Air Astana and China Southern Airlines signed a codeshare agreement on July 29, 2025, which will cover the routes both carriers operate between their two respective countries.
This partnership covers services operated by Air Astana from Almaty (ALA) to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), Guangzhou (CAN) and Urumqi (URC) as well as Astana (NQZ) to Beijing. In turn, China Southern Airlines will reciprocate on its routes connecting Almaty to Beijing Daxing (PKX), Guangzhou, Xian (XIY) and Urumqi as well as Astana to Guangzhou and Urumqi.
Both airlines typically operate these nonstop services with narrowbody aircraft (B737 and A320 family in the case of China Southern Airlines and A321neo aircraft in the case of Air Astana).
In a recent Executive Spotlight interview with AeroTime, Air Astana’s CEO Peter Foster named China as one of the markets that was strategic for the carrier’s continued international growth.
According to local media, which quoted officials at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country welcomed 655,000 Chinese tourists in 2024, 78% more than the previous year. This surge has been driven in great part by China’s growing interest in Central Asia as a tourist destination.
According to date from the Cirium SRS Analyzer, Air Astana and China Southern Airlines by far offer the largest capacity between China and Kazakhstan, with over half of the seats. However, other airlines, such as private Kazakh carrier SCAT, FlyArystan (the low-cost subsidiary of Air Astana), Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Hangzhou-based Loong Air, are also active in this market.