AirAisa ready to expand in Myanmar

AirAsia says Myanmar is now a potential market for airline business particularly after the ASEAN Economic Community era begins in 2015.
Thai AirAsia X CEO, Nadda Buranasiri, said over the past two years trade and travel between Thailand and Myanmar has expanded rapidly.
“Myanmar and the entire Mekong region are main markets for AirAsia where we will focus growth activities and add destinations to increase flight frequencies.”
He said the arrival of AEC will spur even faster growth in Myanmar.
“We believe that by creating a strong foundation, AirAsia will be able to maintain its leadership in the low-fare segment in Myanmar.”
Currently, AirAsia flies direct from Yangon to Bangkok twice daily, Yangon to Kuala Lumpur daily and Mandalay to Bangkok daily.
Thai AirAsia also provides, ex-Yangon, Fly Thru at Don Mueang to eight international destinations — Siem Reap, Chongqing, Jakarta, Wuhan, Macau, Singapore, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh, as well as to five Thai destinations; Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Hat Yai, Krabi and Phuket.
Fly Thru also takes travellers from Mandalay via Don Mueang Airport (DMK) to Phuket and Kuala Lumpur.
During January to May, this year, the Bangkok-Yangon route saw passenger traffic increase 15%, while Bangkok-Mandalay saw a 30% increase year-on-year, he said.
“Fly Thru service is the answer for customers, especially those wishing to travel to Myanmar, as it allows them to check-in their baggage just once and receive it at the end destination. They also pass through immigration just once and transfer through the airline’s DMK hub with no need for a transit visa.”
Regarding to the recently launched Thai AirAsia X’s Bangkok-Seoul service, Mr Nadda expected it to boost the number of tourists travelling between Myanmar and South Korea even though Seoul is not on the list of fly thru destinations.
“Over the past year, 63,470 Myanmar travellers made their way to South Korea. Thai AirAsia X hopes to provide these travellers with another choice to get to South Korea via a quick connection in Don Mueang that offers not only a comfortable price and convenience but also the opportunity to visit Thailand at the same time.”
Thai AirAsia X launched Bangkok-Seoul daily service, Tuesday, using an Airbus A330-300 plane able to seat 377 people; 12 business class seats and 365 economy class seats.

Sourced: ttrweekly