Air Astana
 

Good day
i came across an ad from Astana, they are still looking for pilots, both seats.
Looks like they are going to receive new airframes in the near future.
I am curious to hear from anybody informed about the current overall situation in this outfit.
Are there many expats? Is it a real 6/2 roster?

Thanks in advance.

I have a friend working for them and know someone else that used to work for Air Astana.

Yeap, 6/2 roster is real.

Overall I would say that this friend of mine is QUITE happy with the company. If i could say so, the only "issues" are the bases and the harsh winter.
I heard that they reduced the number of pilot bases. Used to be Almaty, Astana, Aktau, Atyrau and Shymkent. For sure today they still have Almaty & Astana. Not sure about the other 3 (Aktau or Atyrau, but cannot remember which one).

Looks like that being assigned to Almaty is quite difficult, as apparently this is the best place to live.

If you go there and respect the locals, play by the rules, endure the winter, looks like a quite OK place to work.

Thanks mate, really appreciated.

What about the after tax money for a skipper?
They advertise 10K euros net for 65 hrs.
Looks a bit low.

Thanks again!

I think you have to factor in the cost of living as a benefit, my info is from a few years back but had heard it was relatively cheap to live there, which allowed for decent savings.

I guess so.
Thanks for your input.
Best regards.

Tried to apply as NTR FO, they processed my application and told me will contact 2024SEP, no news so far. There's a virtual open day on the 20th.

I heard there is a chance that Almaty flights get expanded with the new terminal open and more LRs in the pipeline. I'd personally prefer Almaty as my place to stay over Astana.

Almaty is a great place . Lots of bars etc.
Brush up your cat3 notes .

Thought about Airastana years back but 6/2 isn’t really commuting it’s , “ going home on occasion “

Really like the bits of Almaty I see when I go there - pollution in the winter pretty grim would be the main reason for not going.

People , food , hills and mountains , a real crossroads of the world.

Hey guys, TR A320 FO here. Applied for RHS with AirAstana and got an email from asking for more documents.
Visited Almaty recently and loved the city. If anyone's employed or recently employed AirAstana please DM.

Much appreciated.

I believe the bases now are Almaty, Astana and Aktau only

I applied 2 months ago and they offer either 6/2 or full time with 50 days vacations, not bad

Hello Ppruners, fresh man here seeking your generous help. Thanks a mil in advance.

I have applied Astana NTR FO weeks ago with FAA ATPL and 4000+ hours on 737. Currently preparing documents for the recruitment team. Would like to ask someone to share their real experience with Astana.

How long is the training for NTR FO? What is the salary during training and after release? Do they provide upgrade oppotunities?

Have good flights!

There you go, that's a bit more plausible.

Did you take it?

Has anyone taken the assessment recently? Any tips or recommendations?

When is yours? I am still in the process of submitting documents.

Next month

Hello hope you did well, can you please provide some info about your assessment, thanks on advance

hello! any updates?

Hi anyone sign for assessment near this month ?

Happy new year!
I Just applied NTR FO in Air Astana, any updates ? Anyone here got through and any idea about compensation and life in Air Astana ?

Where is the position advertised? I’ve been checking their website regularly but I only see Ab Initio recruitment.

I check the vacancy on pilotglobal.com from there a link gets to the website where the last date mentioned is 31st Dec 2025. But but if you go the careers the form is still available to apply.

you can check again and apply,they have extended date to end of 2026.

Hi.
Quick Q - Age limit?
Tnx.

For Non-Type-Rated below 34

Tnx a lot! Good luck.

Please elaborate, where do you expect to get the A320 type rating for less than 20 000€ with a job guarantee? You will deposit the amount, it is not like RyanAir, where you will pay 30000€ and get nothing back. You will get the bond back after 3 years. Type rating is fully paid with per diems in Air Astana. That being said, you will get your bond back in less than a few months.

'Mate', you can hit Caps Lock on 'EXPERIENCED FIRST OFFICER' all you want, but the reality is you are a 32-year-old 737 FO. You do not have an A320 rating. To the company, that means you are a raw financial investment who needs to be trained from scratch on this jet, regardless of what you flew before.

Let’s do a proper reality check on your Ryanair (did I spell it right for you this time?) comparison. Yes, guys drop €30k there. But what you conveniently left out is that the job is only guaranteed after you pass the Type Rating. At Air Astana, you have a job guarantee on Day 1. You get sent to Toulouse for a month for the TR, the airline pays for it entirely, and you are collecting your salary plus roughly €70 a day net in per diems the whole time. That €12.5k is a refundable deposit. It is a retention mechanic for an expat market, not a low-cost carrier cash grab.

You claim you're perfectly fine with being bonded at Wizzair or Jet2 as long as there's no upfront deposit. But let's look at your actual situation. You are currently flying the 737 at a European LCC and throwing applications at anyone who will listen.

Let's call a spade a spade: your real issue isn't the 'principle' of the bond. It’s just that you don't actually have the €12,500 cash to put down. Dressing up an empty bank account as a moral crusade against an airline's 'conditions' is just embarrassing. Especially when you look at the math. The net salary here clears €5,000+ after taxes. You effectively offset the value of that refundable deposit in your first two and a half months. Good luck finding that kind of net income at the European carriers you keep quoting.

Nobody here is a 'defensive entity.' But honestly, seeing how quickly you have a multi-paragraph meltdown over a refundable deposit, which perfectly matches your public crying session over your UPRT training delays. I can only imagine how you handle an actual stressful situation on the flight deck.

Thank you for your inputs Sir, I am sure it will be beneficial for those looking for information here and know about Air Astana and its culture by extension.

But let’s stop a minute here let’s come back to the facts.You asked me to “elaborate” so I did. Maybe should we remind the definition of “elaborate” ? (Cambridge dictionary: Verb. 1. elaborate - add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing )

Writing more than two lines after being asked to expand on my position isn’t a “meltdown”. It’s called answering the question that you asked.

On the “raw investment” comment: not having an A320 rating does not erase years of multi-crew jet experience. A type rating is aircraft-specific training. It is not a reset to zero. Operating a 737 in a high-tempo (25 min turnaround ) European LCC environment builds transferable skills SOP discipline, workload management, decision-making under pressure, CRM in real-world ops. Airlines hire cross-type FOs because that experience matters.And believe me you can say whatever you want with Ryanair but their training (high paced) which most of people don't succeed past the type rating due to high pressure is well recognised worldwide. And yes as a cadet the job there is guaranteed based on your performance which is meritocratic and I’m 100% ok with it. But even Ryanair who is a LCC doesn’t request upfront payment for Experienced pilots. So it’s surprising for a flag carrier to do so…

Also, questioning terms and conditions doesn’t make someone unstable or incapable of handling stress on the flight deck coming from the military believe me stress management is not lacking here. If anything, evaluating risk, reading the fine print, and thinking critically before committing financially are exactly the traits you want in a pilot.You know like when you were mentioning in that job interview that you are “detail oriented” ;)

Now, about Air Astana I never disputed the structure.Job from day one? Good.Type rating paid? Good.Salary and per diems during training? Also good. Getting close to home? Holy grail!

As for the “throwing applications at anyone who will listen” comment that’s called career management. Every pilot in Europe and around the world right now is exploring options and opportunities as yourself were and are applying to Fly Dubai, emirates in 2022, Wizz Abu Dhabi... That’s normal in this industry.

My decision wasn’t about whether the deal is “profitable.” It was about capital exposure.

“You make €5k net, so you recover it in 2.5 months” is an income argument.A €12,500 deposit is capital tied up for four years.

Those are two different financial concepts.

When you’ve funded your entire aviation path yourself ratings, living costs, recurrent training you learn to protect liquidity. Not everyone had “papa and mama” money. Some of us worked multiple jobs before aviation to get to the flight deck. Enlisted in the military young went in different operations the money earned have been hardly earned so believe me you would be careful on where you put it.Some of us absorbed every delay and every unexpected cost personally while at the same time handling a family and a house. So yes I am a proud “32 years old FO”!

Which brings me to UPRT. Yes, I was frustrated. And I’d be again I’ll always stand against people who have no integrity and profiting from other people.

If you pay a flight school money on time and they fail to deliver training on time and professionally that delay directly impacts your money that’s not “public crying” That’s holding that school accountable. Especially when the majority of the students in that intake were affected.

Speaking up about that doesn’t make someone unstable. Evaluating financial risk doesn’t make someone broke.

Declining to wire five figures upfront doesn’t make someone incapable under stress.It means I assess risk differently.

You’re comfortable with the bond structure and paying 12,5k upfront That’s fine.

I’m comfortable walking away from a deal that doesn’t align with my financial strategy.

Last, if you are wondering what kind of pilot and FO I am here is for the record ;)

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....efb2670a7.jpeg


and this is the last transmission thank you anyway for this enriching chat ;)

Kindest regards.

(Sorry from posting on a different account the previous one jumped up)

​Posting your routine line check results on an anonymous rumor network to win an argument with a stranger, and scrambling to log into a secondary account just to do it because you were so desperate to get the last word. That is genuinely spectacular. I think we’ve officially reached peak aviation forum :D
​Since you love dictionary definitions so much, let’s look at another one: Insecurity (noun) - uncertainty or anxiety about oneself; lack of confidence. For example: driving a 32-year-old 737 FO to fire up a burner account so they can upload their grading paperwork to prove they are a "good pilot" after losing an argument about a deposit.​You can dress this up in whatever Wall Street buzzwords you want. "capital exposure," "protecting liquidity" or "financial strategy." It doesn’t change the basic reality. You are trying to frame the fact that you don’t have €12,500 in cash as some principled, tactical stand against a flag carrier. Playing the "I didn't have mama and papa's money" card is a nice dramatic touch, but it’s completely irrelevant. A lot of us worked multiple jobs to get to the flight deck; you aren't a martyr for having a normal aviation career path. I’m not even out here waving a company flag. The airline is far from perfect, and I'll admit that. But there is a massive difference between having legitimate critiques of a company's bureaucracy and having a meltdown over a standard expat retention mechanic just because you don't actually have the cash on hand.​You keep bragging about your 25-minute LCC turnarounds like it makes you Chuck Yeager. Operating an A320 or A321 in this environment is a completely different operation. The airline pays for your type rating, gives you a job on day one, and pays you a €5k+ net salary while you’re sitting in Toulouse collecting per diems. If you think putting down a refundable deposit to secure that is a bad "financial strategy," then by all means, this is not for you.
​All the best!

Until now I have not heard a fact from you sir and the goal here is to help for those seeking information and facts not to throw mud ;) anyway all the best for you too ;)

Not for long. After the second hand Wizz aircraft another asset just arrived to FlyAristan from Wizz which might spread the pink attitude quite quickly.

Air Astana new hire
 

Good day,

Anyone recently passed the assessment and still waiting for ground school? Would you guys like to connect? Please dm, thanks.

Good Day everyone!

I'm waiting for an assessment, any tips and advice? Thanks!

Hello, any updates?

i had to log in so I could only say:

”damn…”

Air Astana assessment
 

Hello everyone.

Did someone was recently pass assessment for NTR? Please advise any feedback, SIM scenarios and how was overall experience?

Thanks!

Any chance they consider a low hour A320TR?