AirAsia expands in Myanmar
June 26, 2012 by Rapeepat Mantanarat
Filed under Aviation, Mekong Region, Myanmar, News
BANGKOK, 26 June 2012: Thai AirAsia confirms it will start services to Nay Pyi Daw, Bagan and Mandalay in Myanmar by the end of this year.
Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, said on the sidelines of a press conference, yesterday, that the airline would start flying to Myanmar’s capital and two heritage destinations in the fourth quarter of this year.
“We have asked to fly to Nay Pyi Daw as well as to Mandalay and Bagan…There should not be a problem; it just about documentation,” he said.
Tassapon Bijleveld
The carrier should be able to operate a daily service to the capital, but fewer services to Mandalay and Bagan.
It operates a twice daily service to Yangon at present.
Travel to Myanmar is robust following the lifting of sanctions. Hotels in Yangon have doubled or even tripled their rates due to the influx of businessmen and tourists, while there is a growing demand for more air services. Myanmar International Airways as well as other regional players are adding new air links as well.
In the Mekong region, Thai AirAsia still lacks a service to Laos and will have to wait until 2015 for the full ASEAN open skies policy to come into play.
Mr Tassapon said the airline could get permission to fly to Luang Prabang, Pakse and Savanhnakhet, but it was only interested in the capital city.
