Myanmar national carrier spreads its wings with international route

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Myanmar national carrier spreads its wings with international route

After a 22-year hiatus, Myanmar National Airlines will fly internationally with flights to Singapore in August, likely followed by flights to other foreign cities like Hong Kong and Taipei.

YANGON: Myanmar’s national carrier is flying international for the first time in 22 years, with Singapore its destination.

The Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) flight takes to the skies in August and will likely be followed by flights to other foreign cities like Hong Kong and Taipei.

With a brand new Boeing 737 the latest addition to the airline’s fleet of 10, along with five others still on order, the national carrier is hoping to expand internationally.

Despite a 22-year hiatus, MNA does not see well-established regional carriers at its main competition.

“We are not competing with the other airlines, we are the competition ourselves,” said Captain Than Tun, Myanmar National Airlines CEO. “Foreign tourist traffic to Myanmar is up by around 20 per cent. Next year, more are expected. We have to peg our strategy to that.”

Three million people visited Myanmar in 2014, and it expects to welcome five million tourists in 2015. With such positive growth rates, observers say MNA has the right components to go international.

Read more: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/myanmar-national-carrier/1919268.html