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Armenian National Airline Armavia Goes Bankrupt, Grounds Flights
Bloomberg.com
Mar 29, 2013
By Sara Khojoyan
Armenian businessmen Mikayel Baghdasarov's Armavia, the country's only
carrier, declared bankruptcy today and will cease flights starting
April 1.
The company founded in 1996 was unable to pay debt accumulated to the
Zvartnots airport in Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and to its
contractors, Armavia said in an e-mailed statement today. The total
debt was less than $50 million, Baghdasarov told the Arminfo news
service on March 15.
Europe's debt crisis has curbed travel and made governments reluctant
to prop up airlines amid the region's deepest cost cuts in a
generation. Hungary's Malev folded in February 2012, while LOT Polish
Airlines SA last week said it needs a =80=9Cpainful' cost-cutting
program to stay afloat. Aerosvit, Ukraine's biggest private airline,
entered bankruptcy in December.
Armavia's owners have been diverting funds from other businesses to
fund the airline in the past three years, the company said in its
statement.
Armavia has 14 aircraft and was the first operator of Sukhoi's
Superjet 100.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Khojoyan in Yerevan at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at
[email protected]
From: Baghdasarian
Bloomberg.com
Mar 29, 2013
By Sara Khojoyan
Armenian businessmen Mikayel Baghdasarov's Armavia, the country's only
carrier, declared bankruptcy today and will cease flights starting
April 1.
The company founded in 1996 was unable to pay debt accumulated to the
Zvartnots airport in Yerevan, Armenia's capital, and to its
contractors, Armavia said in an e-mailed statement today. The total
debt was less than $50 million, Baghdasarov told the Arminfo news
service on March 15.
Europe's debt crisis has curbed travel and made governments reluctant
to prop up airlines amid the region's deepest cost cuts in a
generation. Hungary's Malev folded in February 2012, while LOT Polish
Airlines SA last week said it needs a =80=9Cpainful' cost-cutting
program to stay afloat. Aerosvit, Ukraine's biggest private airline,
entered bankruptcy in December.
Armavia's owners have been diverting funds from other businesses to
fund the airline in the past three years, the company said in its
statement.
Armavia has 14 aircraft and was the first operator of Sukhoi's
Superjet 100.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Khojoyan in Yerevan at
[email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at
[email protected]
From: Baghdasarian