HONG KONG Express Airways will launch direct service between Hong Kong and Yangon on November 2, a spokesperson from the airline’s authorised ticket agent in Yangon said last week.

The Hong Kong-based airline will fly the route two times a week – on Tuesdays and Fridays – using a 162-passenger Boeing 737 aircraft.

“We had originally planned to launch the route on October 19 but we decided to postpone it until November 2,” said Ko Zaw Win, a supervisor at the Yangon office of Mandarin Airlines, which will serve as the main local ticketing agent for Hong Kong Express Airways and will manage the launch of the new route.

“We expect more Hong Kong businesspeople to come Yangon in the future because much of Myanmar’s trade is related to China and also there is a good relationship between the two countries,” he said.

“At the moment there is no direct flight between Yangon and Hong Kong so passengers have to fly to Bangkok or Singapore and then transfer to a Hong Kong flight. It’s a big waste of time,” said Ko Tin Maung Maung, the reservation and traffic manager at Mandarin Airlines.

He said five air ticketing agencies will serve as authorised agents for Hong Kong Express, including Sun Far Travel and Columbus Travel.

Air Bagan has reduced its Yangon-Singapore schedule from one flight a day to three flights a week, on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. However, the airline’s daily flights between Yangon and Bangkok remain unchanged.

Thai Air Asia has reduced its Yangon-Bangkok flights from seven to three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – until the end of this month.

Bangkok Airways also announced that it was scaling back flights on its Yangon-Bangkok route from the normal daily service to Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until October 30.

“We will revert to our normal schedule starting from October 31,” said a spokesperson from Bangkok Airways.

Thai Airways Inter-national and Malaysia Airlines both reported that there were no plans to cancel flights, although Thai Airways has made slight adjustments to some of its flight times between Yangon and Bangkok through October 27.

Air China announced the cancellation of flights between Yangon and Kunming for October 23. The airline also adjusted the schedule of flight CA 905 – travelling from Kunming to Yangon on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday – to leave at 1:15pm and arrive at 1:50pm. The Yangon-Kunming flight remains as normal.

Vietnam Airways has postponed the planned October launch of its Yangon-Hanoi and Yangon-Ho Chi Minh City flights until next year, according to a local ticketing agent.

“The flights between Yangon and Vietnam have been postponed but I think they will start next year,” said U Hla Aye, the managing director of Shan Yoma travel company, which will serve as the authorised ticket agent for Vietnam Airways in Myanmar.