Thailand Might Lose its Gateway Status

27th Aug 2012

Thailand is in danger of losing its position as a major international gateway in the region to Myanmar as the country entered into a phase of economic reforms attracting a hodgepodge of business and leisure travelers.

Few months from now, Yangon will begin to host another five foreign airlines offering direct service connections to the city, thereby bypassing Bangkok, Thailand's major gateway.

Many carriers are also planning to increase their service between Bangkok and Myanmar, two of which are Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia. The interest of foreign investors and tourists in the country has picked up recently after six decades of isolation from the international community.

The growing demand of direct air service between Yangon and the rest of world has threatened the dominance of Bangkok as a major hub in the region. However, the country still offers limited connections overseas due to its relatively small market.

Same thing happens to Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, Cambodia, where direct service from major cities in the region to their respective capitals is growing.

However, an Association of Asia Pacific Airlines executive clarified that Bangkok won't lose its position as a gateway to Myanmar despite the increase of direct flights to the country in the foreseeable future.

In the contrary, there will be more flights between Bangkok and Myanmar while Myanmar will see more direct connections from other countries as well.

One thing for sure though, Myanmar will see a sustainable growth in its growing aviation market in the coming years to support the increasing direct services from Bangkok. However, attracting long-haul flights will take time as demand is still largely undeveloped.

The Department of Civil Aviation of Myanmar has a modest forecast of 3 million passengers in its total air traffic passing through Yangon Airport. However, the airport has a capacity to handle 2.7 million passengers annually.

An expansion plan of the airport by 2015 will boost its total capacity to 5.4 million passengers.

All Nippon Airways, Eva Air, Dragon Air, Korean Air, and Qatar Airways are just some of the international carriers planning to operate direct service to Yangon.

Other foreign carriers which are reportedly mulling direct service to Yangon are Biman Airline, Hong Kong Express Airline, Pakistan International Airline and Sri Lankan Airlines.

Most of these airlines fly to Yangon from their respective main hub. Korean Air, for example, will fly from its main hub in Seoul, ANA from its main hub in Tokyo and Qatar Airways from Doha.

ANA is not new to Myanmar market as it once served Yangon 12 years earlier. It will relaunch its direct service between Tokyo and Yangon in September this year, initially with 3 flights per week.

Similarly, Qatar once flew to Yangon but had to suspend its service in 2008 for undisclosed reason. It will resume its direct service on October 3 this year, initially with 3 weekly flights and will eventually increase it to once daily on October 28.

Korean Air, meanwhile, will launch its four weekly service to Yangon on September 13, 2012.

Like ANA and Qatar Airways, Eva Air served Yangon before until it suspended its service in 2001. Starting on October 9, Eva Air will resume its thrice weekly Taipei-Yangon direct flight.

Thai AirAsia, on the other hand, will introduce a new service between Bangkok and Mandalay sometime in September this year in addition to its direct flight from Bangkok to Yangon.

Another Thailand-based carrier, Bangkok Airways, is also planning to increase its twice-daily frequency between Bangkok and Yangon by October. It is also in discussion with Air Bagan to expand its service, through code sharing, to Bagan and Mandalay.

There are currently 12 international airlines serving Yangon: Air China, AirAsia (including Thai AirAsia), Bangkok Airways, Malaysian Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Indian Airlines, Silk Air, China Airlines (Taiwan), Jetstar Asia, Vietnam Airlines and Thai Airways Intl.

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