After a fantastic few days in Dubai, it was time to continue on to the next part of our journey across Asia. Our next stop was Almaty and we flew Air Astana in Economy from Dubai on the Airbus A321neo.
Booking our Air Astana Airbus A321neo Economy Flight
After a few days in Dubai with ATX Jr., we wanted to get to Almaty as quickly and easily as possible. To find flights, I turned to my favorite booking tool, Google Flights. Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, and FlyDubai both operate 2x daily flights between Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Almaty International Airport (ALA).
With all of our luggage and the 4 hour travel time, I initially began looking for Business Class flights but pricing on this route was insane. Even Economy pricing was steep for what I assumed would be a relatively inexpensive flight. Both FlyDubai and Air Astana were charging similar prices on the route so the final determining factor came down to convenience.
FlyDubai operates its two flights between Dubai an Almaty as redeyes which was something we wanted to avoid with a 10 month old. Air Astana operates their flights during the day. The earlier flight was scheduled to be operated with a Boeing 767 while the latter used an A321.
Since ATX Jr. was flying as a lap infant, we booked the earlier flight on the Boeing 767 thanks to its couple friendly 2-3-2 layout. We booked our one-way Economy tickets for $523.90 per person. Unfortunately, as you may have already figured out based on the title of this review, our Boeing 767 was swapped to an Airbus A321neo two days before our flight.
Check-In
We arrived at Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 10:00a, two hours before our scheduled departure time. Air Astana operates out of Terminal 1 at DXB and we followed the signage for Air Astana to check-in area three.
Two check in lanes were set up, one for First Class and a second for Economy passengers. Both lines were short and we hopped into the Economy queue.
I’m not sure if it was because we were traveling with a baby, but one of the agents manning the check-in lanes pulled us to the front of the queue. While a nice gesture, we ended up getting passed back and forth a couple of times before getting our luggage tagged and boarding passes.
Since I injured my leg prior to the trip, I also inquired about an upgrade to First Class. The agent quoted us $900 per person which we declined as the flight was only four hours from gate to gate.
The agent checking us in also attempted to charge us an additional special handling fee for ATX Jr.’s car seat/stroller but we informed them it could be treated as standard luggage so no fee was applied. All in all, it took us 10 minutes to get checked from the time we arrived and we headed off for security.
Pre-Flight
Security and customs took roughly 20 minutes and we would have spent even longer in line if we hadn’t been shown to a special lane where we weren’t required to remove our shoes, laptops, or anything else from our bags. While there was no signage, I assume this was some sort of family lane and roughly 30 minutes after arriving at the airport we were on the train to our departure gate.
Our flight was scheduled to board at 11:00a, a full hour before our 12:00p departure time but we still managed to make a quick visit to the Marhaba Lounge for a snack prior to boarding. This wasn’t included in our ticket but we accessed the lounge via the Priority Pass membership that comes with my American Express Platinum card.
Boarding our Air Astana Airbus A321neo Economy Flight
Our flight to Almaty was departing from Gate D9 and, with boarding scheduled to begin at 11:00a and with all of ATX Jr.’s travel gear in tow, we arrived at the gate a couple minutes before 11:00a.
When we arrived at the gate there were no Air Astana crew or an aircraft in sight, though airport monitors were showing the flight as on-time. Finally, at 11:30a, our Airbus A321neo, registration EI-KDF, pulled in to the gate.
It took another 20 minutes before boarding began, ten minutes before our scheduled departure time. While our experience at the Dubai Airport had been great up until this point, when boarding was called things became quite chaotic with lots of pushing and shoving.
Air Astana
KC 900
DXB-ALA (Dubai International – Almaty International)
Seat: 12C (Economy)
A321-200neo (EI-KDF)
Scheduled: 12:00p-5:20p
Actual: 12:20p-5:16p
We managed to squeeze to the front, dropped off our gate tagged stroller, and head down the jet bridge to our waiting A321neo.
Air Astana Airbus A321neo Economy Seat
While I typically try to be one of the first onboard in order to get cabin photos, the chaos at the gate prevented that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any full cabin photos but, if you’ve seen one Airbus A321 interior you’ve seen them all. The seat and amenities on the other hand were a different story.
As I mentioned above, when I booked this flight it was scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 767. In the days leading up to our flight we had an Aircraft swap to the A321neo which caused us to lose our window/aisle pair. Instead, we were reseated into seats 12B and 12C, the middle and aisle seats in the second row of the Economy cabin.
Seats were in the standard 3-3 configuration though the aircraft was outfitted with large, crisp seatback IFE screens. If you’ve been a reader of this site you know that is something that scores major points in my book. The IFE selection itself was somewhat limited with 86 movies and six TV shows (80 episodes total).
Underneath the IFE screen you’ll find a USB-A power port and a headphone jack. A 110v power outlet and secondary USB-A outlet are located under the seat.
The legroom on the Air Astana Airbus A321neo in Economy was decent, especially considering I couldn’t really bend my left leg due to an injury.
The tray table is located on the seatback and can be fully extended or folded over in half should you want some extra room to move around.
While our daytime flight wasn’t that long, I did appreciate the fact that the seat has an adjustable headrest that can be raised and lowered by a significant amount. The airline uses its Airbus A321neos on some very long routes, with some in the 6-7 hour range, so this is a nice feature.
A pillow and small amenity kit were waiting at each seat during boarding. Each amenity kit was different and promoted one of the carrier’s routes. Mine was for the route between Frankfurt and Astana.
The amenity kit was extremely well stocked, especially for an Economy kit on a 4 hour flight. It includes an eye mask, socks, toothbrush, pen, earplugs, and lotion.
Overall, the seat itself is what you’d expect to find on your standard A321 but, I found it to be well outfitted with amenities. While I’m not sure I’d want to spend 7+ hours in any Economy seat, I had no issues on our four hour flight from Doha to Almaty.
Departure
While boarding was wrapping up, a flight attendant brought us the infant seatbelt for ATX Jr. Unfortunately, it had some sort of stain which I could only assume was vomit. There weren’t any additional belts available onboard due to the number of passengers with infants but the crew was apologetic and brought me wipes to clean it off.
With our delayed inbound and boarding, we ended up pushing back 20 minutes after our scheduled departure time. The person seated in the window seat kept their shade closed so I didn’t have a great frame of reference for where we were during taxi but, at 12:30p we began our takeoff roll . Once airborne, we made a sharp turn to the north out over the Persian gulf to head towards Almaty.
In-Flight
As we climbed out of Dubai, I perused the inflight menu which was available on the seatback IFE screen. I was impressed to see a three course meal on offer as well as a variety of beverage options.
After looking through the menu, I flipped through the carrier’s in-flight magazine, Tengri. I know it’s old-school but, I really enjoy flipping through a magazine while flying. It reminds me of flying as a kid and looking at all of the crazy gadgets in the SkyMall catalogue. Tengri is published in Kazakh, Russian, and English so I was able to do more than just look at the pictures.
Also during the climb, flight attendants came through the cabin with gifts for the children onboard. Babies received an Air Astana branded blanket and plush toy (which ATX Jr. still has and plays with to this day) while kids received coloring books. I though this was an extremely nice touch.
It was a bit bumpy as we climbed up to our cruising altitude and we were somewhere over Iran when the seatbelt sign was finally turned off, 35 minutes after take off. Since we were at the front of the Economy cabin, I decided to visit the lavatory prior to the meal service as I didn’t want to get trapped.
The lavatories on the Air Astana A321neo was an average size but thankfully it had a sink that you could actually use, unlike other airlines that have installed space saver lavatories on their narrowbody planes.
For passengers travelling with small children, a baby changing table could be folded down from the wall above the toilet.
Back at my seat, the meal service began with hot towels being distributed (yes, in Economy), with three hours remaining in-flight.
Next came the beverage service. I opted for a local beer and was served the largest can of beer I’ve ever seen on an airplane. This was accompanied by some goldfish style crackers, though they didn’t have the cheese flavor.
Fifteen minutes later the meal was served on a single tray. The main course arrived with the foil lid still on. Another round of beverages was also offered. They didn’t have what I ordered on the cart and told me they would come back with it later.
For my main, I chose the chicken filet in cream sauce with champignons and penne pasta which was tasty.
An hour after the meal service began the crew came back through the aisle to clear our trays. They had forgotten about the drink but told me that they would bring it once they finished clearing the trays.
Fifteen minutes later we hit some moderate turbulence and the captain asked the crew to take their seats. The bumps continued throughout the remainder of the flight and we began our descent into Almaty 45 minutes before arrival.
Arrival
We touched down at Almaty International Airport (ALA) at 5:00p local time (+1 hour). Despite the delayed departure and a fifteen minute taxi to our arrival gate, we still arrived a few minutes ahead of schedule.
The international terminal in Almaty is brand new and has high ceilings and large windows that overlook the ramp, giving me a great view of our aircraft and others parked at the airport.
We had a quick walk to passport control where Mrs. ATX’s got some extra scrutiny but, we were stamped into the country and headed for baggage claim to grab our bags.
Summary
While there were a couple of small quirks with the service flow and the ground experience in Dubai, I found Air Astana to have one of the best Economy products I’ve ever flown n a narrowbody aircraft. Hot towels, full meal, amenity kit, and baby items are unheard of on most Economy flights in the United States.
I can see why the carrier has won SKYTRAX awards as one of the best airlines in Central Asia for more than 10 years and I would gladly fly with them again when visiting the region.