DISASTER-HIT ARMENIAN CARRIER REPLACES DOOMED AIRBUS PLANES

Agence France Presse — English
May 18, 2006 Thursday 11:18 AM GMT

Armenian airline Armavia, which lost two of its Airbus planes in
accidents this month, took delivery of a replacement aircraft on
Thursday and was due to acquire another shortly, its press department
said.

One of Armavia’s doomed planes plunged into the Black Sea off Russia
for reasons that are still unclear, killing 113 people. The other
was destroyed in a fire at Brussels airport.

Thursday’s acquisition is a nearly new Airbus 319, manufactured in
2004, which has seen one year of service in the United States. It
arrived at Yerevan airport from Mexico, where it had been serviced,
the company said.

Armavia is due to take delivery of an Airbus 320 soon.

The remainder of its fleet consists of two other Airbus 319s, another
Airbus 320 and two Russian Yak 42s.