FlyArystan Appoints Executive from European Airline as CEO
Photo: FlyArystan
FlyArystan has announced the appointment of a new president. From 1 March, this will be Johan Eidhagen, a Swede who has worked for the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air for several years, Orda.kz reports
Eidhagen will replace Richard Ledger in the role. Ledger will become Vice President for Partnerships and Alliances at Air Astana, which includes the flagship carrier of the same name and low-cost airline FlyArystan. He will be responsible for developing new codeshare partnerships—arrangements under which airlines sell tickets on each other’s flights to expand their customer base. Recently, Air Astana signed codeshare agreements with China Southern Airlines and Air India.
Eidhagen has worked at Wizz Air Abu Dhabi since 2015, where he has overseen ESG initiatives and operational management at different times. Under his leadership, the airline launched flights to Almaty, Astana, and Turkestan. However, the operation was wound down in September last year due to instability in the Middle East. Currently, Wizz Airoperates flights to Abu Dhabi from its Budapest hub, but does not operate flights from Abu Dhabi to other cities.
This is the second major reshuffle within the Air Astana group in recent months. Last year, Peter Foster, the group’s long-serving head, announced his departure. From 1 March, he will be replaced by Ibrahim Zhanliel, who has worked at the group since 2003.
The Samruk-Kazyna Fund owns 41% of Air Astana’s shares. Citibank holds 37.5% as the nominee holder of depositary receipts, and BAE Systems owns a further 16.95%. In the first nine months of 2024, the group earned a net profit of 16.4 billion tenge (down from 24.8 billion tenge a year earlier), with assets totalling 1.1 trillion tenge (848.2 billion tenge as of 1 October 2024).
Until 2024, FlyArystan operated as a structural unit of Air Astana without its own separate legal entity. However, ahead of the group’s IPO, it was reorganised into an Air Astana subsidiary.
Original author:Alexey Afonsky
Latest news
- Kazakhstan Wasted Almost 650 Billion Tenge In 2025, Auditors Say
- Almost 90% Of Kazakh Businesses Still Operate Without Innovation
- Demolition, Resettlement And A New Design Code: How Astana Will Be Rebuilt By 2030
- Kazakhstan Plans Large Energy Storage Systems For Wind And Solar Power
- Authorities Consider LRT From Almaty To Alatau, But Metro Extension Is Not Planned Yet
- Kazakhstani Military Personnel To Receive Expanded Social Guarantees
- Kazakhstan’s Banks Are Still Making Billions, But Profit Growth Is Slowing
- Astana Court Allows Ukraine’s Naftogaz To Recover $1.4 Billion From Gazprom
- Kazakhstan Prepares Amnesty For Some Criminal Cases And Administrative Fines
- Almaty Students Face Criminal Case After Victory Day Walk With Flags
- From Grain To Rare Earth Metals: What Kazakhstan And Kenya Agreed On
- Kazakhstan’s Parliament Adopts Several Constitutional Laws
- Will the $10 Billion Boeing and Airbus Deal Hit Kazakhstan’s Aviation Sector?
- Russia’s New Entry Rules Could Complicate Travel for Kazakhstanis
- Dog Meat Allegedly Found Near Astana Sparks Public Outcry
- Imported Chocolate, Cocoa and Optics Have Risen Sharply in Price in Kazakhstan
- A Chinese Oil Company Was Fined Almost Half a Billion for Drilling Waste in Mangistau
- Pilots Top Kazakhstan’s Salary Expectations as Job Market Activity Rises
- Launch of Stadler Railcars in Kazakhstan Delayed Again Over Safety Concerns
- Kazakhstan and Kenya Prepare to Sign Cooperation Agreements
