Air Astana’s incoming CEO anticipates significant growth across Central Asia

Ibrahim Canliel, the current CFO and incoming CEO of Air Astana, anticipates a period of robust expansion of air travel across Central Asia.

Highlighting the region’s untapped potential, Canliel noted that the market is primed for further development.

“The propensity for travel in Kazakhstan has tripled over the last six years,” Canliel said in a recent interview with Aviation Week. The arrival of Air Astana’s low-cost sister-company FlyArystan “triggered a structural shift in demand, but compared to comparable economies, we believe there’s another doubling to come.”

The propensity to travel among Kazakhstan’s neighbors is even lower, which provides further significant opportunities.

With this in mind, there is some distance to go before the question of consolidation among the region’s airlines arises, said outgoing CEO of Central Asia’s largest carrier Peter Foster.

“We’re very comfortable with organic growth. Looking at the region today, we can’t see any airline we’d like to target.”