Air Astana has 4 B757's, 3 B737 NG's, 3 A320's, 5 F50's they are shortly taking delivery of more A320/21's and are actively looking for new wide bodies.
They are not formerly Kazakhstan Air, but were formed when that airline went into liquidation to service the vacant slots.
Kazakhstan and Almaty itself are beautiful, populated by fun loving well off people, you will see more Hummers and BMW's than Lada's on the wide tree lined streets. The climate is great, sunny and warm (36) in the summer and snowy and cold in the winter (-40). 20 mins from the city of Almaty are mountains with good ski slopes.
The country is not highly Muslim, for instance at the moment it is the holy month of Ramadan, the clubs are full of people drinking and dancing into the wee hours and no one is fasting, Mosques are few and far between (there are just as many churches).
The airline is run to European standards and is profitable and expanding fast. They fly to London, Dubai, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Thailand, Beijing, Delhi to name a few, plus many internal routes (the country is vast).
I say do it, and do it quick, before all the people who think otherwise find out the truth.
Last edited by troioi01; 3rd Oct 2006 at 02:49.