Air Astana and China Southern Airlines recently signed a joint venture cooperation agreement to strengthen air connectivity between China and Kazakhstan and provide passengers with greater convenience and more travel options. This marks the first airline joint venture cooperation between China and Kazakhstan. Building on their existing code-share partnership, the two airlines will further deepen their cooperation.

Air Astana currently operates routes from Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan to Urumqi, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai in China, offering up to 36 flights per week during peak season (with each round trip counted as one flight). China Southern Airlines operates flights from Urumqi, Beijing Daxing, Guangzhou and Xi'an to Almaty and Astana, offering up to 29 flights per week during peak season (with each round trip counted as one flight). The two airlines already have code-share arrangements in place on all the above routes, providing passengers with more travel options.

Under the joint venture cooperation agreement, Air Astana and China Southern Airlines will further optimize their flight schedules, extend their code-share arrangements to domestic routes in both countries and routes to third countries, and conduct joint marketing activities. Looking ahead, the two airlines plan to introduce through-ticketing and through-check-in of baggage services. By streamlining transfer procedures, they aim to improve transfer efficiency and the overall passenger experience, making connections via Kazakhstan or China smoother and more efficient. The cooperation will also provide Chinese passengers with more travel options to destinations in Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, while giving passengers from Kazakhstan more options for traveling to Southeast Asian destinations such as Vietnam and Thailand.

(From http://www.caacnews.com.cn/)