MASkargo has launched freighter services to Myanmar and Bangkok to meet mounting demand.

The cargo airline marked its inaugural flight to Yangon on July 4 utilizing an A330 freighter with 60 tonnes of capacity, although the carrier said it had been serving the Burmese capital through its passenger flights in the past.

The increased demand seen in the route prompted the Malaysian freighter to launch a  weekly freighter service between Yangon, Bangkok, and its home base in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Yangon is not a new destination for MASkargo as we have been serving the Myanmar market for many years using our passenger flights. Of  late, the demand into and out of Myanmar has been on the increase which convinced us on the viability of flying our freighter into the country,” said Jason Thomas, MASkargo’s chief commercial officer.

“From Yangon, the freighter goes to Bangkok — another market which has shown an uptrend in recent times. There is a high demand for movement of general cargo ex­ Bangkok as well as odd-sized cargo. Hence our decision to pair these two cities on our freighter flight path,” he added.

EU connection

 
Thomas noted that the service will also support the growing trade between the ASEAN and the European Union (EU).

“This is also part of our efforts to develop greater engagement in diversifying economic interests given the disruption presented by the Covid-19 pandemic. The EU-ASEAN trade has been growing at a very encouraging pace. As a matter of fact, the Netherlands was the largest importer of goods from ASEAN in 2019,” Thomas said.

“Now that we have a freighter service into AMS, this RGN-BKK line is the perfect solution to support the EU-ASEAN trade,” he added.