1

I'm in Myanmar now (see blog link below for a couple current posts). Apparently Air Bagan is the best, but they did crash last month. The others are about the same. We flew Asia Wings and Yangon Airways - similar quality and perfectly fine. The airplanes are old - reminded me of the 1980s style. The segments were around $100 or so if I recall.

We used Onestop Myanmar as our agents (you can find info on this site) and they were great. My only complaint - a small one - is that they changed the airlines and flight times on us for the worse. For example. we were supposed to fly out around 9am and instead had to fly at 6am! But they were great about replying to emails, showing up with the tickets, getting all the names/dates correct etc. We also hired a driver from them for a day tour of Yangon and that was well worthwhile.

Enjoy and come to Myanmar soon. This country seems on the verge of change!

Jenn

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Oh, this new Thorn Tree removed my old signature. Our blog is www.notesfromabigworld.com if you want to check it out. We are travelling the world with our two children and are currently in Myanmar.

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Lawrence,
I like Air Mandalay as all their planes are fairly new and they have a good record.Bagan Air was the plane that went down and their planes were cheaper to fly on and looked older.
My daughter left her woollen sweater at Mandalay Airport and Air Mandalay were so helpful i.e they flew the sweater to Heho and then delivered it 40 km to our hotel.
You can book with Air Mandalay online for free and then pay for the ticket when you arrive in Yangon or Mandalay.Make sure that you get the right site though as their is a dummy site called Mandalay-Air that I'm told works but wants your credit details.I almost fell for this site and cancelled my credit card in caution.
Try this site http://www.airmandalay.com/index.php this is the true site
Don't forget that Air Asia also flies in and out of Mandalay so this may give you more flexibility.
I must also note that the Myanmar airports were the most efficient we have ever come across and the people are just so nice.The Indian Airports are at the opposite end of the scale.
Thus,don't go through a travel agent as your tickets will cost you more.
You will love Myanmar,the people are just so nice and the sights are fabulous even for my third visit spanning many years.
Regards
Neil

4

Air Mandalay's planes as quite old, as are the planes of all the other sirlines in Burma. But Air Mandalay has spiffed up the inside of the planes, so people might think they are new. Because of the economic sanctions - not yet lifted - the airlines cannot buy new airplanes.

The quickest and easiest way to book is through an agent in Yangon.

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Because of the economic sanctions - not yet lifted - the airlines cannot buy new airplanes.

Not quite sure about that.. Myanma Airways (domestic) now has the newest fleet amongst all the domestic operators in Myanmar. They've just acquired two new Embarer E190's in January of this year 2013. They've also purchased 3 brand new MA60s (60 seater turbo-props) from China in the last 2 years and their ATR72s is relatively new. There are plans for Myanma Airways to acquire Airbus A320s as well in the near future. Here are photos of their new E190 's after arriving in Yangon earlier this month.

There's also a new airline in Myanmar which just started operating this year as well using an Airbus A320. It's called Golden Myanmar Airlines. They've started operating from Yangon to a few places domestically using their A320; in the past, such routes only used turbo-props, so it's refreshing to see a new airline using jets for domestic flights. This airline however has plans to open international routes as well and will be adding more aircraft to their fleet this year. You can start following them on Facebook here .

It's an exciting time for air travel in Myanmar. Other airlines have also started plans to increase their fleet size. Air KBZ have just two brand new ATR72-600's .. the next generation of ATRs. This was announced on their Facebook page just a few hours ago.

Asian Wings Air have an Airbus A320 sitting in a hangar in Yangon waiting for approval to fly although it hasn't been officially announced as yet.

The changes that are happening in Myanmar are just mind blowing. When I first started going to Myanmar in 2001, it wasn't even possible to get the Internet there, the majority of men still wore longyis in the streets and no-one dared mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi's name in the streets. Never could I have imagined the changes that's happening now.

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.. edit to my post above;

Air KBZ have just ordered two brand new ATR72-600's .. the next generation of ATRs.

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Wow, Tango, that is amazing! The issue for many years has been that the economic sanctions have prevented them from buying new planes from the US, Cananda or Europe. They have purchased used planes from trading partners like China. I had not heard that the loosening of sanctions had yet allowed them to buy new planes, but that is good news for travelers.

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I returned from Myanmar a month ago, and support locknuts' comment about booking directly from Air Mandalay's website. When planning my trip, I checked if I could get a better price if I booked through a travel agent, but that was considerably more expensive for the flights I wanted (Mandalay - Bagan, Bagan - Heho, Heho - Ngapali Beach and Ngapali Beach - Yangon). Upon arrival in Mandalay, I got all my tickets at the Air Mandalay office at the airport and paid them the price that was on my online booking confirmations. No hassle.

.

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The airlines are all about the same. We flew Asian Wings and Air Bagan and had similar experiences. Yes, planes are old. The way to book is through a travel agent (we used Radiant Tours and they were great). Prices are pretty much the same across most travel agents. Yes, flight times change sometimes. Also, seats can be limited, so you may not have a choice of airline anyway.

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Cassie
". I had not heard that the loosening of sanctions had yet allowed them to buy new planes, but that is good news for travelers."
And Myanmar Airways have ordered two new Embrerer Jets ,leased through-would you believe GE Capital.

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This is straight from ATR's press release.

Air KBZ introduces first ATR 600 into its fleet

The ATR72-600 is the new generation of ATR aircraft with better performance and a full glass cockpit.

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Thanks for the new info silver and tango!

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you're welcome cassiecat! :)

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ditto
SS