Star Alliance members Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines are currently selling cheap flights to Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) and Almaty in Kazakhstan. Sadly, only Turkish Airlines will grant you one free piece of luggage (30kg). Lufthansa usually charges an additional €120 for a 23kg suitcase for the roundtrip. The availability is especially high in May & June and from October onward (Lufthansa flights are also available during the summer).
We were able to find cheap flights to Almaty for these prices:
- Vilnius: €297 (Turkish)
- Paris: €303
- Amsterdam: €311
- Oslo: NOK 3,454 (~€296)
- Riga: €338 (Turkish)
- Warsaw: €343 (~PLN 1,478) (Turkish)
- Brussels: €346 (Turkish)
- Stockholm: SEK 3,712 (~€321)
- London: £330 (~€384)
- Tallinn: €391
- Lisbon: €399
- Prague: €400 (~CZK 10,090) (Turkish)
- Athens: €410 (Turkish)
- Vienna: €432 (Turkish)
- Zagreb: €448 (~HRK 3,375) (Turkish)
- Frankfurt: €468 (Turkish)
- Copenhagen: €470 (~DKK 3,506) (Turkish)
- Budapest: €499 (~HUF 196,158) (Turkish)
We also found cheap flights to Nur-Sultan from the following cities:
- Riga: €269 (Turkish)
- Paris: €304
- Vilnius: €308 (Turkish)
- Amsterdam: €316
- Warsaw: €330 (~PLN 1,422) (Turkish)
- London: £345 (~€401)
- Helsinki: €400
- and possibly more…
Turkish Airlines flights are via Istanbul, Lufthansa flights are via Frankfurt. Usually, the flight times are quite similar. The service is similar too. As stated in the introduction, the biggest difference lies in the luggage policy. You can’t always choose between both airlines, as their offers differ for each city. These are the possible flights for Turkish Airlines:
And this is what Lufthansa has to offer:
On some dates, both Airlines may be available from a certain city. All of Turkish Airlines flights are operated with a Boeing 737. Lufthansa uses an Airbus A330 for its flights to Kazakhstan.
We expect further shakeups in the airline industry over the following months. Some services might be cancelled, aircraft changed or downgraded. The schedule we describe may very well change.
Search & Book
The fare rules barely state any restrictions, but generally (and this does vary a little bit depending on from where you’re starting your trip and with which airline you’ll be flying) you can fly before June 6 or after October 1. Lufthansa also offers these cheap tickets during the summer. Google Flights will show you the exact and updated dates. You should then book directly at the airline (turkishairlines.com and lufthansa.com).
Destination
Most EU citizens won’t need a visa to enter Kazakhstan, given their trip does not exceed thirty days. Please inform yourself if this regulation applies to you.
Worldwide travel restrictions are in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. We strongly recommend gathering detailed information about the travel and quarantine restrictions that apply to your desired origin and destination.
A good start is the International Air Transport Association (IATA) website. It provides current updates on a country’s immigration policies. Even better, the Covid-19 Travel Regulations Map is one of the most useful tools you can find.
Cover Picture: © Pixabay-User Lena1964 / CC0 Lizenz