Thailand low cost carrier Nok Air is planning now to open its first international flights to Myanmar, serving secondary cities before moving into Yangon. The low cost carrier, which is so far flying only domestically within Thailand, is now looking to venture abroad. The carrier plans to launch flights to Mawlamyine, formerly known as Moulmein, from Thailand’s northwestern border city of Mae Sot.
BANGKOK- All the eyes are those days turned to Myanmar with an unprecedented boom in air transport. Myanmar is now served by 22 foreign carriers which account for about 80% of total capacity to and from the country. Some eght new carriers launched flights to the country between the end of 2012 and March 2013.
Soon it will also be the turn of Nok Air to start flying into Myanmar. The low cost carrier, which is so far flying only domestically within Thailand, is now looking to venture abroad. And Myanmar is likely to become its first international route.
The carrier plans to launch flights to Mawlamyine, formerly known as Moulmein, from Thailand’s northwestern border city of Mae Sot. No precise date has been provided so far but flights should start before July with two daily frequencies offered on a Saab340 turbo-prop aircraft. The choice of the turbo prop –with only 34 seats- seems to be the most appropriate.
According to the Bangkok Post, Nok Air applied for permission to operate on a charter basis from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) for the Mae Sot-Mawlamyine route. The carrier hopes to also propose two daily flights between Bangkok Don Mueang and Yangon in a Boeing 737-800, coming this October.
If traffic rights are provided from Burmese authorities, Nok Air will be the first foreign carrier to propose direct connections to and from Mawlamyine. The airline remains confident of the future success of the line: driving from Mae Sot to Mawlamyine can take up to nine hours in a car while only 15 minutes will be necessary to reach the resort destination in Myanmar.
The launch of the service will consolidate Nok Air’s position in Mae Sot, where it already operates flights to Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Nok Air is also spreading its wings to Ranong to face off with Happy Air, currently the sole airline serving the southern province bordering Myanmar and best known for its hot springs.
The budget airline will introduce a daily flight from Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport to Ranong on May 15, using a Saab 340 turboprop with 34 seats operated by Nok Mini, its smaller commuter airline.
Nok Air will b e in competition with a commuter carrier, Happy Air, which already operates daily flights to Ranong from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport.
Leisure traffic is expected to predominate on the Ranong flights due to the popular The province is a gateway to the Andaman Sea and is also considered as the main entry point to Myanmar’s casino resort of Victoria Point.
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.
