When Low-Cost Carriers Enter the Market, They Quickly Become Monopolists: Head of Civil Aviation Committee

I have delivered concrete results; there is no doubt about that. The fact that two low-cost carriers are ready to enter the Armenian market next year is a significant achievement. This was stated by Tatiana Revazyan, the Head of the Civil Aviation Committee, during a meeting with journalists today, on July 15.

“The reason is that I have been flexible in my approach. I didn’t just say, ‘This is Armenia’s condition; accept it or not.’ I asked various questions, understood their mindset, and spoke with different specialists to comprehend what issues arose when these companies entered their markets to ensure we do not face the same problems in Armenia,” Revazyan said.

She noted that, for instance, when low-cost carriers enter a market, they quickly become monopolists. “They operate flights for a year and then come to the government saying, ‘If you do not do this and that for us, we will leave the market.’ We have taken this factor into account, which is why we provide discounts not to the airline itself, but for the route. For example, if we do not have a Yerevan-Marseille flight, we want to eliminate the air tax for five years. This means we aim to prevent any one player from entering the market, opening ten routes, and becoming a monopolist,” she added.