Air Astana is the flag carrier and the national airline of Kazakhstan with its head office in Almaty. It is the national carrier of Kazakhstan and operates scheduled domestic and international services. Its main bases are Astana International Airport and Almaty International Airport. The airlineÕs mission is the same today as in 2001: Òto provide domestic and international air services to the highest standards of safety and service using modern generation aircraft in order to serve and complement the needs of KazakhstanÓ (one of the worldÕs fastest-growing economies). Air Astana maintains its fleet to audited EU EASA 145 standards. In 2011 it was admitted to the register of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The audit was completed with Air Astana remaining the only airline from Kazakhstan to maintain repeated audit success, since it was first undertaken in 2007. Today the airline operates a fleet of 31 Western aircraft, with an average age of 8 years for its aircraft, and close to 64 domestic and international routes. Its passengers are served by more than 4 000 highly qualified staff, the majority of whom are from Kazakhstan, supplemented by experienced foreign personnel. Since autumn 2005 the Air Astana team has been headed by Peter Foster, an airline executive with more than 25 yearsÕ experience, who reports to the Board of Directors.