Tag Archives: aviation

BA cuts UK- Azerbaijan route as demand falls

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – British Airways will cut its route to Baku from April 29 because it has become unprofitable, another indication of the severity of the economic downturn that has hit Central Asia and the South Caucasus in general and Azerbaijan in particular.

Baku is BP’s major regional hub and British Airways had been flying six times a week direct to Baku from Heathrow. Its decision to cut the route, which has been serviced by a British airline since 1995, further cuts the region off from Europe.

Over the past three years, British Airways has cut routes to Bishkek, Tbilisi and Almaty. By stopping flights to Baku it pulls back from the region altogether.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

British Airways cuts flight to Azerbaijani capital, its final link with region

MARCH 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – British Airways will cut a 21-year-old route when it drops its six-times-a- week service to Baku from London.

It said that poor demand, linked to the sharp economic downturn that has engulfed the region in the past 18 months, has made the route unprofitable.

“We have taken the decision to suspend the London Heathrow to Baku route as it is no longer commercially viable,” a statement read.

“The final service from Heathrow will be on April 29, 2016 and the final service departing Baku will be on the same day.”

The London-Baku route is the last remaining BA flight into Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

It has slowly dropped the region’s capitals as destinations.

Yerevan and Bishkek were dropped in 2012, Tbilisi in 2013 and Almaty in 2014.

But symbolically, dropping Baku is more serious than any of the others. Baku is the centre of BP’s operations in the region which has always driven demand.

It was also a route that BA first flew in 1995, four years after the break up of the Soviet Union. It handed over to British Mediterranean Airways in 2003 before BMI took it on in 2007. BA then reclaimed the route in 2012.

As BA has dropped routes to Central Asia and the South Caucasus, though, regional airlines have stepped in. Air Astana now boasts it is the only airline that flies directly between London and Almaty/Astana.

Soon, Azerbaijan Airlines will be able to give the same boast on flights to Baku.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Editorial: British Airways and Azerbaijan

MARCH 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) -The economic downturn continues to hit Central Asia and the South Caucasus with British Airways now cancelling its London-Baku service.

But whether BA needs to quit the route altogether is questionable. Airlines keep a diversified portfolio of route because it is near impossible to second guess which routes will be profitable in a few year’s time.

The decision took many by surprise because of the strong presence of British business in Azerbaijan, most notably BP.

As oil prices fell dramatically in the past 20 months, airline companies have rallied on cheap fuel, but have also struggled to maintain links to countries negatively affected by the crisis.

In 2012, British Airways cut its route to Yerevan, the following year it cancelled regular flights to Bishkek and Tbilisi. Last October, the company quit its London-Almaty route.

The crisis, aside from hitting government budgets and people’s wallets, has contributed to cutting off further the region from the West.

ENDS

Editorial from Issue No. 272, published on March 18 2016)

Armenian airline makes maiden flight

MARCH 9 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia, a new low-cost airline, will make its maiden flight from Yerevan to Tel Aviv on April 21, media reported quoting Robert Hovhannisyan, one of the airlines shareholders. Speculation has been growing in Armenia about whether the low-cost airline will get off the ground. It biggest shareholder is Tamaz Gaiashvili, the founder of the Georgian Airzena airline.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)

New low- cost carrier to fly in Armenia

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia, a new low cost airline, will start flying in April, pending the approval of Armenia’s aviation committee. The owners of Georgia’s low cost airline Georgian Airways, Tamaz Gaiashvili and Robert Oganesian, own 49% of Armenia, while Ashot Torosyan, an Armenian businessman, owns 51% of the company. Armenia’s aviation sector has been in flux since Air Armenia was declared bankrupt in 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Government sells Air Kyrgyzstan

FEB. 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz government said it is ready to sell off a 49% stake in Air Kyrgyzstan, the national carrier, as part of the state privatisation programme. The government owns Air Kyrgyzstan through the state-owned Fund of State Property Management.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

Pegasus expoands to Azerbaijan

FEB. 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkish airline Pegasus said it will launch its new Istanbul-Gabala route to Azerbaijan on March 18. Pegasus will fly to the town of Gabala, in central Azerbaijan, three times a week.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

Azerbaijan’s AZAL to create low- cost carrier

FEB. 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Azerbaijan’s flagship airline AZAL will create a new low-cost company to service short-haul destinations in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Azaljet, the new airline will start operations on March 28.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 269, published on Feb. 26 2016)

Wizz Air expands to Georgia

FEB. 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air will expand its services to and from Kutaisi, Georgia’s second largest city, across Europe. Wizz Air has been flying from Poland to Kutaisi since 2012 but will now add routes to Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Milan, Larnaca in Cyprus and Sofia in Bulgaria. The extra routes will give tourism and business in Georgia a boost.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)

Thales signs radar deal with Georgia

FEB. 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – French technology company Thales signed 2m euro deal to upgrade Georgia’s radar systems. The deal means that Thales will inspect and maintain Georgia’s three main aviation radars over the next five years.

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(News report from Issue No. 268, published on Feb. 19 2016)