Open sky agreement may sound good, but for a fledgling aviation market in a poor country may spell the death for its national carriers. Myanmar’s carriers including the government owned MNA are without significant funding, support, resources and talent compared to other regional carriers.
Myanmar has the lowest number of aircraft per capita in the region. Based on 2022 stats, SQ got around 130, MAS 70, TG80. Myanmar National Airlines (MNA) have around 15 and Myanmar Airways International has less than 10. How to compete in open sky? For Thailand numbers, its is without accounting for Non, Thai Airasia or PG. The baseline here is our own country’s bureaucrat must know how to protect our baseline i.e., our won self interest in implementing the open sky.
There has to be give and take akin to reciprocal visa free arrangements. Without DCA protection and intervention, implicit discrimination against Myanmar’s carriers may go unnoticed. It can range from giving far away parking slots to giving unwanted timings to providing the lowest service levels. Even between India and China, the open sky is subject to capacity limits. Once China carriers exceed that limit, the agreement comes to a halt and there would be no more landing rights till the balance is somewhat restored.
We have to push hard in support of our homegrown carriers, just like the Vietnamese did, to ensure that give and take policy exists not just in legal form, but in substance too.
