Air Astana (KC, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev) has repurchased shares and global depositary receipts (GDRs) worth more than USD6 million since commencing its buyback scheme in late April. The airline's latest regulatory filing reveals that it has repurchased 2,126,646 ordinary shares and 309,299 GDRs (representing 1,237,196 shares) between April 30 and November 18, costing exactly USD6,192,492.56.

The airline commenced the buyback programme to meet its employee incentive scheme obligations. For the first part of the programme, it intends to purchase up to 4,786,800 shares (either ordinary shares and/or GDRs) representing approximately 1.3% of its total issued shares (including those represented by GDRs) for a maximum cost of USD12 million.

Meanwhile, Air Astana CEO Peter Foster has tempered speculation the airline could be starting flights to the United States in the short term. The carrier has three B787-8s on direct from Boeing and three B787-9s on lease contract from Air Lease Corporation, and their arrival will allow it to grow its long-haul network. However, Foster neither confirmed plans to start US flights nor provided a revised entry-into-service timeline.

“Last time we were told it [delivery] would be by the end of 2025, but obviously with what’s going on, we can’t be sure," he said. “What we’re seeing with Boeing is almost like a slowly unfolding Greek tragedy. It just gets worse and worse and worse.”

While the airline still has not confirmed that it would cancel the order for the -8s, Foster reiterated in an interview with AeroTime that it was only expecting three B787s for now.

Foster also said that the B787s would not replace the airline's three B767-300ERs, which he said do "a good job for us." The B767s will remain with Air Astana at least until the end of 2028. “We use them in the summer on European routes and in winter on the Southeast Asian ones," he said. "The B767 is, for us, what I would call a high-season aircraft. If you’ve got a high-season aircraft, you don’t need vast numbers of them.”