Almaty,19th February 2026:
Air Astana Group has announced the appointment of Johan Eidhagen as the President of FlyArystan, the Group’s low-cost airline, effective 1 March 2026. He joins from Wizz Air where he held several senior roles, including most recently that of the Managing Director of Wizz Air, Abu Dhabi. During his time at Wizz Air, he was also the Chief People & ESG Officer and the Chief Marketing Officer at Wizz Air Group. Prior to Wizz Air, Johan spent fourteen years with Nokia in a range of senior executive positions across multiple jurisdictions.
Johan replaces Richard Ledger, who will now move to a newly created senior executive position in the Air Astana Group as Vice President, Partnerships and Alliances. Codeshare agreements, including those signed recently with China Southern Airlines and Air India, are vital to our evolving international presence. Richard will support and develop these opportunities which give us access to huge markets in our region.
Air Astana CEO, Peter Foster commented: “With several years in senior roles at Wizz Air, leading the People, ESG and Marketing initiatives, Johan has the experience and low-cost airline background to ensure we capitalise on the high growth potential of FlyArystan. Technological innovation has been central to FlyArystan delivering a high-quality service while balancing cost and comfort, and those efforts will be reinvigorated with Johan at the helm. I am confident that with Johan’s leadership, FlyArystan will further dominate in the region and beyond.
We are grateful to Richard, who will now transition to the role of Vice President, Partnerships and Alliances to grow our Enhanced Strategic Partnerships which form a central pillar of our ambitious growth strategy.
Together with Ibrahim, who in April will become CEO, and Gonçalo Pires, who will join as CFO in March, I am confident that the Air Astana Group will continue to successfully execute its ambitious long-term growth strategy.”
