Passengers on a flight operated by FlyArystan complained about an unusual situation: they were moved to an Air Astana aircraft, but were served under simplified rules — in accordance with low-cost carrier standards.
Information about the incident was shared by one of the passengers on the social network Threads.
In particular, passengers were forbidden from using the multimedia system, including watching films, with the explanation that they had purchased tickets for a FlyArystan flight.
"We were moved from a FlyArystan aircraft to an Air Astana aircraft for unknown reasons and were forbidden from watching films because we bought a ticket for FlyArystan. As I understand it, we also took off late because we bought tickets for a FlyArystan flight," he said.
The situation caused confusion among some passengers, as the Air Astana aircraft formally provides a higher level of service, including free access to the multimedia system and headphones.
For its part, Air Astana explained that when a FlyArystan aircraft is replaced by an Air Astana plane, service is provided in accordance with the standards of the budget airline.
"Access to the multimedia system requires the loading of headphones, which is not done on FlyArystan flights. We apologise for the inconvenience and would like to assure you that the change of aircraft is a necessary measure and may occur for various reasons, including late arrival of aircraft or technical delays," the company commented.