Air Thanlwin (Burmese: သံလွင် လေကြောင်းလိုင်း) is an airline based in Yangon, Myanmar, offering scheduled and chartered domestic flights from its base at Yangon International Airport. The airline was founded in 1996 as Yangon Airways and operated under that name until it rebranded as Air Thanlwin in October 2019 .[2][3][4]

Air Thanlwin
သံလွင် လေကြောင်းလိုင်း
Air Thanlwin fleet at Yangon International Airport
IATA ICAO Callsign
ST RTL[1] ROYAL BIRD
Founded1996; 28 years ago (1996)
Operating bases2
HubsYangon International Airport
Fleet size4
Destinations18
Parent companyAir Thanlwin Holding Company Ltd.
HeadquartersYangon, Myanmar
Key peopleAung Min Khaing
Websitewww.airthanlwin.com

History edit

Yangon Airways was established in October 1996 as a domestic airline in a joint venture between Myanma Airways, the state-owned flag carrier in Myanmar, and Krong-Sombat Company of Thailand. The airline bases its headquarters and maintenance station in Yangon. In October 1997, the current owner of the airline acquired the share of the Thai company and then acquired the share of Myanmar Airways in 2005. Thereafter, the airline became a fully privately owned airline in Myanmar. The airline then evolved into a principal domestic service carrier, operating schedule and charter flight services from Yangon to 13 prime commercial and tourist destinations in Myanmar. During the past three years, Yangon Airways has been progressively gaining market share; it has about 37% in 2007 and increased to 41% in 2008.

Yangon Airways was listed by the United States Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.[5] Under United States federal law, Americans are prohibited from doing business with individuals or entities listed as an SDN. Yangon Airways was designated by OFAC in 2008 after having been acquired by notorious drug traffickers of the United Wa State Army.[6]

Yangon Airways was rebranded and operated as Air Thanlwin in 2019[7] using the same fleet, adding another ATR 72-500 leased from Myanmar National Airlines.[citation needed]

Destinations edit

 
Inflight cabin view aboard a Yangon Airways flight

As of January 2024, Air Thanlwin operates scheduled flights to the following domestic destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Myanmar Bagan Nyaung U Airport Terminated [8]
Bhamo Bhamo Airport Terminated [8]
Dawei Dawei Airport [9]
Heho Heho Airport Terminated [8]
Hkamti Khamti Airport Terminated [8]
Kawthaung Kawthaung Airport Terminated [8]
Kengtung Kengtung Airport Terminated [8]
Lashio Lashio Airport Terminated [8]
Mandalay Mandalay International Airport Secondary Hub
Myeik Myeik Airport Terminated [8]
Myitkyina Myitkyina Airport Terminated [8]
Mawlamyine Mawlamyine Airport [10]
Naypyidaw Naypyidaw International Airport [11]
Putao Lashio Airport Terminated [8]
Sittwe Sittwe Airport Terminated [8]
Tachilek Tachilek Airport [12]
Thandwe Thandwe Airport Terminated [8]
Yangon Yangon International Airport Primary Hub

Fleet edit

 
Air Thanlwin ATR 72

As of October 2022, the Air Thanlwin fleet comprises the following aircraft.[13][better source needed][14]

Air Thanlwin fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Seats Notes
ATR 72-212 2 55
ATR 72-500 2 68 1 leased from Myanmar National Airlines[citation needed]
Total 4

References edit

  1. ^ "Notice. Foreign ICAO 3LD Additions, Deletions, and Modifications (excluding U.S.)" (PDF). faa.gov. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ^ WIN, SHUN LE (10 September 2019). "Yangon Airways to rename as Air Thanlwin from Oct 1". Eleven Media Group Co., Ltd. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Yangon Airways to rebrand as Air Thanlwin". ch-aviation. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Yangon Airways ကိုအမည်ပြောင်းထားသည့် Air Thanlwin လေကြောင်းလိုင်းစတင်ပျံသန်း – Pyi Myanmar News". Pyi Myanmar (in Burmese). 1 October 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. ^ Office of Foreign Assets Control, Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List – http://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/t11sdn.pdf Archived 10 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Regime clips Yangon Airways' wings http://www.mizzima.com/business/4611-regime-clips-wa-linked-yangon-airways-wings-.html
  7. ^ "Air Thanlwin Airline Profile | CAPA". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "(01 Oct 2019 to 30 Apr 2020) Winter Flight Schedule". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  9. ^ "AIR THANLWIN flight ST 622: Dawei - Yangon". Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  10. ^ "AIR THANLWIN flight ST 412: Mawlamyine - Yangon". Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  11. ^ "AIR THANLWIN flight ST 414: Nay Pyi Taw - Yangon". Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  12. ^ "AIR THANLWIN flight ST 738: Mandalay - Yangon via Tachilek". Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Air Thanlwin Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ^ "About Us". Retrieved 22 January 2024.

External links edit

  Media related to Air Thanlwin at Wikimedia Commons