MNA ready to fly off-shore

YANGON  Myanmar National Airlines will launch its first overseas flights from Yangon to Singapore starting this August.
Irrawaddy media reported that the airline will start services to four other cities in the region by early 2016. But the report did not identify possible destinations.
Bangkok is obviously one, and other possibilities are Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong to cover the major gateway airports of Asia.
The airline intends to use the first of 10 leased 737-800s to add capacity on some of its 26 domestic routes, while developing an overseas network for the first time in decades.
inside no 1MNA CEO, Than Tun, was quoted as saying: “With these beautiful, leading-edge aircraft we will create a premier airline that will be the undisputed leader in the country, the rival of others in the region as well as sharing the spirit of Myanmar with the world.”
Last year, the company signed a lease agreement for six Boeing 737-800s and four 737 Max aircraft valued at USD960 million with GE Civil Aviation Services.
The deliver of the first Boeing 737 in the airline’s new livery was announced during the Paris Air Show.
MNA, formerly called Myanma Airways, was rebranded in 2014 and is now authorised to operate both domestic and international routes. The airline currently has the largest domestic network in Myanmar that was developed during decades of military rule, when it enjoyed a monopoly.
Its first international route will bring MNA into competition with two other local carriers serving Singapore. Myanmar Airways International (MAI), owned by KBZ Chairman Aung Ko Win, serves seven international destinations including Singapore. Golden Myanmar Airlines, owned by CB Bank’s chairman, Khin Maung Aye, serves Singapore and Bangkok, the report said.
Myanmar National Airlines has its roots in Union of Burma Airways founded in 1948. Initially offering only domestic routes, it later expanded to service Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Singapore, but those routes were suspended in the early 1990s due to the airline’s poor management, safety issues and its inability to compete effectively with airlines from neighbouring countries.

sourced:ttrweekly.com