DUSHANBE, October 16, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Kazakhstan’s Air Astana has joined Tajik airlines Tajik Air and Somon Air and Kazakh air carrier Scat Air in operating routes between Dushanbe and Almaty.

According to Dushanbe International Airport, Air Astana plans to operate the first flight to Dushanbe on November 15.  The company will operate thrice weekly service to Dushanbe.

We will recall that Tajik Air, Somon Air and Scat Air operate the Dushanbe-Almaty flight once a week.

Air Astana has its head office in the Air Astana Center 1 in Almaty and its registered office in Astana.  It is the national carrier of Kazakhstan and operates scheduled domestic and international services.  Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport.  It became the national carrier after the government closed Air Kazakhstan in February 2004 and transferred all route authorities to Air Astana. It is a joint venture owned by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (51%) and BAE Systems (49%).  The airline recently entered partnership with Lufthansa expanding flight offering for the passengers of both airlines.  Air Astana serves 21 domestic and 23 international destinations.