Air Astana and China Southern Airlines have signed a joint-venture agreement covering cooperation between Kazakhstan and China, according to Air Astana’s October 30, 2026 announcement. The airline describes it as the first airline joint venture between the two countries.
Schedules, codeshares and marketing
The partners plan to coordinate flight schedules, expand codeshare services and carry out joint marketing. The agreement builds on their existing codeshare relationship.
Air Astana says closer coordination is intended to make connections more convenient and travel conditions more consistent across the two airlines. Those are the partnership’s aims; the announcement does not provide a timetable for implementing every change.
Existing networks provide the starting point
The release lists Air Astana services from Astana and Almaty to Urumqi, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. China Southern’s listed services connect Urumqi, Beijing, Guangzhou and Xi’an with Almaty and Astana.
No new route launch dates or fares are set out in the announcement. Passengers should check their specific itinerary and operating airline rather than assume the agreement has already changed a booking.
Source: Air Astana’s October 30 announcement.
For a separate regulatory initiative involving Kazakhstan, see Singapore and Kazakhstan’s planned aviation oversight cooperation. That authority-to-authority framework is distinct from this airline joint venture.
