According to news from Aircompany Armenia, the airline still remains in the red, but insists it will become financially successful in three years’ time.
The airline ferried more then 75,000 passengers in 2018, which was a 1% improvement over the previous year. Although this is modest growth for any company, the airline’s management says political upheaval limited growth this past year.
In the last three years, more than US$10 million in investments have been pumped into Armenia Airlines. The airline also blames Russian airlines for its limited growth so far.
Last year, the number of flights increased by more than 10% to 542 compared with 2017’s 480 and the small airline added seven people to its staff roster, which reached 51 by the end of the year. It currently employs three complete crews of six pilots and three trainees, as well as 24 cabin crew staff members. Armenia Airlines’ deputy general director Gevorg Khachatryan made this statement to reporters:
“The airline is still bearing losses, but I must emphasise that the losses are decreasing year-on-year and we are planning to climb out of the red in 2021. It’s a normal process, the financial status is stable.”
The private carrier was created by the management of Georgian Airways from neighbouring Georgia, following the liberalisation of both of the Caucasus region’s countries’ air travel markets.