Kazakhstan’s Air Astana Group, the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions in terms of revenue and fleet size, announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Neos SpA (Neos), the second largest Italian airline and a member of the Alpitour group, in order to establish a strategic partnership.

The strategic partnership will cover various areas of collaboration, which include:

A codeshare agreement that will enable Air Astana to use a marketing code on Neos-operated flights connecting Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Almaty (ALA), as well as the reverse route.

Collaboration in terms of services provided on Boeing aircraft starting from 2025, when Air Astana Group will receive three Boeing 787-900 planes. Both parties will share technical and operational insights gained from Neos’ current operations and Air Astana’s entry into service.

The possibility of forming a joint venture for route(s) between Italy and Kazakhstan will be considered and evaluated by the parties, subject to regulatory, anti-trust, and governmental authority approvals.