LONDON — Central Asian airline group Air Astana has selected EMEA strategic communications firm Instinctif Partners to support its $847 million listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Air Astana is the largest airline in central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size. The company carries around eight million passengers every year across the flag carrier of Kazakhstan and its low-cost brand FlyArystan.

Instinctif Partners provided strategic counsel on all internal and external communications relating to the IPO, with a focus on the global offering. This included investor meetings, producing investor films for social media, in-flight videos for customers and the co-ordination of media interviews.

The oversubscribed IPO this month took place across three international and domestic exchanges: a global offer of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the London Stock Exchange; shares and GDRs on the Astana International Exchange (AIX); and shares on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

Before the IPO, the company was held privately as a joint venture between Samruk-Kazyna (51%), the sovereign wealth fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and BAE Systems (49%).

Instinctif Partners senior account director Joe Quinlan said: “The IPO of Air Astana is one of the most significant listings in London in recent years and has been well supported by international investors. Air Astana is a remarkable company with a compelling investment story as one of the fastest-growing airline groups in the world. We are proud to have supported the business to successfully raise capital for the next stage of its growth as a public company.”

The agency recently appointed former FleishmanHillard UK and Middle East CEO Jim Donaldson as its non-executive chairman, as CEO Ed Amory announced he was stepping down.