Nok Air is adding Mawlamyine to its planned service footprint in
Myanmar, now set as the first country for the budget airline's
resumption of international services.
The airline intends to reach Mawlamyine, formerly known as Moulmein,
from the thriving Thai northwestern border city of Mae Sot over the next
three months with two flights a day.
Nok Air's Mae Sot-Mawlamyine service will be operated by the Saab
340B turboprop, capable of carrying 34 passengers, on a trial basis.
"The launch is be part of our ongoing assessment of traffic demand
between Thailand and Myanmar," Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin
told the Bangkok Post.
The airline has applied for permission to operate on a charter basis from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).
Nok Air hopes to launch a Bangkok-Yangon service in October with two daily flights with larger Boeing 737-800 jets.
It will be the first foreign carrier to connect Mawlamyine by air
with the outside world, and it is believed to be the second airline,
after Myanma Airways, to serve Mawlamyine airport.
Myanma Airways flies domestic flights from Mawlamyine to Dawei, Myeik and Yangon.
Mr Patee is upbeat about the potential of the Mae Sot-Mawlamyine
route as it provides a safe, convenient mode of transport to the Mon
city, the third largest in Myanmar.
While it takes up to nine hours to reach Mawlamyine by car from Mae Sot on a bumpy road, it takes only 15 minutes by air.
Business travel is expected to be the mainstay of the route's traffic
on the anticipated economic development in Mon state, according to Mr
Patee.
The launch of the service will consolidate Nok Air's position in Mae
Sot, where it is the only airline to offer flights _ four per day on the
Bangkok-Mae Sot route and one daily service to Chiang Mai, all operated
by the Saab 340B.
The DCA is spending 840 million baht to upgrade Mae Sot airport by
extending its runway from 1,500 to 2,100 metres and building a new
passenger terminal.
The expansion, due to be completed in 2018, will enable the airport
to accommodate jetliners the size of the Boeing 737 with parking space
for three of them.
The passenger terminal covering 7,000 square metres will be capable of processing 300 passengers per hour.
Myanmar newspaper Eleven last week quoted Win Swe Tun, deputy
director of the Directorate of Civil Aviation, as saying a number of
airlines in Thailand including Nok Air have expressed an interest in
opening up routes from Mae Sot to Mawlamyine.
He said flights could start after the upgrade of Mawlamyine airport.
source: Bangkok Post
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