Wizz Air’s former managing director appointed to lead Kazakh low-cost carrier
The Air Astana Group, in a statement on Wednesday, announced the appointment of Johan Eidhagen as the President of FlyArystan, the Group's low-cost airline, which will come into force on March 1, 2026, Qazinform News Agency cites the press service of Air Astana.
According to the statement, Johan Eidhagen 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 takes over from Richard Ledger, who will now transition to a new senior executive position in the Air Astana Group as Vice President, Partnerships and Alliances.
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, said Air Astana CEO Peter Foster.
Earlier, Qazinform reported in October last year, the airline announced that Peter Foster will step down from his CEO position and the Air Astana Board of Directors in late March 2026. Air Astana Chief Financial Officer Ibrahim Canliel will be appointed as CEO within the specified period.