Air Astana believes the long-running Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan crisis has reached a turning point after reporting a 60% reduction in aircraft groundings and forecasting no aircraft-on-ground events during the 2027 summer season. The improvement comes as the airline group accelerates international expansion, particularly into China, where capacity has increased by 81% year on year.

In the carrier's H1 statement, it explains that it secured an additional 11 engines during the first half of the year, and it says that workshop visit throughput is improving, describing the period as an 'inflection point' in the impact on engines issue. 

However, the airline noted that the operating environment in the Gulf remained volatile throughout the second quarter and continued to require close monitoring and rapid adjustments to schedules and capacity in a situation it describes as the 'New Normal’. 

Ibrahim Canliel, CEO of Air Astana, commented: “The Group delivered strong top line growth in the second quarter of 2026, with revenue and other income
accelerating by 18.3%. This was achieved with broadly unchanged capacity through disciplined pricing and Air Astana’s dynamic allocation of capacity towards international markets resulting in an 18.5% RASK increase".

"Unit cost growth continued to exceed unit revenue growth in Q2, as higher fuel prices at international stations persisted while the tenge remained strong and costs associated with the ongoing Pratt & Whitney engine issues had to be spread across a broadly unchanged capacity base. However, our visibility on P&W has improved significantly – we currently have around 60% fewer grounding than the equivalent period last year and anticipate zero groundings in summer 2027".