Armenian Airlines was the state-owned flag carrier of Armenia from 1991 until 2003.
Armenian Airlines was established shortly after independence in 1991 from Aeroflot's Armenia directorate, and was the sole carrier in Armenia until 2002, when private companies Armenian International Airways and Armavia began to compete with it.
Profitable until 1997, Armenian Airlines began a decline in 1998 which executive director Arsen Avetisian blamed on the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Additionally, technical problems with its sole Airbus A310 helped lead the company towards financial problems. The company began to join forces with Belgian operator VG Airlines (later renamed Delsey Airlines); but the Belgian carrier had to file for bankruptcy on November 5, 2002. Armenian Airlines was reported to be looking for cooperation with Armenian International Airways to continue or restart its flights into Europe. When Armavia (which was owned by Siberia Airlines) entered into an agreement with the Armenian government and was granted most of Armenian Airlines' flight rights, including the lucrative Yerevan to Moscow route, Armenian Airlines was unable to recover, and officially declared bankruptcy on April 15, 2003.
Livery
Yakovlev Yak-40, registration EK-88167, built 1976, serial number 9610147 Lake Sevan, Chkalovka, Armenia, 12 June 2017
