MYANMAR Airways International (MAI) will launch daily flights between Mandalay and Bangkok using 180-seat Airbus A320 from March 31, marking its second international service from Mandalay after Gaya in north-east India.
The flight will depart Bangkok at 06.30 and arrive at Mandalay International Airport at 07.55. The return flight will depart Mandalay at 08.35 and arrive in Bangkok at 11.00.
“This Mandalay-Bangkok route will be our second international direct flight from Mandalay. We also have plans to fly to Singapore from Mandalay but only after launching this Bangkok route,” said Aye Mra Tha, a MAI spokesperson, adding that demand for flights to and from Mandalay is “really high”.
Until recently, the only international flights to Mandalay were from southern China. In October 2012, Thai AirAsia introduced four weekly services to Mandalay from Bangkok (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 15, 2012) and on January 11 the service was upgraded to daily.
Bangkok Airways will operate four weekly flights to Mandalay from September (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 7, 2013), while Thai Airways International (THAI) is considering servicing the Mandalay route through its regional carrier, THAI Smile.
Meanwhile, new low-cost carrier Golden Myanmar Airlines also has plans to launch flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong from Mandalay.
