Review: Air Astana’s Excellent A321LR Business Class

When people ask what my favourite airline is, my answer often surprises them. Yes, I love Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines. I also have a soft spot for Qantas and Virgin Australia. But, having flown almost a hundred different airlines, my favourite so far is Air Astana.

If you haven’t visited Central Asia, you might not have heard of Air Astana. It’s the national carrier of Kazakhstan, operating a fleet of modern Airbus, Boeing and Embraer aircraft “from the heart of Eurasia” – which also happens to be the airline’s motto.

Air Astana has consistently been ranked as the best airline in Central Asia for more than a decade, and is a four-star Skytrax airline. It also has a solid safety record.

If you want to visit Kazakhstan, Air Astana is an obvious choice. But the Kazakh carrier also has some very good Business Class deals for travel between Southeast Asia and Europe, via Kazakhstan. I recently flew Air Astana Business Class from Thailand to Europe and back for under AU$3,000 round-trip – and really enjoyed the experience.

Admittedly, some itineraries require long layovers in Almaty or Astana – but Air Astana also offers Stopover Holiday packages that include transfers to a hotel, overnight accommodation and breakfast from just USD19 (~AU$29). I recently took advantage of this deal for an overnight layover in Astana.

On the outbound journey from Bangkok to London, I elected to add a free stopover in Almaty for a week. I had a fantastic time in Almaty, which happens to be one of my favourite cities in Asia. I also managed to sneak in a side trip to neighbouring Uzbekistan. (Australian citizens do not need a visa to visit Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan.)

Unfortunately, Air Astana isn’t part of any global alliance. So I just credited the points earned from this trip to my Air Astana Nomad Club account as there weren’t really any other options. But I specifically wanted to fly Air Astana because of its excellent Business Class product – and I definitely wasn’t disappointed!

This review covers the first leg of my journey, from Bangkok to Almaty in Air Astana’s Airbus A321neo LR Business Class.

Flight Details

Flight number	KC932
Route	Bangkok (BKK) to Almaty (ALA)
Aircraft type	Airbus A321neo LR
Class of travel	Business
Seat number	5A
On-time performance	We arrived 15 minutes early
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I flew Air Astana from Bangkok to Almaty as part of a round-trip Business Class booking from Thailand to Europe. The full routing was Bangkok-Almaty-Aktau-London on the outbound journey, and Frankfurt-Astana-Almaty-Phuket on the way back. The full cost for this ticket was AU$2,933.

A standalone Air Astana Business Class ticket on the non-stop flight from Bangkok to Almaty would cost around $2,842 one-way or $4,791 return. Yes, that does mean it can be cheaper to fly all the way from Thailand to Europe than it is to just fly to Kazakhstan!

Business Class tickets from Phuket to Almaty are significantly cheaper at $1,995 one-way or $3,380 return.

If you happen to have Nomad Club points, it costs 45,000 Nomad Club points plus taxes to book a one-way Business Class award ticket from Bangkok to Almaty.

Airport Experience

Checking in at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport was quick and seamless. Air Astana had a dedicated Business Class check-in line with no queue. The friendly staff member tagged my checked bag with a priority label.

As a Business Class passenger, I was able to use the fast-track security and immigration lanes, which saved a lot of time.

In Bangkok, Air Astana invites its Business Class passengers to use the EVA Air Lounge.

This was a pleasant lounge with lots of seating, nice views, clean toilets and showers. There was a good buffet selection of food and drinks including Thai, Taiwanese and Western options. The only downside was that the massage chairs were out of order.

Although I was happy with the lounge in Bangkok, I would note for passengers flying in the opposite direction that the lounge at Almaty International Airport is a huge let-down. There’s just a single lounge in Almaty’s international terminal which is shared between all airlines, and there are absolutely no amenities, food or drinks included. Hopefully this situation will improve when the new terminal opens in Almaty.

I arrived at the gate after KC932 had commenced boarding. The ground staff in Lufthansa uniforms noticed my Business Class boarding pass and ushered me directly to the front of the queue.

The Hard Product

Air Astana offers fully lie-flat beds in Business Class on its modern Boeing 767 and Airbus A321neo LR planes. (I realise the Boeing 767 is an older-generation aircraft but Air Astana operates the world’s youngest 767s.)

On the A321neo LR, which I was flying on to Almaty, there are five rows of Business Class seats in a staggered layout of 2-2 in the odd-numbered rows and 1-1 in even-numbered rows. This means that there are four “throne” seats in rows 2 and 4, which offer direct window and aisle access.

Air Astana charges around $50 to pre-select one of the throne seats. On this particular flight, I just selected the window seat in one of the pairs and lucked out with an empty seat next to me. However, if you’re at a window seat in one of the odd-numbered rows, there is a chance you might have to climb over a stranger to get out of your seat.

The cabin on this two-year-old jet felt modern and clean, and for a narrow-body aircraft, I really liked these Business Class seats. They’re similar to those found on TAP Air Portugal’s A321LR or the Singapore Airlines Boeing 737-8.

There was a pillow, blanket and noise-cancelling headphones on every seat.

I also loved the little touches, such as the pleasant mood lighting and the magazine rack at the back of the cabin.

One disadvantage of sitting in the last row of Business Class is the proximity to the bassinet seats in Economy. There happened to be a baby behind me who used its vocal cords to make its presence known.

But there was plenty of space to stretch out and the well-padded seat converted into a lie-flat bed. The space for your legs when lying down could be a bit bigger, but this was otherwise very comfortable and I had a good sleep during the middle of the flight. The seat could probably benefit from a bit more storage space, though.

There’s currently no Wi-Fi on Air Astana, but each seat had a large personal TV screen featuring “KCTV” in-flight entertainment. As well as a moving map, there was a variety of movies, TV shows and music available – including both Kazakh and international content.

Just like all of the crew and the announcements on board, the airline’s Tengri magazine was trilingual with content in Kazakh, Russian and English.

The Soft Product

Air Astana offers a solid Business Class seat. But the on-board service is where the airline truly shines. It’s what makes Air Astana my favourite airline.

Before departure, one of the two lovely flight attendants looking after Business Class came through the aisle with a choice of four beautifully-presented welcome drinks: water, champagne, lemonade or cherry juice.

I would normally opt for Champagne, but the cherry juice was extremely good! This was the perfect way to settle into the flight while listening to the delightful Kazakh boarding music.

I was very impressed with the attention to detail demonstrated by the cabin crew throughout the flight. Here’s just one example…

Right before getting to my seat, the flight attendant ran out of one of the four pre-departure drink options and I was the only passenger left to be served. She could have simply offered me one of the other three drinks. Instead, she returned to the galley, restocked her tray, and then came back to me with the full assortment of drinks on display.

Before takeoff, the crew also handed out menus and Samsonite amenity kits that were very well stocked with high-quality Payot products.

This was the English version of the lunch menu:

Air Astana also has an extensive drinks list:

After a hot towel service, a delicious five-course lunch began with a bowl of nuts, an amuse-bouche and a drink from the bar.

This was followed by the starter and salad, which was served with warm garlic bread.

Then came the tomato and fennel soup, which may not look that exciting but was absolutely delicious – as was the delightful Georgian dry red wine from the drinks list.

For the main course, I chose the fish which didn’t disappoint. Although, I would have honestly been very happy with any of the four main courses offered!

The flight attendant then brought around the dessert trolley with a choice of three options and a cheese plate to accompany it.

I think it would be hard to find a better Business Class meal on another airline. I really enjoyed the food which was fresh, substantial and delicious. And the service was so friendly and attentive, with regular drink top-ups offered. As soon as I finished each course, the flight attendants would clear away my plate and bring the next one.

After lunch, the cabin crew closed all of the windows to create a dark Business Class cabin and give passengers a chance to sleep…

But I wasn’t alone in opening the window slightly every now and again to get a glimpse of the view – especially as we flew over the snow-capped mountains of Tajikistan!

The first meal service was so comprehensive that I really didn’t need anything else to eat later in the flight. Nonetheless, the cabin crew quietly walked through the cabin two hours before landing to offer a choice of pastries, tea and coffee to anyone who happened to be awake.

I asked if there were any herbal teas available, and the flight attendant returned from the galley with six different types of tea bags for me to choose from – all nicely presented on a tray.

Before I knew it, we were landing in Kazakhstan’s largest city.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.