OREANDA-NEWS. November 24, 2009. Embraer is pleased to welcome the expanding Kazakhstan flag carrier Air Astana to its E-Jets family of customers. The airline will operate two EMBRAER 190 jets out of Almaty, Kazakhstan, under a newly ratified agreement with the U.S. aircraft leasing company Jetscape, Inc., based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This deal is already included in Embraer’s firm order backlog for the third EMBRAER 190 in the colors of Air Astana quarter of 2009.

“We are very proud to have Air Astana join our E-Jets family of 55 customers in 38 countries, and to become the first operator of an E-Jet in Central Asia,” said Mauro Kern, Embraer Executive Vice President, Airline Market. “Air Astana is a burgeoning airline, just like Kazakhstan, which is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. It is a pleasure to support them, and we look forward to a long-term, evolving relationship.”

Both EMBRAER 190s – configured in a dual-class layout, featuring nine seats in first class and 88 in economy – are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2011.

 “The EMBRAER 190 is a proven aircraft that has become a favorite with passengers, worldwide. Its range, efficiency and size are ideal for Air Astana and will enable us to further grow our domestic and Central Asia network,” said Peter Foster, President of Air Astana. “The aircraft’s seating capacity will efficiently complement our narrowbody jet fleet, flying where it would be uneconomical to deploy larger aircraft, as we continue to position ourselves as the region’s airline of choice in terms of network and service. We expect to expand our EMBRAER 190 fleet in the future.”