Travel Myanmar: Domestic air travel in Myanmar

Domestic Ticket in Myanmar

Burma is a large country with a bad road infrastructure, so though we generally prefer to stick to road, river or rail while travelling, a domestic flight in Burma (Myanmar) may on occasions be a necessary, or at least convenient, evil unless you have unlimited time and superior posterior suspension. Flights within Burma can be a bit confusing even downright frustrating so here’s a brief rundown on how it works.

To throw you in the bewildering deep end, currently no fewer than seven Burmese airlines operate, with another four carriers scheduled to begin operations later in 2013. We’re not sure how long some of these will last, but they’re certainly not all fly-by-night operations and generally speaking the ones we have used have all been fine and also quite affordable, though prices are going up as tourism booms here.

Myanmar Airways International is the country’s flagship carrier, while Golden Myanmar currently run international flights to Singapore and Bangkok and plan to add domestic connections later this year. They also have useful shuttle bus services from downtown to the airport.

Air Bagan has a somewhat dubious reputation as it’s owned by a Burmese general, but it’s one of the most established Myanmar carriers and operates to 19 regional destinations, as well as several Asian ones, and has a large, generally modern fleet. Air Mandalay has new planes too, though without the international or military connections. Asian Wings is another company you’ll come across frequently; it has decent new planes, covers all the popular destinations and has just sold a stake to Japan’s ANA, which would only improve services and maintenance. KBZ is a recent addition, with at present only three planes, all brand new ATRs. They’re well financed by one of the country’s largest banks and we were impressed by their service, so expect to see some expansion here. We haven’t tried Yangon Airways yet, but they do fly to some out of the way spots, such as Myitkyina and Putao. The new airlines are Mann Yadanabon, Saga, Apex and FMI.

Problems with aviation in Burma don’t lie with safety, service or even punctuality. We’ve always found that if a plane is scheduled for 16:00, it does leave pretty close to that time if it leaves at all, we man.

Since most of these companies are small, financial considerations are important, and they will wait until the last minute to see how many travelers book. If it’s not enough they will cancel even at very short notice. (It’s not as bad as 1990s Lao Aviation, where planes used to sit on the runway until enough people turned up.)

At busy destinations they’ll simply regroup passengers from different flights onto one flight, so Air Bagan, Asian Wings and Air Mandalay for example will use just one plane so even if you book with Air Bagan, you may go on a KBZ flight.

Alternatively, if there are not enough passengers on a Yangon-Mandalay flight, for example, they will combine it with a Yangon-Bagan flight, so you will suddenly find yourself stopping at Bagan too. Booking a Heho (Inle Lake) to Yangon direct flight with Asian Wings may actually see you travel via Mandalay, Bagan and Naypyidaw on an Air Bagan plane. This is all decided at the last minute sometimes literally.

Smaller airports without multiple arrivals on a given day may simply see a flight cancelled due to lack of interest. This is a problem at smaller airports such as Kawthaung, Tachileik, Kengtung and Putao. Also, provincial airports do not always have top-notch rader systems, so weather can cause cancellations. Be warned that this is a problem with higher altitude airports such as Shan Plateau ones, including Heho, especially during heavy fog in winter months or low cloud during rainy season.

You therefore need to be very careful when booking connecting flight. Basically, with the exception of Mandalay, don not book domestic flights with an international connection in Yangon. It is much safer to allow 24 hours between connections and add on a night in Yangon.

Finally, a few words on flight practicalities, check in is old school, with paper tickets only. If you lose the ticket, they won’t start checking through computer records you will have to pay for a new one. Continuing the retro theme, flights should be reconfirmed 24 hours in advance. Pay close attention to boarding, since as we mentioned above you may well be getting on an Air Mandalay plane with your Air Bagan ticket. Seating is not allocated. Arrival and departure procedures vary from airport to airport, with some requiring passports at check-in and others not. Some have X-rays scanners, others don’t. Luggage allowance is usually 20 kilograms. So be prepared for anything and bon voyage!

Ref; Mark Ord, The Travellers