Small Planet Airlines (S5, Vilnius International (VNO)) has added its first Airbus Industrie (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac (TLS)) metal to its fleet of exclusively Boeing (BOE, Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)) aircraft: an A320-200 (LY-SPB / c/n 2987) formerly with Air Astana (KC, Astana (TSE)). While it is a first for the airline, Polish sister airline, Small Planet Airlines Polska (LLP, Warsaw Fryderyk Chopin (WAW)), already operates three of the type. The Airbus joins the Lithuanian carrier at a time when it is also undergoing a change in management, which it is reported, "will help breathe new life into the carrier."

Air Astana (KC, Astana (TSE)) has cancelled one of its four outstanding B767-300ER orders earlier this month. It currently already operates two ex-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)) B767-300ERs built in 1997 and had announced an order for four new aircraft to be delivered in 2013 and 2014 back in February of 2012. Air Astana will now only add three new B767-300ERs to its fleet.

Air Astana (KC, Astana (TSE)) is planning to retire its remaining two Fokker 50s P4-HAS (MSN 20198) and P4-RAS (20237) by the end of November marking the end of turboprop operations for the largest Kazakh carrier. According to its schedules, it will only still operate Fokker 50s from Astana (TSE) to Semipalatinsk (PLX) and Uralsk (URA) and from Uralsk to Atyrau (GUW) in November.

Air Astana (KC, Astana (TSE)) has made plans to public to sell approximately 20% of its shares at an initial public offering in 2013. The Kazakh carrier is currently owned by the state owned national welfare fund Samruk-Kazyna and BAe Systems (B1, Warton (EGNO)) with the Kazakh joint venture partner owning 51% in the carrier.

Air Astana (KC, Astana (TSE)) has announced plans to lease three additional EMB-190s from lessor BOC Aviation with deliveries scheduled between spring 2013 and spring 2014. It currently already operates four EMB-190s on domestic and regional services and has another two aircraft on order itself.