When the airline receives the Boeing 787, the CEO of Air Astana indicates that the carrier would sell its Boeing 767 aircraft as part of its fleet upgrade.
The interiors of the Boeing 767s are outdated, and there are no plans to convert them to freighters, which would be expensive and time-consuming. These factors led to the decision to sell the aircraft.
The Boeing 787 will be flown by current Boeing 767 pilots who will undergo updated training, obviating the requirement to find new pilots and enabling license type rating.
Peter Foster, the CEO of Air Astana, has stated that the company will sell its Boeing 767 aircraft when it receives the Boeing 787. The finance leases for the Boeing 767 aircraft will terminate nearly at the same time as the arrival of the Boeing 787s.
The fleet of Air Astana is evolving, getting newer and simpler. Key is in the simpler portion. First, the carrier wants to gradually retire its Embraer E2 aircraft. However, after the introduction of its new wide-body, it also had to consider what to do with its limited fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft.
Not a little sub-fleet
In an interview with Simple Flying earlier this week, Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana, disclosed that the Kazakh airline would be selling its Boeing 767s. Foster commented, “They’re super aircraft,” in response. They did a fantastic job for us. Naturally, we set them up beautifully. But to be perfectly honest, the interiors may use some updating. Other than keeping them up, we won’t do much with them. No plans to convert freighters
Air Astana had used the Boeing 767 as a preighter during the pandemic, basically turning a passenger plane into a temporary freighter by removing the seats. Foster had previously disclosed to Simple Flying that his company was considering using freighters and had even signed a Letter of Interest for two Airbus A330s.
Now that freighters are no longer in the horizon, the song has changed. Foster said this in his comment:
A [Boeing] 767 conversion requires extensive structural work on the main deck. It would be very expensive and time-consuming… Last but not least, we require those pilots to upgrade to the [Boeing] 787.
In conclusion, Foster said,
“It would be a waste of time to have a sub-fleet of three aircraft.”
Pilots will receive new training
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner will directly replace the Boeing 767, which is fantastic news for pilots. According to Foster, this means that the airline’s current Boeing 767 pilots will undergo fresh training for the more recent aircraft. Of course, both parties benefit from this. First off, it allows the crew to upgrade their license by adding a type rating. It is advantageous for the airline because it won’t have to look for many new pilots and can continue using the familiar pilots it already has.
Foster made a comment on it in 2021
“Running the Boeing 767 and Boeing 787 simultaneously would not be effective. You would need two whole distinct [crews] because 767 and 787 pilots are not cross-qualified. Synergies in engineering don’t exist. PW4000 engines, which are not an option on the 787, power the 767.
