Based in Almaty, the airline was founded by the Government of Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk Kazyna (51%) and BAE Systems (49%) and commenced operations on 15 May 2002.

[1] Originally intended to be a purely domestic airline, BAE Systems later agreed in mid-2001 to participate in the proposed startup at the request of Kazakhstan's then head of state, President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The radar contract never materialized, however, and subsequent senior management changes and strategic reviews at BAE Systems led to the closure of its offices in Kazakhstan.

Additionally, despite the support of Nazarbayev, the start-up, initially seen as a foreign entity, faced immediate and vocal opposition from many elements of Kazakhstan's media and political establishment.

Despite facing opposition and a lack of support, Air Astana launched its operations under the leadership of its first president, Lloyd Paxton, a former executive of British Airways.

Early growth pains and disagreements over fleet plans and hub strategy led to tensions between the shareholders and a management change in the autumn of 2005.

[7] The E2 aircraft featured a special Snow leopard livery[8] to draw global attention to the threat of extinction faced by this large wild cat, which is a native to the mountain ranges of southern Kazakhstan.

Air Astana also donated to Kazakhstan’s Zoology Association, which is taking urgent action to protect the diminishing numbers of Snow leopards in the country.

On 11 March 2022, the group suspended all flights to, from, and over Russia due to sanctions and restrictions imposed on several essential business partners as a consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Air Astana has built on its geographical strength by expanding its network to cover all key cities of the region with short-haul flights.

In Central Asia and the Caucasus, the airline flies to Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tbilisi (Georgia) and Dushanbe (Tajikistan) both from Almaty and Astana.

[29] During the global pandemic, the airline was able to maintain flights between Atyrau and Amsterdam (its only international route at that time) to transport key oil field workers to and from Western Kazakhstan.

The group provides scheduled and charter, point-to-point and transit, short-haul and long-haul air travel and cargo on domestic, regional and international routes.

Long-haul routes are expanding towards South and East Asia, with flights to Delhi, Seoul (operated in code-sharing with Asiana Airlines), Beijing, Bangkok, and Phuket.

[30] Air Astana is also increasing its presence in the Middle East with new services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, reflecting the rapid growth in business and leisure traffic between Kazakhstan and the region.

[31] The airline also expanded its network of services to Saudi Arabia by launching direct flights to Jeddah and Medina from Shymkent and Almaty, respectively.

[33] In August 2024, Air Astana signed a codeshare agreement with JAL, one of the world’s best airlines, enhancing connectivity between Kazakhstan and Japan for both business and leisure travellers, as well as more widely fostering greater movement of people and goods between the two countries.

[34] Air Astana was additionally obliged to cease flights from Kazakhstan to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in March 2020 due to strict COVID-19-driven travel restrictions across Southeast Asia.

In October 2020, following the partial withdrawal of travel restrictions for both Kazakhstan citizens and at certain leisure destinations, the airline resumed services to Antalya (Turkey) and Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) and commenced flying to The Maldives (Male International Airport) and Colombo (Sri Lanka).

These flights, referred to as "lifestyle routes" by the airline's management due to an increased average length of stay at destinations by travellers, were added in March 2021.

The airline has received numerous awards for its performance over the years, including: Media related to Air Astana at Wikimedia Commons