Türkiye’s Southwind postpones Russia launch date

Tajik Air eyes restart in late 3Q23, ridicules debts

Armenian Airlines linked to Russia's Pegas Turistik - report

Armenian investigative website Hetq claims it has evidence Armenian Airlines (JI, Yerevan) has ties to Russian tour operator Pegas Turistik, which also controls Nordwind Airlines, Ikar (Russian Federation), and Southwind Airlines.

The airline denied the report when approached by ch-aviation.

"Armenian Airlines LLC has nothing to do with Pegas Turistik," the carrier's spokesperson said.

The Armenian start-up was founded by Ararat Sargsyan, who, until January 2023, was also the company's sole shareholder. Sargsyan also owns Alliance Air (Armenia), a company founded in 2014 which never began operations as an airline but remains the GSA of Nordwind Airlines in Armenia.

Sargsyan is said to have sold off a total 90% stake to Mikhail Asriyan (19%), the founder of Pegas Turistik's Armenian affiliate Arion Tour, Bulgarian citizen Rosen Boyanov (24%), who owns the Ukrainian travel agency PGS Travel and who used to be the marketing director of Pegas Turistik, and Swiss citizen Oz Yakupkhanogullarindan, a member of the Board of Directors of Pegas Turistik, with a 25% stake.

Hermine Hovhannisyan, an...

US temporarily lifts sanctions on Russia's Pegas Touristik

Türkiye's Southwind Airlines takes first B777-300

Southwind Airlines (2S, Antalya) took delivery of its first B777-300 and inducted it into revenue service on June 27, 2023.

TC-GRY (msn 32327) is a 19-year-old aircraft formerly in service with Moldova's Fly Pro (FP, Chisinau). It was ferried from maintenance at Bodrum Milas to Antalya on June 27 and operated its first revenue flight - to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion - on the same day. It has since operated exclusively between Antalya and Düsseldorf, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The airline says on its website that it will operate four B777-300s, all of them in a single-class layout seating up to 550 passengers. TC-GRZ (msn 33501) is set to be its first B777-300(ER). The ex-Azur Air (ZF, Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo) aircraft is in maintenance at Cairo International airport, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows. The carrier will also be adding another B777-300, VP-BKU (msn 33376), to be TC-GRU, which is undergoing maintenance at Antalya airport. The identity of TC-GRV is unknown. The airline...