Rival airline claims market development being blocked

Published: 4/17/2000

Air Kazakhstan (KA) has denied that they have created obstacles to the development of competition in Kazakhstan"s air industry. The specific charge being that they prevented Yanzar Airlines, formerly Zhana-Arka, from flying to Sharjah. In talks on the 5th April, KA and Yanzar agreed that they would make 4 flights a week to the gulf state, of which two would be undertaken using aircraft leased from Yanzar, with the possibility of additional flights by Yazan at their discretion. Subsequently however, Air Kazakhstan found problems with the leased aircraft, which have been interpreted by the other carrier as an effort to prevent them covering the route. The faults on the leased aircraft were resolved and after two flights Yanzar however, took the aircraft back. According to Air Kazakhstan sources the reasons for the aircraft"s return lay with Yanzar"s owners not with their complaints. They further pointed out that if the airline had continued with the relationship, they would have would have covered their costs and reduced their debts. For KA, they argue that the route belongs to them as they are the agreed scheduled carrier under the interstate agreement and that Yanzar is aspiring to a scheduled route not an occasional charter operation. They argue that they require access to such routes to allow them to support unprofitable domestic routes and that the charter carriers such as Yanzar are simply skimming the profitable business and leaving Air Kazakhstan with less income when volume is high in periods such as school holidays. According to local reports it looks likely that the government, which now controls KA, will enforce the airline"s control of the routes to the detriment of the charter carriers, if not by official policy by enforcing the KA monopoly on routes. KA has recently aggressively attacked the 50 or so charter carriers in Kazakhstan arguing that they are damaging the country"s reputation and that travelers should fly with the ‘official" airlines. Associated articles: www.concise.org 21st March 1999: Air Kazakhstan defends the good name of Kazak aviation

Article ID: 1583