Kazakhstan enjoying best airline fleet in Central Asia, expert says
By Aynur Jafarova
Kazakhstan's airline fleet is probably the best one in Central Asia, expert on Central Asia Michael Laubsch said.
"A booming country like Kazakhstan, which also wants to become a more interesting tourist destination, not only for Europeans, but also for Asians, needs a qualitative and quantitative development in its national aerospace industry," he told AzerNews.
He was commenting on Kazakh First Deputy Minister for Investment and Development Jenis Kasymbek's recent statement on Kazakhstan airlines' plan to purchase over 60 new planes and open 75 new international flights by 2020.
"As one of the largest countries in the world, this should not only be done for the international flights, but also in the domestic transport system," he added.
The Kazakh government has recently talked about the possibility of withdrawal of the country's airlines from the 'blacklist' of the European Union in 2015
Laubsch said the EU's decision on putting the Kazakh airlines in the 'blacklist' was a formal mistake.
"I never could understand the decision by the EU to put Kazakhstan's carriers like Air Astana in the so-called blacklist. Talking with colleagues who travel to Central Asia, none of them is complaining about Air Astana. On the other hand, they all say that they feel safe in the airplanes and the technical checkup is done in the West or under the control of western/international standards and its services are even better than on carriers like Lufthansa or Austrian," he added.
Expert on Central Asia and Senior Correspondent at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Bruce Pannier told AzerNews that upgrading Kazakhstan's airlines is of significant importance for the country.
He said Kazakhstan, which has been trying for years to become the center of Eurasia hosting various international conferences, should accelerate the process of upgrading the airlines as the country's geographic location in the heart of Eurasia requires a long trip to get there.
"Kazakhstan is also bidding to hold the Winter Olympic Games. Kazakhstan wanted to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics and has continued to try to bid for the games ever since. So upgrading the country's airlines makes sense. Kazakhstan's airports are seeking to expand the number of international destinations they fly to and 75 new international routes," he noted.
Pannier believes that new planes will also contribute to Kazakhstan's air safety record, which in recent years has been a cause of concern. There have been several crashes including the one in December 2012 that killed the border guard chief and 26 others. At the January 2013 there was another plane crash (SCAT) that killed 20 more people.
Kazakhstan has airports in Shimkent, Atbasar, Karaganda, Kyzyl-Orda, Balkhash, Burundai, Zaisan, Petropavlovsk, Semipalatinsk, Ust-kamenogorsk, Uralsk, Taldy-Kurgan, Kokshetau, Pavlodar, Zhezkazgan, Atyrau, Zhambyl, Zhairem, Ekibastuz, Almaty, Aktau, Kostanay, Aktyubinsk, Arkalyk, and Astana cities.
Kazakhstan's existing airlines are Air Astana, Air Company MEGA, Avia Jaynar, Bek Air, Berkut Air, Euro-Asia Air, Excellent Glide, Irtysh-Air, SCAT, Semeyavia, Zhetysu, and Zhezkazgan Air.
Currently, only 12 Kazakh airports meet the requirements of the ICAO. So, Kazakhstan plans to bring all airports into line with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) by 2020. Kazakhstan Civil Aviation complies with ICAO standards by 65 percent, Kazpravda.kz report.
"I think Kazakhstan will meet all the ICAO standards by 2020 and probably will have to purchase dozens of new planes. I hesitate to say Kazakhstan will have introduced 61 new aircraft into its fleet by 2020. Kazakhstan's economy is tied to oil revenue and there are already signs of a slowdown. There might not be enough money to justify buying so many new planes," Pannier stressed.
In the recent 10-15 years under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan has done its best to attract the world's attention and portray Kazakhstan as an international crossroads. Kazakhstan had the OSCE rotating chairmanship in 2010 and is trying to secure one of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council in 2017.
"To achieve any of that the country needs a reliable airline service so it is not dependent on foreign carriers to get people to and from Kazakhstan," Pannier said.