Air company “Armenia” restarts the traditional Yerevan‒Beirut‒Yerevan regular direct flights from April 19. The air company’s deputy director, Gevorg Khachatryan dwelt on it in details.
“We have been conducting regular direct flights to Beirut for three years already. This year the flights will start from April 19. In April and May, the air company will conduct one flight to Beirut per week, and from May to October, the frequency of flights will triple, owing to the rising demand of passengers in the Lebanon market. Although Lebanon is historically considered a country with a big Armenian diaspora, interestingly, the majority of the passengers are foreigners ‒ Arab passengers.
The air company also has a very flexible pricing policy. Approximately three years ago, when the route wasn’t exploited by the air company, the round-trip air tickets to Beirut ranged in price from 500 to 600 euros. The appearance of our company in the Lebanon market gives the passenger an opportunity to purchase an air ticket at a considerably reduced price: it begins approximately from 300 USD for a round-trip and from 120 USD for a one-way ticket. Besides, a great deal of work is being carried out with tour agencies in both Armenia and in Lebanon to provide a big flow of passengers in both directions. Together with the local tour agencies and hotels, we are trying to offer interesting packages to travel to Lebanon and packages for the Lebanese passengers to travel to Armenia that might still be an undiscovered touristic zone for them. It’s a new project that will hopefully succeed and provide the passengers with the opportunity to travel from Yerevan to Beirut and back at competitive prices especially in summer, since Beirut is famous not only for its wonderful seashores, but also for its numerous historical and cultural values and entertainment venues that are just as good as the famous tourist areas of Europe and the Middle East.
Apart from passenger transportation, Air company “Armenia” provides cargo transportation. Currently we are busy with increasing the trade volume between Lebanon and Armenia and examining the Lebanese market to understand what Armenian products have high consumer demand. At the same time, we are establishing connections with all the businessmen who are interested in the Armenia‒Lebanon trade for more competitive and accessible prices for cargo transportation. We are also planning a business forum between the businessmen of the two countries as a supporting party, thus promoting the strengthening of the business relations between Armenia and Lebanon that will result in both the businessmen’s and the air company’s benefit.”
Conversation was provided by Nelli Kostandyan,
Photos by Vaghinak Ghazaryan