FMI Air is to start a new daily service to Mandalay beginning in mid-March, expanding its current network of scheduled charter flights between Yangon and Naypyitaw as well as adding additional capacity to this existing service.
Myanmar’s one of the newest airlines announced that it has been awarded an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and this certification allows FMI Air to transition from a charter operator to a full scheduled airline and put into service its own Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet aircraft.
FMI Air’s Chief Executive Officer Bruce Nobles said, “We have been working very closely with the Department of Civil Aviation to achieve certification of a new aircraft type in Myanmar and are looking forward to flying our passengers on our own Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets to an expanding network of airports within Myanmar.”
Mandalay, along with the current destinations of Yangon and Naypyitaw, will be the first markets to be served by FMI Air’s CRJ-200 regional jet aircraft.
The carrier said the network will grow as the fleet expands, with a second aircraft scheduled to arrive in late March and a third in early May.
Over time, FMI Air will phase out operations with charter aircrafts from other local operators, instead providing all services with its own jets.
As with its current service in Yangon and Naypyitaw, FMI Air will offer a product with lounge facilities in Mandalay made available to all passengers.
FMI Air began operations in September 2012 as FMI Air Charter Ltd. To carry out its early operations, FMI Air Charter chartered aircraft from local operators, primarily ATR 72-600, offering three daily scheduled round-trip flights between Yangon and Naypyitaw international airports.
The company currently employs about 170 people and has its regional base in Naypyitaw.
