Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, has launched MyUpgrade, an innovative online tool that enables existing economy class customers to bid for an upgrade to Business Class before their flight.  The tool gives passengers the chance to name their own price, within a minimum and maximum range, to be considered for an upgrade to the premium cabin.

Air Astana customers who book an eligible flight at www.airastana.com will receive a pre-departure email inviting them to visit the secure online portal to make their offer. Those customers booking via ticket offices and travel agents can also check their flight eligibility and make an offer via the dedicated marketing page on the airline’s website. Customer bids are accepted up to 72 hours before departure.  The system reviews all bids and available capacity for each flight 48 hours before departure and sends successful bidders their upgraded tickets via email.  The higher bid, the more likely that passengers will be successful with their offer.  Customers provide payment card details at the time of offer, but payment is only processed if bids have been successful.

“We expect that this new facility will be extremely popular with our customers.  Our aim is to make better use of our cabin inventory, whilst ensuring the best customer experience,” says the airline’s vice president sales worldwide, Richard Ledger. “Whilst there are is no guarantee that customers will be successful every time they bid, it does provide an opportunity to enjoy Air Astana’s award winning Business Class cabin across a range of long and short haul flights.  It is another example of the airline using industry leading technology to deliver new products and services to our customers.”

Those passengers who successfully bid for an upgrade will enjoy a host of benefits and privileges including greater in-seat comfort, personal on-demand inflight entertainment systems, Air Astana’s renowned Business Class cuisine and beverage selection, access to international business class lounges, increased luggage allowance, priority boarding and priority luggage delivery.

Air Astana commenced regular flight operations on 15 May 2002 and currently operates a network of over 60 international and domestic routes from hubs in Almaty and Astana using a fleet of 30 aircraft, including Boeing 767-300ERs, Boeing 757-200s, Airbus A320 family aircraft and Embraer E-190s. Air Astana became the first carrier from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (the CIS) and Eastern Europe to be awarded the prestigious 4-Star rating by Skytrax in its World Airline Awards 2012 and was named The Best Airline in Central Asia and India.   Both accolades were repeated in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In February 2015, Air Astana received the prestigious Air Transport World Market Leader Award. www.airastana.com