Who is Behind the New Airline? - hetq.am

The Armenian aviation sector is in such a state that any new company entering the air transport market, regardless of its size, generates interest. Recently, a new name has emerged in the field: "Fly Armenia Airways." While the plans of this airline are intriguing, perhaps even more interesting is who is behind it.

Hetq has uncovered some details about the foreign owner of this airline, which should not be overlooked.

The Armenia-European Project Enters the Armenian Aviation Market

Despite the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia revoking the operating certificate from "Mars Avia" on July 4, the number of companies allowed to conduct commercial air transportation in our country has not changed, as "Fly Armenia Airways" has entered the field.

According to the Civil Aviation Committee's website, this operator received the certificate for commercial operations - the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) - on July 2. It is worth noting that the company had applied to the committee regarding this matter back on November 25 of last year. However, after reviewing the application documents, the committee found deficiencies and notified "Fly Armenia Airways" to rectify them. Nevertheless, the applicant did not address the shortcomings, resulting in the committee announcing in April that it had decided to suspend further consideration of the application, advising the company to reapply once the documents were in order for the certification. Now, it seems that the new carrier has successfully passed this stage.

Among them, "Armenian Helicopters" operates helicopters, while "Skyball" operates balloons; the others are airplane operators. After receiving the AOC, "Fly Armenia Airways" announced that the fleet equipped for passenger transportation, consisting of "Boeing 737" aircraft, will expand, as the number of planned routes (currently to Russia, Europe, and the Middle East) will increase, taking into account the upcoming flights to Los Angeles, Beijing, and Shanghai. The airline's website lists the "Boeing 737-800" and "Boeing 737-300" as part of its fleet. For cargo transportation, the operator plans to utilize "Airbus A300B4" and "Boeing 747-200" aircraft.

The airline will use "Zvartnots" Airport, which, according to the carrier, will serve as a transit hub due to its advantageous geographic location.

An airline representative states that they are not on the EU's "black list." The airline mentions on its website that it will conduct flights to Russia (Moscow, Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Sochi), Europe (Marseille, Prague, Istanbul), and the Middle East (Damascus, Tel Aviv). Regarding Marseille and Prague, which are part of the EU, it should be noted that after June 2, due to the weak oversight of flight safety by the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia, airlines registered in Armenia were added to the EU's "black list," effectively closing EU skies to our carriers. This restriction also applies to newly entered companies into the market, such as "Fly Armenia Airways." Generally, overcoming the ban and conducting commercial flights will require any Armenian airline to undergo a relevant audit to prove compliance with EU standards.

However, K. Tsaturyan insists that their airline received the AOC after the EU Commission's decision, therefore "Fly Armenia Airways" faces no issues. "We received the Air Operator Certificate after Armenian-registered airlines were denied entry into the EU. Our AOC status is current and valid. We are not facing any problem. Additionally, we have a contract with a European airline that will fly our aircraft, under our name, with our logo, and the registration airport will be ‘Zvartnots,’ which allows for flights to Europe without any issues."

The reality is that all air carriers certified by the authorities with responsibility for regulatory oversight of Armenia are included in the "black list." This means that since "Fly Armenia Airways" will be regulated by the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia, and since, at least for now, this body does not enjoy confidence in the eyes of the European Commission regarding certain of its functions, carriers supervised by the committee and registered in Armenia will find themselves on that list.

As for the European airline partner of "Fly Armenia Airways," which, according to Tsaturyan, will operate their aircraft, the Hetq interlocutor was unable to clarify what specifically was meant. In response to our verification, he said that flights to the EU will not be conducted through another airline, and there will be no codeshare flights: "We will operate our flights with our aircraft, our crews, from our registered airport - ‘Zvartnots.’"

Most of the targeted city routes by "Fly Armenia Airways" are populated by Armenians. In this regard, the operator presents itself as an "Armenia-Diaspora" airline that will provide transportation services to Armenians living and working both in the homeland and abroad.

According to Karen Tsaturyan, the flight crew for "Fly Armenia Airways" consists of Armenians. "They are currently undergoing training and are finishing up already," he noted, adding that the technical staff will also be Armenians, representing the airline's own team (some airlines outsource aircraft maintenance to specialized companies), who will be joined by consultants and supervisors from abroad with experience working at ‘Lufthansa’ and ‘Austrian Airlines.’

"We will have our maintenance depot, and we are now working as an established airline. Currently, our challenge is our closed airspace. When the information about its opening is officially announced, we will start ticket sales. Since we are presenting ourselves as a regular flight airline, we do not want to start with charter flights. Although there is no final decision on this, it is directly related to the timing of when the airspace opens for regular flights," says Karen Tsaturyan.

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