Air Astana is to expand capacity after raising $370 million through an IPO in February.
The Kazakhstan-based carrier plans to increase its 49-strong fleet with the addition of seven new aircraft.
The growth will be sustained across Air Astana, low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan and on international routes.
“The group’s extended home market of Central Asia and Caucasus remains a leading growth opportunity, characterised by low penetration for air travel and the group’s strong market position,” Air Astana said as it released 2023 financial results.
“In addition, nearby mega markets including China and India as well as lifestyle destinations in Asia, Gulf, Turkey and Europe present further growth opportunities for the group.”
The carrier reported a 21.5% year-on-year rise in net profit to $68.7 million as passenger numbers increased by 10.1% to 8.1 million with an average load factor of 82.8% as the fleet grew from 43 aircraft.
Chief executive Peter Foster said: “We are pleased to report our first set of results as a public company following our successful IPO across three stock exchanges last month.
“Air Astana delivered another strong year of growth in 2023 with record passenger numbers and increased capacity.
“All our markets continue to perform well and we have demonstrated our ability to grow the business and maintain sector-leading margins while managing cost headwinds across the industry.”
He added: “The group is scaling its operations across both the full-service and low-cost carrier markets to gain market share and further develop our leadership position in our extended home market of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which is characterised by low air travel penetration.
“Our international customer base continues to evolve with an expanded network of destinations as we capitalise on our strategic location between air travel mega markets.
“This is underpinned by our young, modern, fuel-efficient fleet, which increased during 2023 with the net addition of six new aircraft to close the year with a fleet size of 49.
“This number has risen to 50 post period end and will increase to at least 56 by the end of 2024.
“The IPO proceeds will enable us to further expand our operations and increase our carrying capacity. We are well positioned to capture the growth opportunities from developing the underserved aviation market in Kazakhstan and improving international connectivity.”