With two additional daily flights to Yangon and the launch of weekly services to Mandalay, low cost carrier AirAsia will become this winter the second largest international carrier in Myanmar in seats capacity.
Myanmar’s opening to the world could not remain unnoticed for too long by strategic planners of Asia’s largest low cost airlines group, AirAsia.
The carrier has been flying now to Yangon for a couple of years offering for the time being two daily flights out of Bangkok and one daily flight out of Kuala Lumpur. Currently AirAsia offers on the Yangon market 10,800 seats per month with an Airbus A320, all-economy class. From October, the carrier group will step up its presence by adding a massive 13,656 additional seats: 2,856 seats will be attributed to the new route between Bangkok and Mandalay while one more daily flight will be offered out of Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to Yangon.
This injection in seats will make AirAsia the second largest carrier to and from Myanmar. According to data from IATA SRS Analyser (reported planning on August 20, 2012) total seat capacities next November by AirAsia and Thai AirAsia will reach 28,776 seats on 167 flights.
The AirAsia Group will then come very close to the capacities offered by the country’s own international flagship carrier Myanmar Airways International. According to IATA SRS Analyzer, MAI will provide 28,800 seats on a monthly basis for 192 flights to six destinations next November.
AirAsia new KL flight will provide opportunity to fly for a day out of Malaysia and come back in the evening while the Thai AirAsia flight will provide possibilities to further connections in Bangkok, although the airline will move back to the old Don Muang Airport which will only welcome AirAsia international flights for the time being. Thai AirAsia was the first among AirAsia subsidiaries to fly the route, starting in 2006 while AirAsia Bhd in Malaysia opened its Kuala Lumpur frequency back to July 2010.
There is no confirmation or information provided by AirAsia about it. But looking at the strategy of the airline in the past and its recent difficulties to secure an affiliate in India or in Vietnam, the Red-white-tail budget carrier is certainly already studying opportunities to enter into the Myanmar air market with its own affiliate. It would then help AirAsia to secure its development towards Western Asia and integrate perfectly well into the group’s fast expansion…
Myanmar will see an influx of new air frequencies this winter season with Thai Airways, Vietnam Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Asiana, Eva Air, Qatar Airways, China Southern and BIMAN being back to Yangon. According to a study done by Routes, many other international carriers used to fly to Yangon in the past. It included Austrian Airlines (Lauda Air), Lao Airlines, Pakistan Airlines and Royal Brunei among others.
Table: Comparison of flights and seats’ capacity in November 2012 for the AirAsia Group and Myanmar Airways International (MAI)
| AirAsia Group | Org | Dst | Flights | Seats |
| AK | KUL | RGN | 60 | 10,8 |
| FD | DMK | MDL | 17 | 2,856 |
| FD | DMK | RGN | 90 | 15,12 |
| TOTAL | 167 | 28,776 | ||
| MAI | Org | Dst | Flights | Seats |
| 8M | BKK | RGN | 60 | 9 |
| 8M | CAN | RGN | 13 | 1,95 |
| 8M | KUL | RGN | 22 | 3,3 |
| 8M | PNH | RGN | 12 | 1,8 |
| 8M | SIN | RGN | 73 | 10,95 |
| 8M | REP | RGN | 12 | 1,8 |
| TOTAL | 192 | 28,8 | ||
| (Source: SRS Analyzer 08-12) | ||||
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
