Comfort, reliability and affordability in one place: Fly Arna continues expanding geography of flights

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Just 30 minutes, and the aircraft of the Armenian national carrier Fly Arna will take you to Tbilisi.

This new destination of the airline is a good opportunity to spend your weekends in neighbor country Georgia, and it’s also a comfortable offer to those passengers who arrive from Moscow to Yerevan to leave for Georgia.

On October 30 reporters from Armenia departed for Georgia via the first flight of Fly Arna, Armenia’s national airline and a joint venture company betweenthe Armenian National Interests Fund(ANIF)and Air Arabia Group,to Tbilisi on a media tour. The Armenian atmosphere was everywhere in the aircraft, starting from the pilot who greeted in Armenian up to the flight attendants, and a menu offering Armenian dishes and drinks.

During the Yerevan-Tbilisi-Yerevan flight the journalists were convinced by their own experience that the seats of the aircraft of the low-cost airline were more comfortable compared to the ordinary economy class seats. The aircraft has 174 seats, the distance between them is 81 cm, which allows to place your legs comfortably during the flight. Moreover, the low-cost airline offers an additional service on the plane both during the short and long tours, free of charge, in order not to get bored. Thanks to a free in-flightstreaming service SkyTime passengers can watch movies and TV shows, listen to music and audiobooks (including in Armenian) during the flight. The company said that this Service will soon make provide interesting materials and videos telling about Armenia which will help the guests arriving in Armenia to get informed about the country already from the plane.

“We believe that our airline offers its passengers the best days and times for traveling in this direction. Flights are operated every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, which will allow the people to spend their weekends in Tbilisi, by leaving Yerevan on Friday and returning back on Sunday evening”, Fly Arna CEO Antony Price told reporters after cutting the red ribbon marking the launch of the first flight to Tbilisi.

Mr. Price calls this new destination a wonderful opportunity especially for those arriving from Moscow to Yerevan as the schedule of flights of Fly Arna on the route Moscow-Yerevan and Yerevan-Tbilisi enables passengers arriving from Moscow to immediately depart for Tbilisi from Yerevan.

Despite the short duration of the flight, just 30 minutes, the airline attaches importance to ensuring the comfort of the people. The company believes that in line with increasing the destinations, they will be able to offer passengers more flights connecting with Tbilisi.

Fly Arna follows the low-cost business model of Air Arabia Group, which doesn’t suppose low quality at all. The company says the airlines working with the low-cost business model are able to offer affordable tickets thanks to the cut in operational spending.

Fly Arna provides its passengers with an opportunity to select their comfort, by offering different classes of air tickets for persons with different priorities. The standard air tickets are for the passengers who do not need additional services, the flexible and premium tickets are for all those who want additional comfort during the flight, such as pre-ordered meals, additional baggage, free change or cancellation of the ticket. However, even the standard ticket price includes a 10kg hand luggage.

Another additional service offered by the airline is the AirRewards Loyalty Program. It’s the most generous loyalty program in the region, allowing passengers to earn points from each flight and use them later for buying a ticket, in-flight meal or baggage. It enables passengers to earn up to 10% Cashback.

As for the geography of flights operated by Fly Arna, at the moment the national carrier is operating flights to Moscow, Sochi, Sharm El Sheikh and Tbilisi. But the company assures that they are not limited to these directions and will continue increasing the number of flights. Fly Arna will soon announce new destinations, among which is Beirut.

“At the moment we are waiting for the schedule, and when it is approved, we will announce the frequency and times of the flights. I want to note that we will announce several new destinations by the end of this year. It’s really an important period for Fly Arna now, as major activities are being carried out on expanding the geography of flights”, the company CEO said.

Fly Arna is cooperating with around 500 travel agencies, as well as with the Tourism Committees of Armenia and Georgia.

“We have recently opened a new travel agency in Armenia, the Cozmo Travel, which partially belongs to Fly Arna. It is at a development stage at the moment and will soon offer tour packages for all directions where Fly Arna is operating flights”, Mr. Price said.

At the moment Fly Arna has two Airbus A320 aircrafts, but works are being done to acquire the third aircraft.

The Armenian journalists, who traveled to Tbilisi via Fly Arna, spent three days in the Georgian capital, visited the historical and cultural sites of Georgia, the ancient churches, as well as tasted Georgian dishes and wine. And the aircraft of Fly Arna, painted in the colors of the Armenian flag, brought back the reporters and also many foreigners from Tbilisi to Yerevan.

Anna Grigoryan