Dear Air Astana flyer,
What is the link between one of the world’s best loved children’s books and the origins of man’s quest for flight? The answer, as some of you may know, is Antoine de Saint-exupéry, author of Le Petit Prince and pioneering aviator. Saintexupéry was one of the first long-haul flyers, for France’s Aéropostale, flying between Toulouse and Dakar in the 1920s. He had a distinguished military career in World War II, initially with the regular Armée de l’air prior to the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, and later with the Free French Air Force operating from bases in North Africa. However, his early flying career was spent at one of the world’s oldest aviation establishments, Le Bourget air base just north of Paris. In mid-june of this year, contemporary aviators returned to Le Bourget for the biannual eponymous air show, at which I was honoured to accept, on behalf of my colleagues, Skytrax’s award for Best Airline Central Asia and India for the 8th consecutive year.
It is difficult for all of us at Air Astana to sufficiently express our gratitude to you, our customers, for voting for us for what has now become the longest-ever winning streak for any Skytrax regional awardee. Central Asia/india is a vast area of the globe containing many fine airlines. We had approached this year’s award season with some trepidation given the delivery delays to our new flagship, the Airbus
321 Long Range, with its luxurious new cabins and reduced CO2 emissions – more to follow on that once Airbus and Pratt & Whitney finally sort out their industrial issues – however, you voted us league champions anyway. So sincere thanks to you for recognising that award-winning service, much more than new hardware, comes down to the attention to detail, competence and friendliness of our flight crews and ground staff, ably supported by their technical and back-office colleagues, each one of whom I am immensely proud.
I wish you and your family in this holiday season a pleasant flight with Air Astana today.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Foster
President & CEO Air Astana