Yangon Airways

Yangon Airways Ltd. (Burmese: ရန်ကုန် လေကြောင်းလိုင်း) is an airline based in Yangon, Myanmar, offering scheduled and chartered domestic flights out of its bases at Yangon International Airport. It was suspended from December 2010 but has since restarted operations starting from 16 October 2011.

Yangon Airways was listed by the United States Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.^[1] Under United States federal law, Americans are prohibited from doing business with individuals or entities listed as an SDN. Yangon Airways was designated by OFAC in 2008 after having been acquired by notorious drug traffickers of the United Wa State Army.^[2]

History

Yangon Airways was established in October 1996 as a domestic airline in a joint venture between Myanma Airways, the state owned flag carrier in Myanmar, and Krong-Sombat Company of Thailand. The airline bases its headquarters and maintenance station in Yangon. In October 1997, the current owner of the airline acquired the share of the Thai company, and then acquired the share of the Myanma Airways in 2005. Thereafter, the airline became a fully privately owned airline in Myanmar. The airline then evolved into a principal domestic service carrier, operating schedule and charter flight services from Yangon to 13 prime commercial and tourist destinations in Myanmar. During the past three years, Yangon Airways has been progressively gaining market share; it has about 37% in 2007 and increased to 41% in 2008. Due to the market demand and popularity of the airline, it has a good potential growth in the future.

As one of the main domestic airlines of the Union of Myanmar, Yangon Airways operate regular flights to Nay Pyi Taw (Capital City of Myanmar), Bagan, Mandalay, Heho (Inle Lake), Kyaing Tong, Tachileik, Myitkyina, Thandwe (Ngapali Beach), Sittway, Dawei, Myeik, Kawthaung, Lashio and charter flights to Bhamo, Putao, Kalay and others from main hub at Yangon International airport.

Destinations

Inflight cabin view aboard a Yangon Airways flight

Yangon Airways operated scheduled flights to the following domestic destinations:

• Bagan – Nyaung U Airport
• Dawei – Dawei Airport
• Heho – Heho Airport
• Kawthaung – Kawthaung Airport
• Kengtung – Kengtung Airport
• Mandalay – Mandalay International Airport base
• Myeik – Myeik Airport
• Myitkyina – Myitkyina Airport
• Naypyidaw – Naypyidaw International Airport
• Tachilek – Tachilek Airport
• Yangon – Yangon International Airport main base
• Pathein – Pathein Airport
• Mawlamyaing – Mawlamyaing Airport
• Bago – Hanthawaddy International Airport
• Putao – Putao Airport
• Khamti – Khamti Airport

Fleet

A Yangon Airways ATR 72

The Yangon Airways fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of August 2016):^[3]

For a short period in early 2001, a single ATR 42 was operated. In middle of 2013, Yangon Airways bought ATR 72-500 aircraft^[4]

References

Airlines of Myanmar
Domestic Airlines	Air Bagan Air KBZ Air Mandalay Asian Wings Airways Apex Airlines FMI Air Golden Myanmar Airlines Mann Yadanarpon Airlines Myanmar National Airlines Yangon Airways
International Airlines	Golden Myanmar Airlines Myanmar Airways International Myanmar National Airlines
Low-cost Airlines	Golden Myanmar Airlines