Burmese airline halts Bangkok flights

[dirtydog]

Burmese airline halts Bangkok flights

Rangoon (dpa) - Myanmar Airways International (MAI) has suspended its daily flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur due to lack of insurance coverage for the McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 aircraft used on the two routes, MAI announced Friday.

MAI said in a statement that it was forced to suspend its 8M flights after London Market Aviation Insurer gave notice that "this aircraft MD82 A/C PK-LMY which we have been using in service for our Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur sectors is not fully covered for war and allied perils in accordance with AV52E, due to the recent crisis" in Burma.

The Burmese military regime cracked down on peaceful monk-led protests last month, leaving at least ten dead and thousands in prison.

The junta's latest atrocities have outraged world opinion and strengthened calls for more economic sanctions on the country.

MAI said the national airline will have to suspend its flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur until the end of the month

"Meanwhile, we are in the process of getting new aircraft replacement for our Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur service sectors," said the MAI statement.

A MAI ticketing agent in Bangkok confirmed that the flights had been suspended but said it was possible to get a code-sharing flight with Thai Airways International (THAI) to Rangoon.

"Our current service to Singapore operating with our code share partner 3K (Jetstar) with Airbus A320 will remain the same," said MAI.

[Mid]

MAI resumes flights after three months suspension

January 15, 2008 - Myanmar Airways International (MAI) resumed air services today with its Bangkok-Yangon-Bangkok flight after three months of suspension.

snip

mizzima.com

Struggling airline looks to elections
22 October 2010


A plane unloads cargo at Rangoon International Airport
(Reuters)

Struggling flag carrier Myanmar Airways International is hopeful that next month’s elections will usher in a new era of growth for the country’s tourism sector, a senior executive said Friday.

“We are hoping that after the elections, the country will be opened up and we believe there will be more tourists coming in,” Ye Jhan, the airline’s assistant general manager, said at an aviation forum in Singapore.

“Once we have a new government and new policies, there will be [a] big increase in tourist arrivals… because the country has a lot of opportunities to develop tourism,” he said.

The 7 November election is the country’s first in 20 years but it has come under strong criticism from Western governments and human rights campaigners who say it is a sham meant to entrench the military’s grip on power.

But Jhan told AFP on the sidelines of the forum that he was confident the new government will encourage tourism “because tourism revenues are quite good for us.”

Jhan said more than 201,000 tourists had visited the country so far this year, compared with more than 227,000 tourists for all of 2009.

He said Myanmar Airways, like other enterprises in the country, had suffered because of international sanctions imposed mostly by Western governments.

Unlike other airlines in Asia, the flag carrier has to make do with limited resources, Jhan told delegates at Aviation Outlook Asia.

The airline is “barely managing to keep our heads above the water,” he said. “We are still struggling and we need significant improvements in our capital funding… We are running our business with less than 20 million dollars only.”

This is considerably less than other airlines that easily have at least five times that amount, Jhan said.

“To be a reputable international airline, that’s our new vision,” said Jhan.

“We hope we can develop ourselves within a few years with the support from the political situation… When [the] new government comes, I think we will have support from other countries.”

dvb.no

[the dogcatcher]

Would you fly Burma Air?
I'd be worried that thw rubber band would break.

[Rural Surin]

Would you fly Burma Air?
I'd be worried that thw rubber band would break.

Never you mind, as the upcoming "election" will sooth all of their troubles....