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Myanmar National Airlines

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Not to be confused with Myanmar Airways International.
Myanmar National Airlines
မြန်မာအမျိုးသားလေကြောင်း
IATA ICAO Call sign
UB[1] UBA[1] UNIONAIR
Founded15 September 1948; 76 years ago (1948-09-15)
(as Union of Burma Airways)
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programMNA Club
Fleet size11
Destinations36
Parent companyMinistry of Transport and Communications
HeadquartersYangon, Myanmar
Key peopleCapt. Khup Khan Mung (CEO)
RevenueIncrease$40.2 million
Operating incomeIncrease233,75 billion MMK(2022)
Net incomeIncrease14,141 billion MMK(2022)
Employees12,000
Websitewww.flymna.com
This article contains Burmese script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Burmese script.

Myanmar National Airlines (Burmese: မြန်မာအမျိုးသားလေကြောင်း), formerly Union of Burma Airways, Burma Airways, and Myanma Airways, is a state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Myanmar, based in Yangon.[2] Founded in 1948, the airline operates scheduled services to all major domestic destinations and to regional destinations in Asia. Its main base is Yangon International Airport.[3]

History

[edit]
Union of Burma Airways Boeing 727 at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport in 1974
Lineup of Burma Airways Fokker F27 at Yangon International Airport in 1982
Myanma Airways' Fokker F28-4000 at Yangon International Airport in 2005

The airline was founded by the government after independence on 15 September 1948, as the Union of Burma Airways (UBA). It initially operated domestic flights only, but added limited international services to neighboring destinations in 1950. In 1993, the airline withdrew from its international routes. After a 23-year absence, they relaunched international flights in 2016 with service to Singapore.[4] The name was changed to Burma Airways in December 1972, and to Myanma Airways on 1 April 1989, following the renaming of the country from Burma to Myanmar. International services of Myanma Airways have been made as a joint venture airline, Myanmar Airways International (MAI). Myanmar National Airlines is the majority shareholder of Joint Venture Company MAI, set up in 1993.[3] In 2003, it was proposed to set up a Myanmar-based airline for chartered international passenger and cargo flights, which was planned to be called Air Myanmar. What would have been a joint-venture between Myanma Airways and private investors was abandoned in 2005.[5] Myanmar National Airlines provides ground-handling services for other airlines' charter, scheduled and non scheduled flights.

In mid-2012, Myanma Airways ordered to lease two new Embraer 190AR from GE Civil Aviation Services Co. Ltd, that replaced its Fokker F-28 from November 2012.[6] On February 11, 2014, at the Singapore Airshow, Myanma Airways signed a $960 million deal with GECAS for four Boeing 737-800s and six Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The deal is the largest commercial sale by a U.S. company to Myanmar in decades and the largest single aircraft order in the history of Myanmar's aviation industry.[7]

In December 2014, Myanmar Airways rebranded itself as Myanmar National Airlines.

Following the arrival of its first Boeing 737-800 in June 2015, Myanmar National Airlines announced the resumption of international services after a 22-year hiatus to Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. International services resumed with the inaugural flight to Singapore on 19 August 2015.[8] Myanmar National Airlines then launched its second international service to Hong Kong on 4 December 2015 following the arrival of its second Boeing 737-800.[9] Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) sets to begin its flights between Yangon and Bangkok starting from February 20, 2016, marking Thailand as its third international destination.

Destinations

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Myanmar National Airlines Boeing 737-800 in a new livery at Yangon International Airport (2015)
A Boeing 737-800 at Suvarnabhumi Airport (2016)

As of October 2024, Myanmar National Airlines flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[10]

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Cambodia Phnom Penh Phnom Penh International Airport Terminated
China Beijing Beijing Capital International Airport Terminated
Chengdu Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Terminated [10]
Kunming Kunming Changshui International Airport [10]
Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport Terminated [10]
Mangshi Dehong Mangshi International Airport [10]
India Gaya Gaya Airport Seasonal
Myanmar Ann Ann Airport [10]
Bagan Nyaung U Airport [10]
Banmaw Banmaw Airport [10]
Bokpyin Bokpyin Airport [10]
Dawei Dawei Airport [10]
Heho Heho Airport [10]
Hommalin Hommalin Airport [10]
Kalaymyo Kalaymyo Airport [10]
Kawthaung Kawthaung Airport [10]
Kengtung Kengtung Airport [10]
Hkamti Khamti Airport [10]
Kyaukpyu Kyaukpyu Airport [10]
Lashio Lashio Airport Terminated [10]
Loikaw Loikaw Airport [10]
Magway Magway Airport [10]
Manaung Manaung Airport Terminated [10]
Mandalay Mandalay International Airport Hub
Mawlamyaing Mawlamyaing Airport [10]
Monghsat Monghsat Airport [10]
Monywa Monywa Airport [10]
Myeik Myeik Airport [10]
Myitkyina Myitkyina Airport [10]
Naypyidaw Nay Pyi Taw International Airport
Putao Putao Airport [10]
Sittwe Sittwe Airport [10]
Tachilek Tachilek Airport [10]
Thandwe Thandwe Airport [10]
Yangon Yangon International Airport Hub [10]
Nepal Siddharthanagar Gautam Buddha International Airport
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport [10]
Thailand Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport [10]
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai International Airport [10]
Phuket Phuket International Airport Terminated [10]

Fleet

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Boeing 737-800
ATR 72-212
Former Embraer 190

Current fleet

[edit]

As of October 2024, Myanmar National Airlines operates the following aircraft:[11][12][13]

Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y+ Y Total
ATR 72-600 8 — — — 72 72
Boeing 737-800 2 — 8 — 156 164 [14]
12 — 150 162
Cargo Fleet
Boeing 737-800BCF 1 — Cargo [15]
Total 11

Former fleet

[edit]
Myanmar National Airlines former fleet
Aircraft Total Year introduced Year retired Replacement Notes/references
ATR 42-320 1 2014 2016 ATR 72-600 Taken by Myanmar Air Force.
ATR 72-200 2 2014 Un­known Un­known Stored
ATR 72-500 1 2014 2019 ATR 72-600 Sold to Air Thanlwin.
Boeing 737-800 5 2015 2021 Boeing 737-800 Sold due to budget insufficiency in 2021.
Embraer E190 2 2014 2019 None Written off after nose landing gear failed to deploy in Mandalay International Airport.
2022 Leased back to GE Capital Aviation Services.
Cessna Grand Caravan 2 2015 2016 None XY-AMC crashes in Manaung Airport in 16 November 2016.
2018 XY-AMB crashes in Mawlamyine Airport in 27 November 2018.

Services

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Mingalarbar Service

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The service is complimentary for Business Class passengers, and to Premium Economy and Economy passengers for an extra fee. Services include amenities such as Fast Track Immigration and Security, assistance on arrival, limo service to and from Yangon International Airport, priority check-in and access to Mingalabar lounges in both the international and domestic terminals of Yangon International Airport.

Cabin

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Myanmar National Airlines has been introducing new cabin interiors and in-flight entertainment since June 2015 on their new fleet of Boeing 737-800 and ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Myanmar National Airlines Boeing 737-800 cabin

Business class

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Business Class is only available on the new Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The Business Class seats have 21 in (53 cm) width and recline to 42 in (107 cm) of pitch and feature electrical outlet and leg rest. A 9 in (23 cm) PTV is located in the seatrest offers AVOD.[16]

Premium Economy class

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Premium Economy meal on board a domestic flight

Premium Economy was once available on the Embraer 190 and Boeing 737-800 aircraft but currently unavailable result of the airline decision to lease back all aircraft containing the Premium Economy seats. The Premium Economy seating features a 36-inch seat pitch, providing an additional four inches compared to Economy Class, along with a more significant recline but the in-seat power outlets and streaming inflight entertainment are only offered on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.[16]

Economy class

[edit]

Economy class is offered on all of MNA's aircraft. The Economy Class seats are 17.2 in (44 cm) in width on the Boeing 737-800 and 18 in (46 cm) on Embraer 190 aircraft with 32 in (81 cm) of pitch, while the ATR 72-600 and Cessna 208 Caravan offer 17 in (43 cm) in width and a seat pitch between 30 and 32 inches. In-seat power outlet and streaming inflight entertainment is offered only on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.[16]

Inflight entertainment

[edit]

Myanmar National Airlines offers streaming in-flight entertainment called airstreamUB on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Passengers will be able to watch movies, TV shows and listen to music via in-seat monitors or on their own smartphone, tablet (iOS or Android), or laptop over a wireless connection on board the aircraft. airstreamUB is available free of charge. Customers travelling in business class also have the option to access airstreamUB on the in arm monitor fitted in their seat.[17] There are inflight magazines on board the Boeing 737-800 and the ATR 72-600.[17]

Accidents and incidents

[edit]

Union of Burma Airways

[edit]
  • On 14 March 1949, de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1, registration XY-ABO, crashed in Gulf of Mottama (Martaban) en route from Mingaladon Airport to Moulmein (Mawlamyine) Airport. Nine passengers and two crew (Capt. P H Sparrow, pilot and L.A. Stephens, radio officer) died.[18]
  • On 26 June 1954, Douglas DC-3 was hijacked by members of the Karen National Defense Organization (KNDO, later the Karen National Liberation Army). After the killing of Saw Ba U Gyi in 1950, the first president of the Karen National Union (KNU), the group sought to regain both a political initiative and financial leverage. Three KNDO members - Major Saw Kyaw Aye, Captain Thein Kyaw and Captain A Nyein - planned to hijack a plane and use it to smuggle illegal weapons. They successfully hijacked the plane, and forced its British pilot Captain A.E. Hare to land on a deserted beach, after other group members had failed to build a suitable temporary runway in Karen. Finding 700,000 Burmese kyat in metal chests in the cargo, cash being transported between bank branches, they confiscated this and then let the plane take off. Censorship banned reporting of the story for over 50 years, but in April 2014 it was the subject of the book The World's First Hijacking, and is being developed into a Hollywood-produced film under the same title.[19][20]
  • On 2 September 1955, Douglas C-47A XY-ACQ struck Mount Popa (28 miles east of Lanywa) en route from Meitkila to Lanywa, killing all nine on board.[21]
  • On 8 August 1956, Douglas C-47B XY-ADC struck Mount Pindaya (near Thazi), killing 11 of 22 on board.[22]
  • On 10 June 1963, Douglas C-47A XY-ACS struck Mount Kaolokung, China, killing all 20 on board.[23]
  • On 23 May 1969, Douglas DC-3 XY-ACR crashed on approach to Lashio Airport following a loss of control, killing all six people on board. The aircraft was operating a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight.[24]
  • On 16 August 1972, a Douglas C-47B, registration XY-ACM, crashed shortly after take-off from Thandwe Airport on a scheduled passenger flight. Twenty-eight people on board were killed and only three survived.[25]
  • On 24 August 1972, Vickers Viscount 761D XY-ADF was damaged beyond economic repair at Sittwe Airport when it departed the runway on landing and the undercarriage collapsed. All 43 on board survived.[26]

Burma Airways

[edit]

The former Burma Airways had a poor safety record, but later, as Myanma Airways, it maintained its safety record under ICAO and Myanmar DCA regulations and requirements:[27][28]

  • On 8 September 1977, de Havilland Canada Twin Otter 300 XY-AEH crashed into Mount Loi Hsam Hsao, killing all 25 on board.[29]
  • On 25 March 1978, Fokker F-27 Friendship 200 XY-ADK lost height and crashed into a paddy field just after takeoff from Mingaladon Airport, killing all 48 people on board.[30]
  • On 21 June 1987, a Burma Airways Fokker F-27 Friendship 200 slammed into an 8200 feet mountain 15 minutes after takeoff from Heho Airport, killing all 45 people on board.[31]
  • 11 October 1987, a Burma Airways Fokker F-27 Friendship 500 crashed into a 1,500 feet high mountain, killing all 49 people on board. This was Myanmar's second-deadliest air disaster, surpassed only by the crash of a Myanmar Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 in 2017, which killed 122 people.[32] 36 foreigners—14 Americans, seven Swiss citizens, five Britons, four Australians, three West Germans, two French citizens and one Thai—were among the dead.[33][34]

Myanma Airways

[edit]
  • On 27 January 1998, Myanma Airways Flight 403, a Fokker F27, crashed while taking off from Yangon, Myanmar, killing 16 of the 45 people on board.
  • On 24 August 1998, Myanma Airways Flight 635, a Fokker F27, crashed into a hill on approach to Tachilek Airport, killing all 36 on board.[35]
  • On 6 June 2009, Myanma Airways Flight 409, a Fokker F28 registration XY-ADW, overran the runway at Sittwe Airport. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[36]

Myanmar National Airlines

[edit]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "AIRFRAMES.ORG - Aircraft Database - airline UBA fleet". Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Contact." Myanma Airways. Retrieved on 30 December 2012. "Myanma Airways Head Office 104, Kanna Road, Yangon, Myanmar."
  3. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 10 April 2007. p. 53.
  4. ^ "Airline Review - Myanmar National Airlines". destinationtravel.info. 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ "Report: Myanmar state airline in joint venture for chartered cargo, passenger flights". AP Worldstream. Associated Press. 29 September 2003. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
    Michael Edward Brown (2004). New global dangers: changing dimensions of international security. MIT Press. p. 65. ISBN 0-262-52430-9.
    Myo Theingi Cho (29 September – 5 October 2003). "New airline ready to fly". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
    Myo Theingi Cho (9–15 August 2004). "Air Myanmar set for take-off". Myanmar Times. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
    "New Air Line to be launched" (PDF). The New Light of Myanmar. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
    "New Myanmar-foreign joint venture airline to launch int'l flight". Asian Tribune. 6 July 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
    "Myanmar Domestic Airline to Stretch Wing to Regional Destinations". Xinhua. 7 October 2005. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
    "News from Yangon (Rangoon)". Yangonow. December 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  6. ^ volaspheric: Myanma Airways orders two new Embraer 190
  7. ^ "GE - Press-Releases - GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to Lease 10 New Boeing Aircraft with Myanma Airways". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  8. ^ Times, The Myanmar. "Myanmar National Airlines takes wing again in foreign skies".
  9. ^ "Myanmar National Airlines launches second international route". anna.aero. 7 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai "Route Map". Myanmar National Airlines.
  11. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 21.
  12. ^ "CargoFleet".
  13. ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map".
  14. ^ "Myanmar National Airlines Boeing 737 Seat Maps".
  15. ^ Cargo
  16. ^ a b c admin (14 October 2014). "Cabin Classes".
  17. ^ a b admin (23 June 2015). "Inflight Entertainment".
  18. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident 14-MAR-1949 de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1 XY-ABO". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  19. ^ Kyaw hsu mon (September 13, 2013). "Burma's First Hijacking—Soon on Film". The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  20. ^ Jonah Fisher (27 June 2014). "The man who carried out one of the world's earliest hijackings". BBC News, Myanmar. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  21. ^ Accident description for XY-ACQ at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 16 June 2017.
  22. ^ Accident description for XY-ADC at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 16 June 2017.
  23. ^ Accident description for XY-ACS at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 16 June 2017.
  24. ^ "XY-ACR Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 14 February 2011.
  25. ^ "XY-ACM Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  26. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  27. ^ "JACDEC´s AIRLINER SAFETY STATISTICS: AIRLINES". JACDEC. Archived from the original on 20 April 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  28. ^ "TRAVEL REPORT: Burma (Myanmar)". Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  29. ^ Accident description for XY-AEH at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 16 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  31. ^ "XY-ADP Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  32. ^ "5820 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  33. ^ "XY-AEL Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  34. ^ "CRASH OF AIRLINER IN BURMA KILLS 49, 14 FROM U.S." New York Times. 12 October 1987. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  35. ^ "MYANMAR GOVERNMENT REPORTS CRASH OF PASSENGER PLANE IN LAOS". AFP. 27 August 1998. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  36. ^ "06. June 2009 Myanma Airways Fokker 28-4000 XY-ADW Sittwe Airport, Myanmar (Burma)" (PDF). Jacdec. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  37. ^ "Pilot in Myanmar lands plane without front wheels". BBC News. 12 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  38. ^ "27-year-old passenger injured after bullet shot from ground pierces through Myanmar plane mid-air". The Economic Times. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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