Armavia ( hy, Արմավիա) was an airline that existed between 1996 and 2013. It was Armenia's
flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations.
Hist ...
, with its head office on the grounds of
Zvartnots International Airport
Zvartnots International Airport ( hy, Զվարթնոց միջազգային օդանավակայան, translit=Zvart'nots' mijazgayin ōdanavakayan) is located near Zvartnots, west of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. It acts as the main ...
in
Zvartnots,
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, near
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
. It operated international passenger services from Yerevan to destinations in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. Its main base was Zvartnots International Airport.
Flight International
''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...
27 March 2007
On March 29, 2013, Armavia announced the decision to begin filing bankruptcy proceedings and suspend operations on 1 April 2013. All flights had been cancelled as of the evening of 29 March 2013.
History
![Armavia Il-86 EK-86118 DME 2005-9-23](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Armavia_Il-86_EK-86118_DME_2005-9-23.png)
The Armavia company was established in 1996, but commercial flights to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
only started in 2001. In 2002, a strategic alliance was set up with the Russian airline
S7 Airlines
S7 Airlines, legally JSC Siberia Airlines (russian: АО «Авиакомпания "Сибирь"», "АО Aviakompania Sibir"), is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, with offices in Moscow. As of 2008, it was Russia's ...
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 took over a part of the bankrupt
Armenian Airlines
Armenian Airlines ( hy, Հայկական ավիաուղիներ) was an Armenian airline company and the state-owned flag carrier of Armenia.
History
Armenian Airlines was established shortly after independence in 1991 from Aeroflot's Arm ...
' 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, a 21% increase compared to 2006.
The airline was owned by MIKA Armenia Trading (100%).
In 2010, the airline transported over 800,000 passengers.
On 21 April 2011, Armavia became the first airline to fly
Sukhoi Superjet 100
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 () or SSJ100 is a regional jet designed by Russian aircraft company Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a division of the United Aircraft Corporation (now: Regional Aircraft – Branch of the Irkut Corporation). With development starti ...
from
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
On 29 March 2013, Armavia ceased flying and filed for bankruptcy after two years of financial depression. The airline left many passengers stranded in the airports. Passengers would receive refunds after ceasing operations.
Destinations
Armavia had always shown interest in serving
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
(California) with non-stop flights from
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, but had not revealed further details on the matter. They also lacked the proper aircraft to operate the flight. They also had non-stop flights to
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
Codeshare agreements
Armavia had
codeshare agreement
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
s with the following airlines:
*
Aerosvit
AeroSvit Airlines private stock company ( uk, italic=yes, Приватне акціонерне товариство «Авіакомпанія АероСвіт»), operating as AeroSvit — Ukrainian Airlines / АероСвіт, was a Uk ...
*
airBaltic
airBaltic, legally incorporated as AS Air Baltic Corporation, is the flag carrier of Latvia, with its head office on the grounds of Riga International Airport in Mārupe municipality near Riga. Its main hub is Riga, and it operates bases in T ...
*
Air France
Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...
(
SkyTeam
SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 630 million ...
)
*
El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
*
*
Kuban Airlines
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LOT Polish Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...
(
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger ...
)
*
Transaero
Transaero (russian: Трансаэро), officially ''OJSC Transaero Airlines'' (russian: ОАО «АК „ТРАНСАЭРО“», Открытое акционерное общество «Авиационная компания „ТРАНС ...
*
Ural Airlines
Ural Airlines (russian: Ура́льские авиали́нии, ''Ural’skiye avialinii'') is an airline based in Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, that operates scheduled and chartered domestic and international flights out of Kolt ...
*
UTair
Utair (russian: ОАО «Авиакомпания «ЮТэйр») () is a Russian airline with its head office at Khanty-Mansiysk Airport while its hubs are at Surgut International Airport and Vnukovo International Airport. It operates scheduled ...
*
VIM Airlines
VIM Airlines (legally ''VIM Avia'') was a Russian charter airline headquartered in Moscow based at Domodedovo International Airport. It offered international scheduled and charter operations for both passengers and cargo as well as wet lease ser ...
Fleet
![Armavia Sukhoi Superjet Heisterkamp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Armavia_Sukhoi_Superjet_Heisterkamp.jpg)
In November 2012, the Armavia fleet consisted of the following aircraft:
Fleet developments
On 1 September 2007, Armavia signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with Russia's
Sukhoi
The JSC Sukhoi Company (russian: ПАО «Компания „Сухой“», ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (formerly Soviet), headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and milita ...
Civil Aircraft for two
Sukhoi Superjet 100-95LR aircraft by the end of 2009. Under the agreement, Armavia had an option to acquire another two SuperJet 100-95LRs in the future. On 19 April 2011, Armavia took delivery of the first Sukhoi Superjet 100. In doing so, Armavia became the first company to put the aircraft in commercial revenue service. On 9 July 2012, it cancelled its order for a second Sukhoi Superjet 100.
On 7 August 2012, it was reported that Armavia had decided to return its remaining Sukhoi Superjet 100 to the manufacturer, citing reliability concerns. On 2 October 2012, the airline agreed to take back the first SSJ.
Incidents and accidents
On 3 May 2006, an Armavia
Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
(registration: EK-32009) operating as
Armavia Flight 967
Armavia Flight 967 (U8 967/RNV 967) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Armavia from Zvartnots International Airport, Zvarnots in Armenia to Sochi, a Black Sea coastal resort city in Russia. On 3 May 2006, the aircraft ope ...
crashed into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
en route from
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
to
Sochi
Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, a seaside resort town in Russia. The fatal crash was a
controlled flight into terrain
In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an aviation accidents and incidents, accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under aircraft pilot, pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of ...
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
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
following a
go-around
In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unstab ...
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
ground proximity warning system warning. Poor visibility and weather contributed to the crash as well.
References
External links
*
{{Airlines of Armenia
Defunct airlines of Armenia
Airlines established in 1996
Airlines disestablished in 2013
2013 disestablishments in Armenia
Armenian companies established in 1996