Golden Myanmar Airlines is to introduce its first international flights just two months after it launched services in the Southeast Asian sovereign state of Myanmar, also known as Burma. The carrier plans to launch a daily service from Yangon to Singapore from March 15, 2013 and a daily link between Yangon and Bangkok from March 31, 2013. It is understood that Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur are also part of the carrier’s network growth plans once additional Airbus A320 equipment is sourced.

The start-up, the country’s first private operator, is backed by a consortium of 15 local investors. It inaugurated operations in January initially operating between Yangon and Mandalay, the two largest cities in Myanmar. It has adopted the low-cost business model and currently operates two Airbus A320s configured in an all-Economy, 180-seat arrangement.

The two initial international routes will put the carrier in direct competition with some of Asia’s leading carriers but it is confident that its lower-cost structure to its rivals will enable it to compete while its low-fare offering with stimulate an already expanding market. International air travel from Myanmar grew 31.2 per cent in 2012 according to traffic statistics.

The Yangon – Singapore route is already served by local carrier Myanmar Airways International and Singaporean carriers SilkAir, Singapore Airlines and low-cost operator Jetstar Asia Airways. In total these airlines offer more than six flights a day, this month offering 32,995 seats in each direction. The arrival of Golden Myanmar on the route will boost overall capacity by 10.3 per cent. In 2012 an estimated 345,000 bi-directional O&D passengers travelled on the route, up 16.0 per cent. Average air fares have already fallen by a fifth in the past 12 months and this trend is likely to continue following Golden Myanmar’s arrival in the market.

The Yangon – Bangkok route is also already served by local carrier Myanmar Airways International as well as Thai carriers Bangkok Airways and Thai Airways International. In total these airlines offer more than eight flights a day, this month offering 38,560 seats in each direction. The arrival of Golden Myanmar on the route will boost overall capacity by 10.3 per cent. In 2012 an estimated 586,000 bi-directional O&D passengers travelled on the route, up 13.7 per cent on the previous year.

In the table below we highlight the 20 largest international O&D markets from Myanmar. The analysis shows that Golden Myanmar has initially selected the two largest international destinations from the country as its initial steps outside of the country. Meanwhile, its other intended markets of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong were the third and 12th largest O&D markets in 2012. This likely next stage of Golden Myanmar’s expansion will see it enter other competitive markets. Its proposed future destinations of Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur are already served by Dragonair (Hong Kong) and AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and Myanmar Airways International (Kuala Lumpur).