Air Astana direct flights to Kazakhstan boost HK links to Central Asia
President Peter Foster says regional business and tourism ties are strengthened by direct flights between city and Kazakhstan
Tourism and business links between Hong Kong, South China and Central Asia have been strengthened following the launch last week of direct flights by Air Astana between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan.
Peter Foster, president of Air Astana, said Hong Kong was a destination in itself for travellers from Kazakhstan. But it could also be used as a transit hub for Kazakhs and other travellers from central Asia visiting southern China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Australia.
"Hong Kong and Macau are a draw in themselves. Hong Kong is also a very convenient and logical point of transfer between flights," he said.
Foster, who has worked at Cathay Pacific Airways and Philippine Airlines, indicated this arrangement could benefit Cathay Pacific. While there was no code-share between Air Astana and Cathay Pacific, he enjoyed "good relations" with Cathay Pacific, he said.
Foster said Air Astana's flights to Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan and considered the commercial hub of the country rather than the capital Astana, would open up the country and Central Asia to Hong Kong tourists.
"Hong Kong travellers are the most adventurous of any in Asia," Foster said, adding that from Almaty tourists can fly to Uzbekistan and travel along the Silk Road to Bukhara and Samarkand. Other destinations include nine domestic cities as well as Baku in Azerbaijan, Dushanbe in Tajikistan, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and Tbilisi in Georgia.
Flight time between Hong Kong and Almaty is between six and seven hours, while the "entire Central Asia region is within 12 hours of Hong Kong", Foster said, making Almaty a more convenient transit city than more convoluted routings.