,
- Almaty-Taldykorgan, up to 3 flights per week,
- Almaty-Balkhash, up to 3 flights per week,
- Astana-Balkhash, up to 3 flights per week.

Reporting by Assemgul Kassenova, writing by Dinara Urazova