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Prior to 1993 the only airline of Myanmar (formerly Burma) was called Union of Burma
Airways, which was subsequently changed to Myanmar Air (MA). Myanmar Air
serviced mostly domestic routes and one or two regional routes using F27s and F28s
In 1993, recognizing that Myanmar lacked sufficient capital and expertise to
serve the needs of a growing economy, the Government allowed Myanmar Airways to
enter into a joint venture with Singapore and Brunei interests (supported by
Royal Brunei Airlines) to form Myanmar Airways International (MAI). This was a
great success
This arrangement opened a new chapter in aviation in Myanmar. For the first time
it allowed the operation of new Boeing 757 wet leased from Royal Brunei Airlines
with Australian and UK cockpit crew, well trained cabin crew, an all new
Singapore management (many ex-Singapore Airlines' staff) and operating standards
meeting United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority levels. MA than reverted to
being a purely domestic carrier, serving mostly the local population. MAI became
the international airline of Myanmar with regular flights between Yangon, the
capital of Myanmar and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kunming,
Dacca and Jakarta
In 1994 MAI switched to 2 wet leased B737-300 aircraft from Malaysian Airlines
MAI continued to develop regionally under the new management when on 30
September 1998 the Myanmar authorities decided to run MAI themselves
For further development and expansion of the airline,
Region Air was recently selected in
January 2001 as the foreign partner to strengthen the existing MAI
Region Air has taken a strategic 49% stake
in the airline. While the remaining 51% is held by a Myanmar company and Myanmar
Airways
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