SCAT Airlines, a Kazakhstan-based carrier, has ordered five Boeing 737-9 aircraft, previously listed as unidentified in the manufacturer’s backlog, and converted five earlier 737-8 orders to the larger variant.
The move increases seating capacity per aircraft and aligns with the carrier’s plan to expand international services, particularly on longer routes linking Central Asia with Europe and Asia.
The 737-9 can carry up to 220 passengers and has a range of about 6,110 kilometers, allowing SCAT to operate longer single-aisle flights and explore so-called seventh-freedom routes, where an airline operates services between two foreign countries outside its home market.
The airline recently launched a Prague–Sanya service, connecting the Czech Republic and China with a technical stop in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The flight lasts more than 14 hours and illustrates how the 737 MAX is being used on extended narrowbody routes.
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April 27, 2026
“This fleet update allows SCAT Airlines to better meet growing passenger demand while maintaining the flexibility to serve a diverse and expanding route network,” said Vladimir Denissov, president of SCAT Airlines. He added that the shift from the 737-8 to the larger model “enhances our seating capacity per flight and will improve schedule reliability as we expand our international network.”
Based in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, SCAT Airlines operates domestic and international routes across Central Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The airline was the first in Central Asia to operate the 737 MAX and currently has a fleet of 35 aircraft, including 27 Boeing 737s — 14 of them MAX variants — as well as three 757s, one 767-300 and four CRJ-200s.
