News
All Nippon Airways withdraws from Myanmar start-up
November 10th 2017
ANA HOLDINGS this week confirmed that it has abandoned plans to establish a new carrier in Myanmar, the second time it has changed its plans to invest in Myanmar aviation. Read More » Announced in March 2016, Asian Blue Aviation was to be a 49/51 joint venture between the Japanese aviation group and Myanmar's Golden Sky World, a banking, infrastructure and telecommunications firm. Asian Blue Aviation was approved by the Myanmar Investment Commission in May 2016.
Despite that approval, Asian Blue's subsequent application to the Myanmar Department of Civil Aviation for an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) has been denied with no reason made public about the decision.
The ANA group’s first foray into the emerging ASEAN aviation market was the purchase of 49% in Asian Wings Airways. The joint venture was abandoned in 2014, ANA HOLDINGS said, because of "an increasingly competitive Myanmar domestic market".
In 2013, AirAsia exited its AirAsia Japan joint venture with ANA, following reported disagreements. Last year, ANA successfully acquired 8.8% of Vietnam Airlines, which is now its only overseas airline investment.
In separate news, ANA CEO, Yuji Hirako, said the group was considering placing some of its 36 B767s in service with its low-cost joint ventures, Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air, so the budget carriers could increase passenger volumes and expand onto medium-haul destinations within a radius of up to eight hours from Japan. Both LCCs operate A320 fleets.
