Armavia
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| Armavia | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA U8 |
ICAO RNV |
Callsign ARMAVIA |
| Founded | 1996, First flight in 2001 | |
| Hubs | Zvartnots Int'l Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Free ticket program | |
| Fleet size | 6 | |
| Destinations | 33 | |
| Parent company | Mika Corporation | |
| Headquarters | Yerevan, Armenia | |
| Key people | Norayr Beluyan | |
| Website: http://www.u8.am | ||
Armavia (Արմավիա) is currently the largest airline in Armenia operating international passenger flights based out of Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia.
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[edit] History
The Armavia company was established in 1996, but commercial flights to Russia and Turkey only started in 2001.
In 2002, a strategic alliance was set up with the Russian airline S7 Airlines which purchased 50% of Armavia's shares from the "Chernomoravia" company under the name of the "Aviafin" company registered in Armenia but which belongs to the leadership of S7 Airlines as natural persons. Later, it bought an additional 18% of shares from Mika Armenia Trading company owned by prominent Armenian businessman Mikhail Baghdasarov. An investment contract between S7 Airlines and Armavia was signed on March 14, 2003, at which point 68% of Armavia's shares were owned by S7 Airlines, and the remaining 32%, by Mika Armenia Trading.
In 2003, Armavia undertook part of the bankrupt Armenian Airlines' flights. In 2005, Mikhail Baghdasarov's Mika Armenia Trading bought S7 Airlines 68% of shares and became Armavia's principal shareholder with a 100% stake in the company. In 2005, the airline transported 513,800 passengers with over 550 people in its personnel. The turnover for 2005 amounted to roughly $90 million.
[edit] Destinations
In 2004, the official national carrier Armenian Airlines was declared bankrupt and consequently Armavia took over many of the Armenian Airlines' flights, although originally not those to Europe, which were operated by another Armenian airline, Armenian International Airways (Հայկական միջազգային ավիաուղիներ). This company was later declared bankrupt in 2005, and Armavia took over European flights to become the largest airline in Armenia. The company is in good terms with Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, KrasAir, as well as with Air France, KLM, British Airways, and Lufthansa.
In 2006, Armavia began operating new routes to Tel Aviv, Minsk, and Tbilisi.
On March 29, 2007, Armavia commenced scheduled flights to Cologne, Germany. The flights will operate once a week on thursdays.
[edit] Fleet
In October 2002, Armavia leased its first Airbus A320-211 (MSN: 726, Registration: EK-32007) from Siberia Airlines, it's principal shareholder, to serve routes to Turkey and Russia. It was followed by a second Airbus A320-211 ((MSN : 229, Registration : EK-32008) leased (from AWAS) in August 2003, which allowed the company to operate routes to Europe. Both aircraft had been originally owned by Ansett Australia before its bankruptcy in 2002. The first one was later sold to Georgian National Airlines in January 2004. In February and October of 2004, Armavia bought two more Airbus A320-211s (MSNs: 547 & 632, Registrations: EK-32009 & EK-32010, respectively), also formerly owned by Ansett Australia, but both were lost in 2006: the first due to a crash at Sochi's Adler-Sochi International Airport on May 3, 2006, and the second, only a couple of days later, oddly enough, due to damage sustained during a fire in a Sabena Technics maintenance hangar in Belgium on May 5, 2006.
On March 28, 2006, Armavia leased a fairly new 2004-built Airbus A319-132 (MSN: 2277, Registration: EK-32011) acquired by Mika Armenia Trading from the now defunct Independence Air. This was soon followed by a second leased Airbus A319-132 (MSN: 2362, Registration: EK-32012) acquired by Mika Armenia Trading from the same source. The company is planning to add two more A320 family aircraft later this year to replace the two aircraft the carrier lost.
The Armavia fleet includes the following aircraft (as of November 2006):
| Aircraft | # | Seats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-132 | 2 | 136 | EK-32011 EK-32012 |
| Airbus A320-211 | 1 | 148 | EK-32009, one A320 [1] was lost in a crash in Black Sea on May 3, 2006 (Armavia Flight 967) EK-32010, one A320 [1] was destroyed in a hangar fire in Brussels two days later, early on May 5, 2006 |
| Yakovlev Yak-42 | 2 | 120 | |
| Ilyushin Il-86 | 1 | 345 |
[2] [3] The average age of the Armavia Airbus fleet, as of May 2006, was 6.3 years.
[edit] Incidents and accidents
On May 3, 2006, an Armavia Airbus A320 operating Armavia Flight 967 crashed in the Black Sea en route from Yerevan to Sochi, a resort town in Russia.
On May 5, 2006, another Armavia A320 was one of four aircraft destroyed during a fire at a maintenance hangar belonging to Sabena Technics[4] at Brussels Zaventem Airport, Belgium. It was not known what caused the accident in Brussels, where the Armavia jet was undergoing maintenance by the Belgian company Sabena Technics.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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