Dragonair this week has announced it will launch a new service to Yangon, the largest city and main economic hub of Myanmar, from its Hong Kong International Airport base. The new service, which will commence from January 9, 2013, subject to government approval, will enhance Dragonair’s presence in the region and provide a significant boost to both leisure and business traffic between Hong Kong and Myanmar. It will be operated four-times weekly using an Airbus A321.
Yangon will become the 10th destination to be launched or resumed by Dragonair since April this year. Rich in history and culture, Yangon is developing as a popular leisure break destination with its hybrid of local, British, Chinese and Indian influences, and large number of original colonial buildings making it popular with visitors. Most of Myanmar’s commercial activities are centred in Yangon, reinforcing the city’s importance as a business and communications hub.
“Yangon is an important addition to Dragonair’s expanding network in Asia and launching this new destination will further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a leading aviation hub,” said Patrick Yeung, Chief Executive Officer, Dragonair. “We see tremendous potential in this market with both tourism and commercial activities rapidly gaining momentum. We look forward to carrying more passengers between Hong Kong and Myanmar and helping to promote ties between the two places.”
As well as connecting passengers from around the world into Myanmar, the latest destination launch will offer passengers from Myanmar greater choice and convenience when connecting to Dragonair’s Mainland China network or the vast international network of its sister airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, through its Hong Kong hub, enhancing connectivity from the country.
International air services from Myanmar have grown significantly over the past decade almost doubling from 533,060 available seats in 2000 to 957,485 in 2010. This growth has continued in the two subsequent years, with double-digit rises, and will continue through 2013 as new air services, like Dragonair’s Hong Kong link, are introduced. The table below highlights this growth in greater detail.
|
SCHEDULED INTERNATIONAL AIR SERVICES FROM MYANAMR (non-stop departures) |
||||
|
Year |
Departures |
% Change |
Available Seats |
% Change |
|
2000 |
3,171 |
(-0.2) % |
533,060 |
(-3.8) % |
|
2001 |
2,944 |
(-7.2) % |
503,614 |
(-5.5) % |
|
2002 |
2,509 |
(-14.8) % |
437,519 |
(-13.1) % |
|
2003 |
3,189 |
27.1 % |
497,129 |
13.6 % |
|
2004 |
4,000 |
25.4 % |
614,847 |
23.7 % |
|
2005 |
4,316 |
7.9 % |
659,445 |
7.3 % |
|
2006 |
4,235 |
(-1.9) % |
666,877 |
1.1 % |
|
2007 |
4,614 |
8.9 % |
766,954 |
15.0 % |
|
2008 |
4,228 |
(-8.4) % |
698,913 |
(-8.9) % |
|
2009 |
4,509 |
6.6 % |
712,525 |
1.9 % |
|
2010 |
6,232 |
38.2 % |
957,485 |
34.4 % |
|
2011 |
7,541 |
21.0 % |
1,200,603 |
25.4 % |
|
2012 |
8,838 |
17.2 % |
1,430,840 |
19.2 % |
In addition to the new Yangon service, Dragonair will also be increasing frequencies to a number of destinations in its winter schedule, effective October 28, 2012. Services to Phnom Penh will rise from seven to 10 flights per week, while one extra flight has been added to Kota Kinabalu, making a total of six weekly flights to this popular Malaysian holiday destination. Dragonair has also been operating 12 flights per week to Phuket since July, up from the previous 10 weekly flights. In addition, the airline is set to resume services to Haikou on Hainan Island, with a daily flight commencing later this month.
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