BAGDASAROV: EVEN GREATER CRISIS IN AVIATION INDUSTRY IN WINTER

ARKA
Sep 29, 2009

YEREVAN, September 29 / ARKA /. The crisis in the aviation industry
will be even greater in the winter, according to CEO of Mika Limited,
owner of Armavia Company Mikhail Bagdasarov.

"I think the problems will not end, but will increase in winter. We
need to be careful, because the crisis could strike at any moment,"
he told the reporters at the presentation of the new aircraft CRJ-200
Bombardier.

According to him, today, with few exceptions, all airlines will
be suffering, and the reason is that because of the crisis, people
are less likely to fly, which means to carry them there are enough
available aircrafts.

"If plants do not produce new aircraft, if no one buys at the Air Show,
then there is a crisis in the aviation industry," he said.

According to Bagdasarov, we can talk about getting out of the crisis
only when the sales will go up and aircraft factories will begin to
receive orders, and thus, have new jobs.

He also noted that effective work can be done in a crisis. As an
example, he cited his own company, which has recorded growth of
passenger traffic by 11% as of today.

In addition, the company acquires new aircrafts. In particular, these
days the Armavia Park was filled with aircraft CRJ-200 Bombardier,
which will fly to Minvodi, Stavropol, Voronezh, Zurich, Athens
and Rome.

Armavia is a member of the In ternational Association of Air Transport
(IATA).

Armavia Air Company LLC is the national air carrier of Armenia.

The company was founded in 1996.

The carrier is based in Zvartnots Airport, Yerevan. It operates about
250 flights a month in 30 directions to former Soviet republics,
Middle East and Europe. In 2008, it flew 647,000 people. Its fleet
comprises Ð~P-319 (3), Ð~P-320 (2), Boeing 737-300, CRJ-200 and
ТУ-134 aircrafts.