OREANDA-NEWS. October 10, 2012. Air Astana’s fifth Embraer 190, named after the famous Kazakh female composer Dina Nurpeisova, has entered service. The new aircraft will also operate flights from Astana to Pavlodar, Zheskazgan, Omsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, as well as Orenburg in the future, reported the press-centre of Air Astana.

“Air Astana is delighted to be honouring another of Kazakhstan’s greatest women, by giving the name Dina Nurpiesova to our newest Embraer 190. This marks another important step in establishing a tradition, which was initiated by naming a previous Embraer 190 after the legendary war pilot, Hiuaz Dospanova,” said Peter Foster, President of Air Astana.

The first Embraer 190 was delivered to Air Astana in May 2011, with the fleet dedicated to serving short medium range regional and domestic routes from the Astana and Almaty hubs. Air Astana selected the Embraer 190 for its operating efficiency, with low maintenance costs and fuel burn, together with a comfortable and spacious cabin which seats 97 passengers in a two class configuration.