Myanmar int'l airline to launch Mandalay-Bangkok flight in October

The Myanmar Airways International ( MAI) will launch a new route of direct flight from Myanmar's second largest city of Mandalay to Thai capital city of Bangkok in October, local media reported Friday.

In addition to the Mandalay-Bangkok air route, the airline will also increase its flight frequency to Singapore, China's Guangzhou, Cambodia's Siem Reap and Phnom Penh in the same month, said the Myanmar Post Global News.

The airline will also increase flight frequency with the Yangon- Gaya route, it said, adding that two more new A-320 aircraft will be added to the existing four A-320 aircraft.

An extra flight a week to Singapore will be added on Oct. 1 while flights to Gaya and Siem Reap, which were suspended, will be resumed in October for winter schedule.

MAI is now known as a joint venture between the state-owned Myanmar Airways and the private Royal Myanmar Transport Co., which was transformed from that with a Singapore-based company -- Jester Asia in 1993.

The share of the Jester Asia was taken up by the Royal Myanmar Transport Co. Besides the MAI flying internationally as Myanmar's national flag carrier, there are also 13 foreign airlines flying Yangon.

More int'l airlines to expand flights to Myanmar

More international airlines, including carriers from Europe and East Asia, will expand flights to Myanmar, local media reported Tuesday.

Existing international operators are eyeing flights to Nay Pyi Taw, Bagan and Mandalay, said the Myanmar Times News.

Thai Air Asia, which currently operates a twice-daily service to Yangon, will extend services to the three cities late this year.

South Korean Air plans to launch a four-time-a-week service between Seoul and Yangon starting Sept. 3.

Myanmar Airways International also plans flights between Bangkok and Mandalay by early 2013.

Meanwhile, the All Nippon Airways (ANA) is making preparation to resume direct flight between Tokyo and Yangon in September after an interval of 12 years.

The airline will operate Narita-Yangon-Narita three times a week and the charter flight of Tokyo-Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw-Yangon- Hanoi-Tokyo will also be launched by using Boeing 767.

Moreover, Qatar Airways, which had suspended its flight for nearly four years since 2008, will also resume flights between Yangon and Doha by Oct. 3, with three flights a week and the schedule will change to a daily service on Oct.28.

Flights between Yangon and the Philippino capital Manila are expected to be launched by the end of this year.

Furthermore, German leisure carrier Condor also plans to enter the Yangon market in November with a weekly service from Frankfurt to Yangon.

Myanmar plans second airport to serve Yangon

YANGON, Myanmar - (AP) -- Myanmar called upon local and foreign investors Monday to fund construction of a second airport to serve the country's largest city, Yangon, as it prepares for an influx of tourists in the wake of political reforms.

Tin Naing Tun, the head of the Civil Aviation Department, said the planned Hanthawaddy International Airport will cover 9,000 acres (3,642 hectares), an area nine times the size of Yangon International Airport.

Under reformist President Thein Sein, Myanmar has released political prisoners and allowed a measure of democracy and press freedom, reducing its international isolation. The government hopes to develop Myanmar's tourist industry into a major money earner.

Hanthawaddy will be the country's fourth airport capable of handling international flights, after Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw. It will be located about 48 miles (77 kilometers) north of Yangon, near the city of Bago.

Tin Naing Tun said Bago was found to be the most suitable location among nine considered. Construction of a new airport there started in 1994 but stopped in 2003. However, 80 percent of the earth work has already been completed, he said. Bago used to host a small airstrip used by the Japanese armed forces during World War II.

Tin Naing Tun said construction will start in June 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in 2016.

"We are inviting investors to build the new airport to serve the larger number of passengers and to encourage private sector participation," Tin Naing Tun said.

Yangon International Airport, which has undergone several overhauls in recent years, can handle 2.7 million passengers annually. Only 17 planes can park at the airport at the same time, according to civil aviation deputy director Nweni Win Kyaw.

Before Hanthawaddy's development was shelved in 2003, it was envisaged the airport would handle 10 million passengers a year.

KOREAN AIR TO FLY DIRECTLY TO MYANMAR

South Korea's top airline Korean Air will run direct flights between Yangon and Seoul, the airlines announced.

The airline resumed the flights to Myanmar more than 10 years after pausing it flights in 1990 to help travelers reducing the flight time to six hours.

The flights between Myanmar’s commercial hub and the fourth largest foreign investor in Myanmar starts on 13 July.

MAI is also preparing the direct flights to Korea and Hong Kong.

Also, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Hong Kong, Pakistani, Japanese and Qatar airlines are also operating direct flights to Myanmar.

Qatar Airways to Burma in 2012

Qatar Airways announced further expansion of its international network with five new passenger routes direct from the airline’s Doha hub. In Doha, the new Doha International Airport is set to open at the end of the year. From Doha, Qatar Airways will, just like Lufthansa, return to former capital Yangon in Burma after a four-year absence due to political changes and uprising dissatisfaction of the Burmese people. From October 2012, Qatar Airways will offer 3 flights a week to Yangon using an Airbus A319.

"Today's announcement reflects the importance Qatar Airways places on expanding its portfolio of passenger and cargo destinations, and offer more frequency on existing routes to provide more choice, more flexibility and more options," said Al Baker, addressing a packed press conference in Berlin. Qatar Airways has seen growth in 15 years of operation, currently operating a fleet of 105 aircraft to 112 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.