The company “Armavia” opened its new flight Yerevan-Archangelsk-Yerevan

YEREVAN, May 31. /ARKA/. Official opening ceremony of new flight of “Armavia” Yerevan-Archangelsk-Yerevan took place on Sunday in the International Airport of Archangelsk, Nana Avetisova, press-secretary of “Armavia” informs.

“Arrival of Armenian delegation to Archangelsk is not only opening of new flight but new air bridge between Armenia and Russia”, said Oleg Yesayan, Armenian Ambassador in Russia.

Opening of new flight will strengthen economic and cultural relations between two countries. Dmitriy Medvedev, President of Russia and Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia pay special attention to regional development and cooperation.

Yesayan said that Armenia is of special interest for Archangelsk region also in tourism sphere as Armenia is a country of tourism which attracts attention of thousands of tourists.

Mikhail Baghdasarov, Director of “Armavia” said that Yerevan becomes a transit country connecting South to East and East to West.

“For the beginning there will be one flight in two weeks and in future – two times in a week. We need time for the establishment of relations and development of marketing policy”, he said.

Geographical position of Yerevan allows to transport the passengers from Archangelsk to Yerevan and from Yerevan – to Dubay, Deli, Antalia, Tunis, Sharm el-Sheikh and other southern countries where they can have a rest.

Transit flight of Air Company is through Tbilisi to Russia. Recently opened flight to Deli will become transit to West.
Ernest Belokorovin, Minister of Industry, Transport and Communications of Archangelsk region said that the new airline can join Armenia with UAE in future.

After the ceremony, official meeting of Archangelsk region Governor Ilya Mikhalchuk and Oleg Yesayan, Armenian Ambassador in Russia took place where high officials of both countries were present.
Source: arka.am

Arkhangelsk grabs airspace

Today Armenian airlines announced a new air route that will connect Armenia and Arkhangelsk. To start with, there will be one flight per two weeks, though in future the route will reach two flights per week, said Mikhail Baghdasarov, Director of Armavia in the company’s press release.
May 25, a Russian low cost carrier Avianova opened flights Arkhangelsk – Moscow (Sheremetyevo). Earlier, the company serviced Arkhangelsk to St.Petersburg only. New flights of Avianova, Arkhangelsk-Moscow, will be carried out twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
July 3, Arkhangelsk will get a direct air connection with Europe by Airbaltic; flights Arkhangelsk – Riga will be scheduled twice a week (Tuesday, Sunday).
In the 90s, Arkhangelsk had already attempted to establish regular air connection with Europe: the city opened regular air routes for direct travel to Rovaniemi and Stockholm, yet they turned economically inefficient and were closed.
The most viable European route has been regularly connecting Arkhangelsk with Tromso via Murmansk since early 90s.
Charter flights operate till Rovaniemi and Levi.
In summer vacation period, Arkhangelsk opens more charter connection with Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Spain.


Source: barentsnova.com  

Airline company “Armavia’ presented a gift to its 200th passenger

Yesterday national airline company “Armavia” presented a valuable gift to its 200th passenger since 2010.

“A gift from the airline company TV-set LCD received Sofia Elchey, representative of one of international organizations who arrived to Yerevan from Tbilisi for participation in the seminar of statistics.

She thanked the airline company “Armavia” for warm attitude and attention saying that it is the first time she had success.
“It is very pleasant to have such a surprise being in a business trip. After Yerevan we depart to Kiev and other NIS countries. We have a large Armenian community in Budapest. I know Armenians and respect them”, she said.

Acting Commercial Director of the company Anna Atoyan emphasized the importance of such an action which became a tradition for the company.

Atoyan said that from July regular flights will be implemented to Barcelona, Warsaw and Tehran.

Airline Company “Armavia” was established in 1996. From July 2005 the full package of shares went to Mikhail Baghdasarov, president of the company “Mika Limited”. In 2009 more than 700 thousand passengers were transported by “Armavia”. Currently “Armavia” consists of 9 planes (А320-3, А319-3, CRJ-200, YAK-42-VIP).

Source: arka.am

Armenian Airline Delays Direct Flights To U.S.

Armavia's new Airbus A320

YEREVAN -- Armenia's national airline has postponed a long-awaited launch of direct flights to the United States, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.

The private airline Armavia and the Armenian government are blaming each other for the delay.

The flights were initially to have begun late last year, and the start was then postponed to this spring.

A direct flight service between the countries was made possible by a U.S.-Armenian "open skies" agreement that was signed in November 2008 and went into effect in June 2009.

The Armenian government's Civil Aviation Department said in June 2009 that Armavia would soon apply to the U.S. Transportation Department for a license to fly to New York and Los Angeles. The head of the department, Artyom Movsisian, was confident the company would gain approval by the end of 2009 after a visit to Yerevan by U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors.

But the inspection has still not taken place. Neither the Civil Aviation Department nor Armavia gave a clear explanation when contacted by RFE/RL.

"The state's involvement in this matter has come to an end," said Nelly Charchinian, a spokeswoman for the civil aviation authority. "It is Armavia's responsibility to deal with the remaining issues."

Armavia spokeswoman Nana Avetisova said the airline needs the FAA assessment before it can begin flights.

"In essence, Armavia is ready to start flights to Los Angeles and New York," she said. "However, the issue is related to [Armenia's] Civil Aviation Department and the [Yerevan] airport because the U.S. side was supposed to give clearance to the flights only after its inspections aimed at ascertaining whether the airport is prepared for the service."

Avetisova also confirmed that Armavia has yet to acquire long-haul passenger jets used in trans-Atlantic flights. "Our management keeps saying that we will definitely acquire a plane for trans-Atlantic flights this year," she said. "But that probably depends on the [U.S.] flight permissions."

The Armavia fleet currently consists of eight mostly Western-made aircraft flying to some 30 destinations in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East. One of them, an Airbus A320 jet, was purchased and went into service last week.

Armavia Director-General Norayr Belluyan told journalists on May 7 that the company plans to acquire two more airplanes by the end of this year.

The planned trans-Atlantic flights will allow thousands of Armenians traveling to and from the United States each year to avoid lengthy layovers at European airports.

There are an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians living in the United States.

Source: rferl.org

Launch Of Armenia-U.S. Flights Delayed

Armenia’s national airline has postponed the long-awaited launch of direct flights to the United States, expected late last year, for reasons that are not yet clear. The Armavia private carrier and the Armenian government blame one another for the delay.

A direct flight service between the two countries was made possible by a U.S.-Armenian “open skies” agreement that was signed in November 2008 and went into effect last June. The agreement is equally applicable to Armenian and U.S. airlines.

The Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Department said in June that Armavia will soon apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a license to fly to New York and Los Angeles. The head of the department, Artyom Movsisian, was confident that the company will get the green light by the end of 2009, after a planned visit to Yerevan by a team of inspectors from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

They were due to look into Armenian aviation facilities, safety rules and practices, and assess their conformity with international standards. The inspection has still not taken place, however. Neither the Civil Aviation Department, nor Armavia gave a clear explanation for that when contacted by RFE/RL’s Armenian service this week.

“The state’s involvement in this matter has come to an end,” said Nelly Charchinian, a spokeswoman for the civil aviation authority. “The state has nothing to do anymore.”

“It is Armavia’s responsibility to deal with the remaining issues,” she added. “It has to file an application to U.S. aviation authorities and then organize flights.”

But Armavia spokeswoman Nana Avetisova countered that the airline can not do that before an FAA assessment. “We planned to start flights in the spring of 2010,” she said. “In essence, Armavia is ready to start flights to Los Angeles and New York. However, the issue is related to the Civil Aviation Department and the [Yerevan] airport because the U.S. side was supposed to give clearance to the flights only after its inspections aimed at ascertaining whether the airport is prepared for the service.”

Avetisova also confirmed that Armavia has yet to acquire long-haul passenger jets used in Transatlantic flights. “Our management keeps saying that we will definitely acquire a plane for Transatlantic flights this year,” she said. “But that probably depends on the [U.S.] flight permissions.”

The Armavia fleet currently consists of eight mostly Western-made aircraft flying to some 30 destinations in Europe, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East. One of them, an Airbus A320 jet, was purchased and went into service last week.

“We plan to acquire two more airplanes by the end of this year,” the airline’s director general, Norayr Belluyan, told journalists on May 7. He did not specify their type.

The planned Transatlantic flights will allow thousands of Armenians traveling to and from the United States each year to avoid lengthy layovers at European airports. They account for a large part of passengers taking daily flights between Yerevan and major European cities.

Source: armeniadiaspora.com

Eyjafjallajokull volcano still going strong, ash plume lessens slightly

The ash plume of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano increased slightly Tuesday afternoon, with a darker and slightly higher plume, but there were no other major changes in its eruptive activity, the daily report from the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland said.
The eruption plume rose to between 17,000 to 20,000 feet high, heading south south east, and was grey in color. Tephra (larger bits of rock and ash thrown from the volcano) was clearly seen on the monitoring video cameras placed nearby. Nine lightning strikes were recorded on the scientific equipment.
There was a slight increase in the lower frequency bands of the seismic tremors. Sixteen earthquakes were recorded, mostly between 11 and 12 miles deep, but none had a magnitude greater than two.
Eyjafjallajökull's ash cloud was pushed by winds south down Europe and then to North Africa on Tuesday, shutting down airports in Spain, Turkey and Morocco, 2,350 miles away. The ash cloud over the mid North Atlantic began to disperse, allowing the Eurocontrol air traffic control agency to end the rerouting of flights between North America and Europe.
The areas of high ash concentration at high altitude which dispersed during the night, Eurocontrol reported.
Ash at lower altitudes was still causing troubles for some trans-Atlantic flights as well as Madeira and the Azores. Areas of high ash concentration at lower altitudes, which could possibly close some airports, exist in the Mediterranean between the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands, and were moving north east.

Source: usatoday.com

Mikhail Bagdasarov: Armavia’s losses incomparable to those of major European companies

Armavia’s losses, caused by volcanic eruption in Iceland are incomparable to those of major European companies, Armavia CEO Mikhail Bagdasarov stated.
As he told a news conference on May 7, the company had to cancel 5 flights. “We don’t have the exact figure yet. At the moment, losses are being assessed.”
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull were a sequence of major volcanic events at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland which disrupted air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of 6days in April 2010. Further more localized disruption continued into May 2010.

Source: panarmenian.net

We incurred minor losses due to Icelandic volcano: Mikhail Bagdasarov

New flights by Armavia Air Company to be carried out in 2010 and construction of the second terminal to be put into operation next year will considerably increase the passenger traffic, head of Mika Limited Company and Armavia Air Company owner Mikhail Bagdasarov told journalists today.
He noted that turn of year was unsuccessful for the company, expressing hope that they will manage to come up with good indicators by the year end.
Asked by news.am  correspondent about losses the company incurred as a result of Icelandic volcano eruption, Bagdasarov replied that compared with European air companies, Armavia’s losses are minor. “We have cancelled 5 flights to Paris, Amsterdam and Zurich, but are lucky not to have such losses as European companies did,” he said.
May 7, a new А-320 aircraft purchased by Armavia Air Company arrived in Zvartnots International Airport. Boeing was previously operated by China and Singapore. “We plan to have 15-unit aircraft park by 2010 end,” company’s Director General Norayr Beloyan stated, adding that Armavia will get two more Sukhoi Superjet aircrafts by the end of the year. According to him, air company transported over 170 000 passengers starting Jan. 2010, increasing last year’s indicator by 4.5%.

Source: news.am

Yerevan-London flights conducted as scheduled

To date Yerevan-London-Yerevan flights are conducted according to timetable, as ash cloud covered only a part of Scotland and Northern Ireland, representative of British Midland International Yerevan office Erik Gyulazyan told news.am.
He assured there is no ground for concern, as Heathrow airport experiences no landing difficulties. Asked whether, British Midland International incurred losses as a result of canceled flights due to Icelandic volcano eruption, Gyulazyan replied that no precise data is available, as the calculations are underway.
Armavia Air Company press secretary Nana Avetisova informed news.am that company has not made such calculations yet.
Eyjafjallajokull volcano, 150 km from Reykjavik, started erupting on March 20, 2010.
April 14 eruption closed major part of Europe’s airspace that also affected Armenia.

Source: news.am

Greek strikes not to affect Yerevan-Athens flight

Greek strikes will not affect Armavia flights, Air Company’s press secretary Nana Avetisova told news.am, adding that Yerevan-Athens-Yerevan flight are conducted as scheduled – twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. She also noted that the May 7 flight to Athens will be made as well.
Strike in Greece on Wednesday paralyzed airports, trains and ferries traffic, as well as public services. Schools, museums, and the Acropolis will also be closed. Strike is organized in the protest against spending cuts which EU links with providing of financial assistance to the country. Greece has already reviewed tax legislation (increased VAT) to get the EU loan and announced the cut of wages and pensions, as well as wage freeze of public servants.

Source: news.am