Air Astana Group has appointed former Wizz Air executive Johan Eidhagen to helm its low-cost unit FlyArystan.

Eidhagen will assume the role of president of FlyArystan effective 1 March, the Kazakh carrier states.

At Wizz Air, Eidhagen oversaw operations at the low-cost carrier’s now-shuttered operations in Abu Dhabi. He also held senior leadership roles – including chief marketing officer – at Wizz Air Group.

Eidhagen will replace outgoing FlyArystan chief Richard Ledger, who returns to Air Astana Group to helm the newly-created partnerships and alliances department.

Ledger, who joined FlyArystan in 2024, will “support and develop [codeshare] opportunities which give us access to huge markets in our region”, states Air Astana.

Almaty-headquartered FlyArystan launched operations in 2019, and now operates a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

The leadership change at FlyArystan comes as Air Astana Group’s long-serving chief Peter Foster retires at the end of March. Foster, who has been with Air Astana for over two decades, will be succeeded by Ibrahm Canliel, currently the airline’s chief financial officer.

Separately, Air Astana has finalised its order for up to 15 Boeing 787-9s. The deal, first announced as a commitment in November, will see the airline place firm orders for five 787s, with options for five more jets and purchase rights for a further five.

Air Astana also holds orders with Boeing for three 787s that are set to be delivered in 2026 and 2027.