news: September 2012 Archives

Ever wanted to fly on a VIP jet, but held back due to the cost? How about flying on one at commercial airline fares? That is what seemingly Armavia is planning to offer on its soon to be resumed Yerevan - Tbilisi service.

 The Armenian flag carrier will resume service to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, from Yerevan, effective 24th September. As per the GDS availability information at the moment, the airline plans to utilize its Yakovlev Yak-42 aircraft on the route - and the aircraft will have 27 seats on board.

And that exactly fits the sepcifications of EK-42470, the VIP configuration Yak-42 in Armavia's fleet. The aircraft in fact is the only Yak-42 in Armavia's fleet, making this change no mistake.

The new service is scheduled to operate twice weekly, on Mondays and Fridays, with the following schedule.

U8021 EVN TBS 0800 0845

U8022 TBS EVN 0930 1015

Photo copyright Vsevolod Aladyshkin

It is not yet known whether Armavia has reconfigured its Yak-42. But this appears unlikely as this particular aircraft type usually carries close to 100 passengers. As of the latest available information, the VIP configured Yak-42's seating arrangement was as follows

• Rest room of the main passenger: 2 seats
• Main lounge: 11 seats
• Cabin for negotiations: 8 seats
• Cabin for attendants: 6 seats

And the aircraft is outfitted with a complete VIP interior, as seen in the below photos, released officially by Armavia.

 It appears that Armavia is hoping to capture some business traffic on this route - and the passengers would certainly love the amentites for a 45 minute flight. However it remains to be seen, how successful would this attempt be, on a commercial scale.

Bringing an end to long standing rumours, Qantas and Emirates today announced an extensive cooperation agreement - initially aimed at a term of 10 years.
The agreement, subject to regulatory approval, and planned to commence in the next IATA Summer season (April 2013) will see a broad range of initiatives to integrate the two airlines' networks, pricing, sales as well as a 'benefit-sharing model' in the subject regions.
The key elements of the cooperation will include
- Codesharing of the two airlines' flights between Australia and Europe, and Southeast Asia
- Qantas moving its hub for European flights to Dubai, from Singapore
- Qantas to withdraw its flights to Frankfurt
- Qantas to launch daily each Sydney - Dubai - London Heathrow and Melbourne - Dubai - London Heathrow services on board Airbus A380 equipment
- Qantas to gain access to Dubai Airport's Terminal 3, becoming the only foreign carrier to be able to do so
- 17 year old Joint Business Agreement with British Airways to be terminated effective 31st March 2013
- Codeshare agreements with Air France to Paris, and Cathay Pacific to Rome, to be terminated
- Qantas' Asian services to be re-timed to offer more intra-Asia connectivity options as opposed to Asia - Europe connectivity
- Frequent flyer programmes to be integrated, allowing members of each programme to earn points on the other airline
- The two airlines to cooperatively operate 14 daily services between Australia and Dubai

There will be no equity exchange between the two airlines. The agreement will see Qantas gaining access to over 70 of Emirates' Europe, Africa & Middle East destinations and Emirates will gain access to Qantas' extensive domestic network of over 50 destinations.

The move comes in the wake of Emirates's arch-rival Etihad Airways strengthening its similar strategic partnership with Qantas' arch-rival Virgin Australia, after increasing Etihad's ownership in Virgin Australia.

Bringing an end to long standing rumours, Qantas and Emirates today announced an extensive cooperation agreement - initially aimed at a term of 10 years.
The agreement, subject to regulatory approval, and planned to commence in the next IATA Summer season (April 2013) will see a broad range of initiatives to integrate the two airlines' networks, pricing, sales as well as a 'benefit-sharing model' in the subject regions.