FlyArystan

FlyArystan is a Kazakh low-cost airline based in Almaty and wholly owned by Air Astana, the country's flag carrier. It flies an all-Airbus A320-family fleet on domestic routes across Kazakhstan and on international services to neighbouring regions, from bases in Almaty, Astana and Aktau.

The airline was built inside Air Astana during 2018. According to FlyArystan, its creation was approved on 2 November 2018 by Air Astana's shareholders at the time: Air Astana JSC, the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, the British company BAE Systems and Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Air Astana's then chief executive, Peter Foster, presented it a few days later as a response to demand for cheaper fares in a more competitive home market and as a way into low-cost travel across Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Flights began in May 2019 with two aircraft on six routes, all from Almaty: to Astana, Taraz, Oral, Karaganda, Pavlodar and Shymkent. The network started to grow from August 2019, and international flying followed later that year. For its first five years FlyArystan operated as a division of Air Astana using the parent's operating certificate. In 2024 it received its own Air Operator Certificate from the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan, which allowed it to take its own IATA code, FS, and to make agreements with other airlines in its own name.

How the model works

FlyArystan describes itself as following a classic low-cost model in which passengers pay for the services they choose. The fare includes one piece of hand baggage; checked bags and a heavier 10 kg cabin bag are paid extras. The airline sells point-to-point journeys only: connecting flights are treated as separate trips, so passengers collect their bags and check in again for the next sector.

Self-service is central to how it runs at home airports. In 2022 it introduced iJan kiosks at Almaty, where passengers check in, tag bags and buy extras; the airline says these now operate in 14 Kazakh cities. A self-service bag drop called BagJan followed at Almaty in 2024. At airports in Kazakhstan, passengers check in their bags at a kiosk before handing them over at the FlyArystan counter.

Fleet

Wikipedia's fleet table, dated July 2026, lists 28 aircraft: 15 Airbus A320-200s and 13 A320neos. Several of the older A320s came from Air Astana. The A320neos are fitted with 188 seats in a single cabin. A letter of intent for 30 Boeing 737 MAX 8s signed at the 2019 Dubai Airshow has not become a firm order.

Network and leadership

Alongside its domestic network, the booking site lists international destinations including Istanbul, Kutaisi, Baku, Tashkent, Samarkand and Urumqi. On 1 March 2026 Johan Eidhagen became president of FlyArystan. He joined from Wizz Air, where his most recent role was managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, after earlier posts as the group's chief people and ESG officer and chief marketing officer.