Air Myanmar was a proposed international airline to be based in Yangon, Burma, a joint venture between Myanma Airways and foreign investors.[1] The venture was established in 2004 and shut down in 2005.[2]
[edit] Plans and failure
On 29 September 2003 it was reported that Air Myanmar, a joint venture by Myanma Airways and companies in Burma, France and Singapore was planning to begin chartered international cargo and passenger flights by the end of the year. The partners were Dawn Light Company, an oil trading business, France-based Cathay Aviation Ltd, and a Singapore company, Fast Growth Associates Ltd. The airline planned to operate an Airbus 300 on medium-haul routes and a Boeing 767 on longer flights.[3] In December 2003 it was reported that the plans of United Air Myanmar to start operations seemed to be delayed, although staff of the airway had started work at their office.[4] In July 2004, the Asian Tribune announced that the joint venture between shareholders of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific airline and the Myanmar Ministry of Transport would soon launch international flights.[5]
On 28 July 2004 The Myanma Airways of the Ministry of Transport and its partners signed an agreement to launch the Air Myanmar Line, with an address by Minister for Transport Major General Hla Myint Swe.[6] In August 2004 the Myanmar Times said that the international service would be launched by the end of the year, with two routes. One would be from Yangon to Sydney via Singapore using an Airbus A310-300, and the other would be a four-leg route between Yangon and Bangkok, Shanghai, Seoul and Fukuoka using an Airbus A300-600. The company said 65 female cabin crew had already been trained and another 57 female and 21 male cabin crew were being trained. The company was discussing aircraft registration and certificates with the Department of Aviation.[7] An October 2005 report from Xinhua News Agency said that Air Myanmar was flying international routes.[8]
The international Air Myanmar service was a failed project, starting in 2004 and ending in 2005.[2] Air Myanmar was not created because it was a cost-effective means of travel, or to appease pressure groups, but because the government felt that a modern state had to have a national airline.[9]
[edit] References
