Air Astana and China Southern Airlines sign codeshare agreement
Flights options for travellers between Kazakhstan and China enhanced
On 29th July 2025, Air Astana and China Southern Airlines signed a codeshare agreement, with cooperation on trunk routes between Kazakhstan and China providing travellers with more flight options.
The codeshare agreement covers Air Astana routes operated from Almaty to Beijing Capital, Almaty to Urumqi and Almaty to Guangzhou, as well as Astana to Beijing. For China Southern Airlines, the codeshare covers routes operated on a regular basis from Beijing Daxing to Almaty, Guangzhou to Almaty, Urumqi to Almaty and Xian to Almaty, together with Guangzhou to Astana and Urumqi to Astana.
Air Astana Group CEO Peter Foster remarked, “China has always been a strategically important market for Air Astana. Partnering with China Southern Airlines will boost trade, tourism and cultural links with China and open a new chapter in aviation cooperation between the two countries.”
China Southern Airlines President and CEO Han Wensheng stated, “Codeshare cooperation with Air Astana will result in an increase in our service frequencies to Kazakhstan. It is not only a strategic move leveraging both airlines’ strengths but also a significant step in deepening Belt and Road aviation connectivity between China and Kazakhstan”.
About China Southern Airlines
China Southern is committed to developing service brand combining “affinity and refinement” to deliver an exceptional and seamless travel experience to all passengers. In Year 2022, China Southern was honored as “China’s Best Airline” (SKYTRAX 2022) and “Five-Star Diamond Airline” (World Brand Lab 2023). It operates the most extensive Central Asia network topping all Chinese carriers: 7 destinations across all 5 Central Asian countries (Almaty, Astana, Tashkent, Samarkand, Dushanbe, Ashgabat, Bishkek). This decisive leadership position among all Chinese carriers in terms of the number of flights, flight frequencies and market share, makes China Southern a major force in building air connectivity between China and countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”.
