Kazakhstan's Air Astana has signed a memorandum of understanding with Neos SpA (Neos), the second Italian airline and part of the Alpitour group, to enter a strategic partnership, Azernews reports.

According to the company, the strategic partnership will encompass several areas of cooperation, including:

- a codeshare agreement under which Air Astana will apply a marketing code to Neos-operated flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Almaty (ALA) and vice versa;
- service collaboration on Boeing aircraft from 2025, when Air Astana Group will receive delivery of three Boeing 787-900. Where permitted, the parties will share technical and operational insights gained during existing operations by Neos and their entrance into service by Air Astana.
- the parties will consider and evaluate the formation of a joint venture for routes between Italy and Kazakhstan where regulatory, antitrust, and governmental authority permit.

"We are delighted to enter a strategic partnership with Neos and look forward to exploring initiatives together so we can better serve our mutual customers. This agreement will provide Air Astana passengers with more flexibility, convenience, and choice of flights between Kazakhstan and Italy. The first interline agreement was signed by Air Astana in 2005, and since then, the group has steadily grown ties with other international carriers in Asia and Europe as we endeavour to offer our customers even more choices for travelling around the world," Peter Foster, CEO of Air Astana Group, said.

Earlier, the Italian airline Neos announced plans to open flights between Astana (Kazakhstan) and Rome (Italy), as well as between Astana and Milan (Italy). The airline also plans to increase the number of flights on the Almaty-Milan route.

Meanwhile, as one of the largest private Italian airlines, Neos flies to more than 70 destinations. The company's revenue in 2022 was $640 million.