Air Astana (Эйр Астана) is a first airline and flag carrier of Republic of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It operates scheduled domestic and international services on 56 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its 2 secondary hubs, Astana International Airport and Atyrau Airport. It is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%). It was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on 15 May 2002.

Air Astana was described by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in January 2012 as having “performed better in its first decade than just about any other start-up carrier” (CAPA, Airline Analysis, 9 January 2012). Yet its origins represent one of the more intriguing and unlikely stories to have emerged from the airline industry in recent times. Originally conceived as a purely domestic airline, BAE Systems agreed in late 2000 to participate in the proposed start-up at the request of Kazakhstan’s head of state, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in order to facilitate an air radar contract it was then negotiating with the Government of Kazakhstan. Sir Richard Evans, BAE Systems’ chairman at the time, was instrumental in and key to the deal. However, the radar contract never materialized, and subsequent senior management changes and strategic reviews at BAE Systems led to the closure of its offices in Kazakhstan. Additionally, notwithstanding the support of Nazarbayev and a number of close advisors, the start-up, initially seen as a foreign entity, was confronted with immediate and vocal opposition from many elements of Kazakhstan’s media and political establishment.

Astana (Russian/Kazakh: Астана, formerly known as Akmola (Kazakh: Ақмола / Aqmola, until 1998), Целиноград / Tselinograd until 1992) and Akmolinsk (Russian: Акмолинск, until 1961), is the capital and second largest city (after Almaty) of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010. It is located in the north-central portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Province, though administrated separately from the province as a federal city area.

The current mayor of Astana is Imangali Tasmagambetov. He was appointed on 4 April 2008.

The word Astana in Kazakh literally means Capital but the word itself originates from Persian Astane (Persian: آستانه‎ means "sublime threshold," "royal porte" implying a royal capital city or a holy shrine town, (from the Persian verb Istadan (آستان) 'to stand' (in respect)), and literally means "threshold" (royal or sacred, where people stand in respect or awe),^{[citation needed]} implying where the court is seated (the capital city) or the body of a sacred person is interred (a shrine town). The city of Turkistan in Kazakhstan that hosts the body of the saint Ahmad Yasavi is also called the "astana" as is the city of Mashhad in Iran that is the burial place of the 8th Shiite Imam Reza. In fact, long before becoming the new capital of Kazakhstan, the city was "an astana," a burial ground of a saint, hence the old name of the city, Ak Mola (Ақмола), "white mausoleum."

Peter Clarence Foster (born 26 September 1962) is an Australian who has been convicted and jailed on three continents for offences involving weight loss products and property transactions.

He was also in the headlines following his involvement in helping Cherie Blair, wife of British prime minister Tony Blair, buy properties in Bristol.

Foster began marketing and selling products at an early age. Nicknamed "Kid Tycoon", the "Milkshake Tycoon" and "The boy with the Midas Touch", Foster was already promoting themed nights at a Gold Coast discothèque two years before he was legally allowed in the club, and became a boxing promoter at 17.

When he was aged 20 he was fined by a court in Australia for attempting to make a fraudulent insurance claim when a boxing match that he was promoting fell through. The following year he was declared bankrupt in Australia after trying to market a product aimed at people who wanted to quit smoking.

In 1983, Foster became a television producer and filmed a documentary with Muhammad Ali while living with Ali at his home near Wilshire Boulevard.