Adrian Hamilton-Manns, CEO of Air Astana Group’s low-fare subsidiary, FlyArystan, has resigned from his role to spend more time with his family in South Africa.
He will remain CEO until the end of May to ensure a smooth transition of executive leadership, where Richard Ledger will then take over as acting CEO from 20 May.
FlyArystan’s revenue grew by 384% from 2020 to 2023. Photo: Air Astana Group
Peter Foster, Air Astana Group CEO, said: “We are sorry that Adrian has decided to leave. However, we understand that this difficult decision has been made for family reasons, taking into account the distance between Kazakhstan and their place of residence in South Africa.”
Since 2020, FlyArystan has grown from a post-start-up to an airline with a fleet of 19 aircraft and a considerably expanded revenue base and geographical footprint. In January 2024, it was granted its own AOC. During his tenure as CEO, Hamilton-Manns saw FlyArystan’s revenue grow by 384% from $57.4m in 2020 to $277.8m in 2023.
Richard Ledger served as Air Astana’s Director of Sales from 2009 to 2017 and Vice President of Marketing and Sales from 2017 to 2022. Based in London, he has been responsible for Air Astana’s operations in the UK, Europe, and the Americas since 2022.
Commenting on Ledger’s appointment, Foster said: “The Group is fortunate to have management strength in depth, and I am pleased to welcome Richard Ledger back to Kazakhstan as Acting CEO of FlyArystan. […]We have no doubt that Richard will continue to deliver profitable growth at FlyArystan.”
