Armavia
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| Armavia Airline Company Co. Ltd «Արմավիա» ավիաընկերություն» ՍՊԸ |
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|---|---|---|
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| 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 | 9 (+2 orders, 2 options) | |
| Destinations | 29 | |
| Parent company | Mika Corporation | |
| Headquarters | Yerevan, Armenia | |
| Key people | Norayr Beluyan | |
| Website: http://www.armavia.aero | ||
Armavia (Armenian: Արմավիա) is an airline based in Yerevan, Armenia. It operates international passenger services from Yerevan to destinations in Europe and the Middle East. Its main base is Zvartnots International Airport, Yerevan.[1]
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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.
The airline is owned by Aviafin (70%) and MIKA Armenia Trading (30%).[1]
[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.
On July 27, 2007, Baghdasarov said Armavia plans to introduce new flights to China and Japan, and starting in 2008, flights to Milan and Marseille. He also said that the airline is going to launch a new air-bridge Yerevan-Los Angeles-Yerevan in late 2008. Officially Washington and Yerevan have already proceeded with the execution of corresponding agreements.
[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 as VH-HYO and VH-HYS respectively, 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, 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.
On May 15, 2007, Armavia began operating a Boeing 737-300 aircraft it bought from Georgian Airways.
On September 14, 2007, Armavia signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with Russia's Sukhoi Civil Aircraft which will supply them with two Superjet 100 aircraft by the end of 2008. Under the agreement, Armavia will also have an option to acquire another two SuperJet 100s in the future.[2]
On December 3, 2007, the Government of Armenia acquired an A319 to transport the country's president and other top government officials. The aircraft will be managed by Armavia.
On May 23, 2008, Armavia took delivery of its second Airbus A320 aircraft. For the first time in the history of the Civil Aviation of Armenia, a brand new aircraft with no flight hours entered the fleet right from the facilities of Airbus in Toulouse, France.[3]
The Armavia fleet includes the following aircraft (as of December 2007):[1][4][5]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Business*/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-132 | 2 (1 order) |
136 | EK-32011 EK-32012 |
| Airbus A320-211 | 2 | 148 | EK-32008 EK-32005 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | 126 (12/114) | 4L-TGL |
| Yakovlev Yak-42 | 1 | 120 | EK-42345 EK-42417 |
| Ilyushin Il-86 | 1 | 345 | EK-86118 |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100 | (2 orders) (2 options) |
95 | |
| Bombardier CRJ100 | 1 | 50 | |
| Bombardier CRJ200 | 1 order | 50 |
The average age of the Armavia Airbus and Boeing fleet, as of February 2008, was 10.3 years.[6]
[edit] Incidents and accidents
- On May 3, 2006, an Armavia Airbus A320 operating Armavia Flight 967 crashed into the Black Sea en route from Yerevan to Sochi, a resort town in Russia. The fatal crash was a CFIT accident, killing all 105 passengers and 8 crew on board. The aircraft was completely destroyed by impact with the water. The crash was caused by inadequate control inputs of the Captain following a go-around after the first attempted approach. Contributing factors to the accident were the lack of necessary monitoring of the aircraft descent parameters by the First Officer, and the improper reaction of the crew to the subsequent GPWS warning. Poor visibility and weather contributed to the crash as well.[7]
- On May 5, 2006, another Armavia A320 was one of four aircraft destroyed during a fire at a maintenance hangar belonging to Sabena Technics[8] 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] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Flight International 27 March 2007
- ^ Armavia buys 4 Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplanes
- ^ Delivery of brand new A320 from Toulouse
- ^ Armavia website - Fleet
- ^ Armavia Boeing 737-322
- ^ Armavia Airbus & Boeing fleet age
- ^ Final Accident Report. Russian Interstate Aviation Committee. Retrieved on 2007-07-13.
- ^ Pictures: Probe begins into Sabena Technics hangar fire-05/05/2006-London-Flight International
