YEREVAN(Arka) — The recently-established Armenia airline will make its first flights to Israel and Russia on April 21, the company’s president Tamaz Gaiashvili told a news conference today in Yerevan.
He said the airline has already received a certificate of the Chief Civil Aviation Department (CCDA) for operation of aircraft and is now going through the final stage of obtaining a certificate for operating regular commercial flights.
He said the maiden flights are scheduled for April 21 in two directions – Tel Aviv and Moscow, after which they will start operating regular flights to Tehran, Dubai, Prague, Kiev, Minsk, Barcelona, London and Larnaca.
He added that the geography of flights will be expanding to the Russian cities of Sochi, Rostov-on-Don, Mineralnye Vody and Samara and later to Germany and Italy. He also said that the prices of air tickets will not be very expensive. According to him, the highest price for a ticket to any destination will be 49 euros and about 96 euros including all the fees and taxes.
Unlike low-cost airlines there will be no restrictions on passengers’ luggage weight; the passengers will be provided also with meals, but the tickets cannot be exchanged for another date or given back. He also said that the airline will begin scheduled flights with three leased Boeing 737, but plans to expand its fleet to five aircraft in July and eight by the end of the year. In the future, the airline plans to acquire a CRJ aircraft.
“The average age of our fleet of aircraft will not exceed 15 years; they will undergo maintenance at the Lufthansa in Germany,” said Gaiashvili.
He refused to voice any figures, including the amount of investments made. Gaiashvili also denied media allegations that Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan holds 50% of the new airline.
“Neither the prime minister nor any representatives of the Armenian leadership is among the founders of the airline,” Gaiashvili said, adding that such rumors are being circulated to damage the new airline.
According to him, given Armenia’s geopolitical location it has no alternative to the development of aviation. As an example, he mentioned the Russian-Georgian war in August 2008, when all airlines stopped flights to Tbilisi, with the exception of the national carrier Georgian Airlines.
“Aviation is an essential resource for Armenia, there is a good market and the spread of such rumors do not contribute to its formation,” said Gaiashvili.
The founders of the airline, according to CCAD are Ashot Torosyan (51%), Gaiashvili (25%) and Robert Hovhannisyan (24%). Gaiashvili is the founder of the Georgian airline Airzena. He was chairman of its Board of Directors, while Hovhannisyan was his deputy.
According to reports in the Armenian media, most of the employees of the new airline will be staffed by Airzena’s personnel. It will also use Airzena’s fleet.
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what a shame that one nation can not have its own airline. and always be dependent to a country who has better relation with Armenian enemies , Armenian officials are nothing but a LOPAZ takers.. . I don’t know when Armenian nation will wake up and act like a mature and cicilized nation.
Well Varyan, first there are only 3 million people in Armenia and it is not on the top of many tourist list, so it is quite difficult to have a national airline. Armenia will wake up when people like yourself stop complaining and do something other then bitching all the time.
Very very said Todd!
That is so true. Let us all invest in our motherland and start doing something efficient instead of complaining.
what a shame that one nation can not have its own airline. and always be dependent to a country who has better relation with Armenian enemies , Armenian officials are nothing but a LOPAZ takers.. . I don’t know when Armenian nation will wake up and act like a mature and civilized nation
As soon as people like u living in the diaspora grap their things and live in Armenia instead of sitting a 1000 miles away behind a computer and criticize everything
Honestly i request that they think about our nations history and if all the arrangments lead for the first armenian airline flight to be taken how come no one thought it should be on the 24th to comemorate the genocid and to send a msg to the whole world that a nation doomed to be destroyed is very much here and alive
How to believe to these words when I called to Georgian airlines today (tel. No.055418644) and to my query when will start the REGULAR flights to Larnaca as mentioned above, I was told that no regular flights are intended. They will have charter flights only starting from July 2016 to Larnaca costing 510 Euros !!!!! Please, do give me correct information about the starting date of Larnaca regular flights with the above mentioned low prices (96 Euros). I hope that the company president’s words were not fake.
Please do answer and give me a real tel No. to contact with for more information. Thanks beforehand.
“If there is a will, there is always a way”
Dream less and act big. Instead of expecting what Armenia can give to us, let us first give something to Armenia.
It is true that our motherland is not HEAVEN, but which country is actually and factually a HEAVEN???
Let’s hope that flights be ensured to the middle east. I believe that if the flight cost diminishes, the rate of the tourists raise up.
It is not easy to have a national airline and maintain it profitably.
Look what happened to SWISSAIR or the Belgian airline several years ago. They went bankrupt.
Unless an airline company is subsidized by the Armenian government, due to geopolitical position
There can be no successful, well managed and efficient Armenian airlines. There are many international
Companies that service the Armenian territory. Have a wider mental horizon. Why is it a shame? The
Republic of post USSR Armenia has many things that others do not have. Don’t be ignorant. The cost of
Ignorance is much higher than the price you pay for knowledge, information and innovation.
Does anyone know which London Airport ?
Please don’t say Gatwick or Heathrow….Luton or Stansted is best (Manchester even better).
Yerevan is very nice place and I want to visit often. But a change is either Paris or Istanbul is annoying.
Does anyone know Armenia Airline website? I`ve found this one http://armenia-sky.com/ but is not working.