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| Founded | 1996 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Zvartnots Int'l Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 8 (+2 orders, 2 options) | |||
| Destinations | 34 | |||
| Parent company | Aviafin (70%) | |||
| Headquarters | Yerevan, Armenia | |||
| Key people | Norayr Beluyan | |||
| Website | http://www.u8.am | |||
Armavia (Armenian: Արմավիա) is an airline based in Yerevan, Armenia. It operates international passenger services from Yerevan to destinations in Europe and the Asia. Its main base is Zvartnots International Airport, Yerevan.[1]
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Contents
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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 14 March 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's 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. In 2007, the airline transported 572,300 passengers by regular and charter flights, which is a 21% increase compared to 2006.[2]
The airline is owned by Aviafin (70%) and MIKA Armenia Trading (30%).[1]
Destinations
In 2004, the official national carrier Armenian Airlines was declared bankrupt and consequently Armavia took over many of its 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 a national airline of Armenia.
In 2008, Armavia began operating new routes to Marseille and Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, thus becoming one of a few airlines serving all three Moscow airports. In 2009, Armavia commenced flights to Berlin, Zurich, Rome, Batumi, Kharkiv and Bahrain.
Fleet
In October 2002, Armavia leased its first Airbus A320-211 from Siberia Airlines, its principal shareholder, to serve routes to Turkey and Russia. It was followed by a second A320, 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 2004, Armavia bought two more A320s, also formerly owned by Ansett, 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 5 May.
On March 28, 2006, Armavia leased a fairly new 2004-built Airbus A319-132 acquired by Mika Armenia Trading from the now defunct Independence Air. This was soon followed by a second leased A320 acquired by Mika Armenia Trading from the same source.
On May 15, 2007, Armavia began operating a Boeing 737-300 aircraft it wet leased from Georgian Airways.
On September 1 , 2007, Armavia signed a multi-million-dollar agreement with Russia's Sukhoi Civil Aircraft which will supply them with two Sukhoi Superjet 100-95LR aircraft by the end of 2009. Under the agreement, Armavia will also have an option to acquire another two SuperJet 100-95LRs in the future.[3]
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 A320-214 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.[4]
On March 17, 2009, Armavia received its first new A319-111 from Airbus. The aircraft is operated under a lease agreement with the ILFC. [5]
On August 6, 2009, Armavia began operating a leased CRJ-200LR (MSN: 7373, Registration: EK-20073).
The Armavia fleet includes the following aircraft (as of 27 November 2009):[1][6][7][8]
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 1 aircraft operated for the Government of Armenia (VIP configuration) |
| Airbus A320-200 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 148-164 | |
| Bombardier CRJ200 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 96 | Entry into service: Spring 2010 Launch customer[9] |
| Total | 8 | 2 | 2 |
The average age of the Armavia western-built fleet, as of October 2009, is 7.1 years.[10]
Armavia has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:
Incidents and accidents
- On 3 May 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.[11]
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Wikinews has related news: Flight from Armenian capital Yerevan crashes near Sochi |
- On 5 May 2006, another Armavia A320 was one of four aircraft destroyed during a fire at a hangar[12] at Brussels Airport, Belgium. It was not known what caused the accident in Brussels, where the Armavia jet was undergoing maintenance provided by the Belgian company Sabena Technics.
External links
- Armavia Tickets (German, Russian, English)
- Armavia
References
- ^ a b c Flight International 27 March 2007
- ^ Armavia passenger statistics for 2007
- ^ Armavia buys 4 Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplanes
- ^ Delivery of brand new A320 from Toulouse
- ^ Armavia takes delivery of its first new A319
- ^ Armavia website - Fleet
- ^ Armavia fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- ^ Airbus Orders and Deliveries
- ^ Armavia will be launch customer for Sukhoi Superjet 100
- ^ Armavia Airbus & Boeing fleet age
- ^ "Final Accident Report" (PDF). Russian Interstate Aviation Committee. http://www.bea-fr.org/docspa/2006/ek-9060502/pdf/ek-9060502.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
- ^ Pictures: Probe begins into Sabena Technics hangar fire-05/05/2006-London-Flight International
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