Georgian Airways Celebrates 25th Anniversary

On October 16, Georgian Airways celebrated its 25th anniversary. The airline held a grand jubilee event in the celebration hall of Wellness Resort ‘Bioli.’

The anniversary evening was attended by members of the government, Diplomatic Corps, international partners of Georgian Airways and representatives of various companies, including Embraer, Lufthansa Technik, Boeing, Airbus, IATA, Air Lease Corporation, Nordic Aviation Capital, and SMBC Aviatio, who arrived in Georgia especially to celebrate the anniversary of the airline.

During the event, Givi Davitashvili, Director General of Georgian Airways, summed up the 25-year service of the airline.

“This year, Georgian Airways celebrates its 25th anniversary. This is a very important jubilee for us, as there are only a few airlines in the Post-Soviet space that have been operating for so long, especially when this airline is already such a well-known and safe brand and always offers customers innovations and new developments. The airline started operating in 1993 under the name of Airzena. In 2004, we rebranded and since then, the airline has continued operating as Georgian Airways. During this period, the airline had to face a lot of obstacles and challenges, but there were a lot of victories as well. Now, more than 20 direct flights are carried out worldwide by Georgian Airways and to almost all European countries,” he told the audience.

When asked about the biggest achievements of the company during its 25 years, he stated that being a safe and trustworthy airline is the most important thing for Georgian Airways.

“The company’s main achievement is that today it is a widely known brand and has already gained a high reputation among customers around the globe. Most importantly, it is known as a safe airline and safety is our main priority,” he said.

As for the future plans of the airline, Davitashvili noted that Georgian Airways is collaborating with internationally acclaimed brands and is going to bring new aircraft from them. Moreover, the company is planning to add new directions to its flights.

“The company is constantly upgrading. This year, we added two modern airplanes to our service. In November, we are going to renovate the aviation park with new Boeings. We have already signed a contract on delivering five modern aircraft with our partner company Boeing, and from the next year, we are going to add a few new directions to our flights, mostly to Europe, and offer our customers an even more diverse service,“ he said.

Martin A. Bentrott, Senior Vice President of the airline’s partner company Boeing, congratulated Georgian Airways on its anniversary and stressed the importance of their collaboration.

“We are proud to be here today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Georgian Airways. The Boeing Company has been a partner of Georgian Airways since 2000, so, for 18 years, Boeing has played a role in the successful operation of the airline. We hope that this partnership will continue for many years with the additional Boeing aircrafts, and we wish the airline great success in the future,” he said.

Eckart Gwilids, sales manager of Lufthansa Technik, which is also a long-time partner of Georgian Airways, also ccongratulated the airline on this important date.

“Our partnership started almost 20 years ago, in 1999. We congratulate them as our reliable partner on this anniversary and wish them a successful operation in future,” he said.

Georgian Airways created the history of Georgian aviation. The airline was founded in 1993 as Airzena. Initially, only charter flights were performed. Airzena became the national airline of Georgia in 1999. In 2004, Airzena continued operation under the name Georgian Airways.

18 direct flights are carried out worldwide by Georgian Airways. It is the leader in the region as a charter flight operator (having performed more than 250 charter flights over the years). The airline owns 14% of Georgia's aviation market with a 1-2% annual growth. At present, the Georgian Airways airbase has three Boeing 737-700 / 800s, three Embraer 190s one Embraer 195, and one Bombardier CRJ.

By Ana Dumbadze