Author: Frangulian Shushan

 09:37, 8 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian national carrier Fly Arna is in the process of acquiring its second aircraft and seeks to expand its destinations.

“In June of this year our airline launched its first commercial flights in two directions – Yerevan-Hurgada and Yerevan-Sharm El-Sheikh. Since these two destinations are especially in demand during the summer season in Armenia, we were very excited to launch the flights to these resort towns,” Fly Arna spokesperson Gayane Antonyan said.

Fly Arna received its first flight permits from Egypt. “And we decided to enable our compatriots to discover the seaside Egyptian towns with our airline until our team is working on acquiring new destinations,” she said.

Asked why Fly Arna chose Hurgada and Sharm El-Sheikh – two destinations served by other airlines in Armenia – instead of launching new directions, Antonyan said: “As the new national carrier of Armenia, from the very beginning we had the goal of connecting Armenia with various countries and cities across the world and we are committed to this path. Hurgada and Sharm El-Sheikh are maiden flights. We will not be limited with these destinations and with clear steps we will connect Armenia with all other in-demand directions. Very soon the results of our team’s work will be visible.”

Getting the flight permit for other countries’ airspace is a time-consuming process, Antonyan says. “When Fly Arna was launched we announced about 4 upcoming destinations, and in addition to the Egyptian destinations the two others were Beirut and Kuwait. We are now negotiating with all stakeholder parties to swiftly acquire the flight permits for Beirut and Kuwait and finalize our preparations for flying in these directions.”

“Since 2020, all Armenian airlines are barred from entering the EU airspace due to being blacklisted by the EU aviation authorities. We, being a joint enterprise of ANIF and Air Arabia, are closely cooperating with the Armenian civil aviation committee and attempting to introduce its international experience in improving flight standards and aviation safety,” the spokesperson said.

Until the fleet is supplemented with the second aircraft, Fly Arna is now flying with its Airbus A320. It is a 174-seat plane. The distance between the seats is 81cm – which gives passengers comfort. “Other advantages include for example that our passengers have the chance to choose the food, luggage and seats options, thus balancing comfort and affordable prices,” Antonyan said.

Fly Arna offers free SkyTime streaming services for passengers. The streaming service will be expanded together with expanding destinations, by offering videos and information on Armenia’s history, sightseeing, etc.

Most of the menu is comprised of Armenian-made food and drinks. The pilots and crew also speak Armenian.

One of the frequently asked questions coming from passengers is the meaning of the name Fly Arna. Antonyan said Fly Arna is simply the abbreviation of “Armenian National Airlines”.

Fly Arna now employs 70 people but plans to expand the team. More than 80% are Armenians.

Both Armenian and foreign maintenance specialists work at Fly Arna.

Passengers have expressed satisfaction over the schedule, with most of the flights scheduled in the mornings. The airline also worked to cut the duration of its Hurgada flight.

“Motivated with the excitement and happiness of our passengers, we will work with even greater vigor to expand the geography of our flights and keep the quality of services high. We have no other option than to ensure the success of the national airline and kick off the beginning of a new era of Armenia’s aviation history.”

 

Anna Grigoryan

Photos by Hayk Manukyan

 16:39, 5 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is underway in Sochi, Russia, RIA Novosti reports.

Earlier Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said that the agenda of the meeting includes, among others, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

 11:12,

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Despite the expected negative impact on the Armenian economy from the Russian economy – Armenia’s main trade partner – the economic activity index grew around 12% in the first half of 2022, and the flow of capital and tourists were a positive “shock” for the economy.

The government continues to predict 7% growth for the year, with the possibility of surpassing it in case of preserving the current pace.

Services ensured most of the growth – 26,9%.

“We have rather positive dynamics in other branches also, with the exception of agriculture,” says Eduard Hakobyan, Director of Macroeconomic Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance.

“The expectations of economic developments were pessimistic but factually we have a situation when positive risks materialized and we have high economic growth. How did this happen? All professional forecast institutions predicted around 2% economic growth for Armenia in the beginning of the year. We have the Russian-Ukrainian conflict with all its negative consequences, with deep decline expected in Russia, which, certainly, should’ve impacted the Armenian economy. Russia is an important trade-economic partner for Armenia with several connections: export and import, tourism flows, remittances and foreign investments. We had negative expectations from this perspective. But starting from the fourth month we saw rather impressive growth in all directions. Both in exports to Russia, remittances from Russia, foreign investments and tourism, with the latter being the key. These developments led to capital and tourism flows, which is so to say a “positive shock” for the economy. We have rather impressive developments in 4-5 directions, especially in the service sector, tourism-related sectors, accommodation, hotels, restaurants, also real estate, the financial system and transport. I am speaking about people and capital. People moved to Armenia, some companies relocated here, people brought certain capital flows with them. In addition, a foreign currency flow to Armenia is also happening which has developed additional demand for services sector. Therefore, we are having such high growths.”

Asked about the impact on the Armenian economy if in fact the 6% decline predictions for the Russian economy come true, the expert said: “We haven’t had a shock like that in the world. All assessments, including ours, show that Russia is the key factor which is impacting our economy. 1% change of economic growth, drop or increase, is impacting the Armenian economy. This was always the case, both during the global crisis and in 2014-2015 when the first sanctions were imposed on Russia. But the situation is different today because its transfer routes are working oppositely. The changes of the growth that would bring negative consequences are mostly positive.”

Speaking about inflation, Hakobyan said that compared to other regional countries the inflation in Armenia is actually the lowest.

He said that back in February-March international organizations were predicting 2 or 3% growth for Armenia. “But current developments show that all international organizations are starting to revise their expectations higher. For example, the IMF recently made a statement on 5% growth when it had previously assessed 1,5% growth for Armenia.

 17:04,

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS. The President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and his delegation visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vahe Gevorgyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations Mher Margaryan and the UN Armenia Acting Resident Coordinator Lila Pieters Yahia accompanied Abdulla Shahid.

Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Director Harutyun Marutyan presented the history of the three cross-stones erected in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial’s territory which are dedicated to the memory of the Armenians who were killed during the ethnic cleansings perpetrated in the territory of Azerbaijan against the Armenian population in the end of the previous century.

Abdulla Shahid laid a wreath at the Armenian Genocide memorial and flowers at the Eternal Flame, observing a moment of silence in the memory of the 1,5 million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide.

The delegation then visited the Armenian Genocide Museum.

UNGA President Abdulla Shahid signed the honorary guest book.

Director Harutyun Marutyan presented books on the Armenian Genocide to the guest.

 11:54,

YEREVAN, JULY 14, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan sent a congratulatory letter to President of France Emmanuel Macron on the national day, the Presidential Office said.

The letter reads:

“I warmly congratulate you and the good people of France on the national day of the French Republic.

July 14 and the French Revolution marked a turning point in the world history and opened a new era of enlightenment, human rights and quality for the civilized world.

We highly value the sincere friendship and solidarity existing between the two countries and peoples and will continue making efforts for the development and expansion of the Armenian-French unique relations.

I am confident that we will register new achievements together in the near future by implementing the provisions of the Armenian-French Economic Cooperation Roadmap 2021-2026.

Armenia highly appreciates the high-level political dialogue between our countries and attaches importance to the engagement of France as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country in the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Once again congratulating you on this occasion, I wish you good health and success in all your initiatives, and peace and welfare to the friendly people of France”.