INTRO
As promised, it's time to continue, flying on an airline last featured on this site in 2019 on an aircraft type they no longer had: Myanmar National Airlines, the flag carrier of Myanmar!
Flight routing
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4UB18 - Economy - Bangkok > Yangon - Boeing 737-800
- 58M372 - Economy - Yangon > Bangkok - Airbus A319
- 6QR837 - Economy - Bangkok > Doha - Airbus A380-800
- 7QR701 - Economy - Doha > New York - Boeing 777-300ER
- 8B6585 - Economy - New York > Raleigh - Airbus A320
BKK AIRPORT
After I got my boarding pass and cleared security, it's time to head to the gate! Too bad the bags won't arrive until tomorrow, due to the relatively tight connection. Thankfully, the inbound flight was also in a holding pattern for a bit. I can't help myself but to think that the voice yelling "End of the walkway!" is one of the ghosts of BKK, since the airport was built on top of a cemetery.
Anyways, coming in from Yangon is XY-ALB, a 11.1 year old 737-800 delivered new to Myanmar National Airlines in June 2015. It was the first of four 737-800s that would come as part of the GECAS lease order (which itself was part of GE's commitment towards Myanmar then). It was the first new Boeing aircraft delivered to a Burmese carrier. There were plans for two more 738s and four 737 MAX 8s, but those would never happen. Three of the 738s would be returned in 2021, leaving XY-ALB as the only 738 in the MNA fleet. MNA eventually got an ex-Garuda 738, which would end up having a gear collapse in China in 2025, once again leaving XY-ALB as the only operational 738 in the fleet. I actually flew XY-ALB in 2019, but I didn't report on that flight.
What a nice plane and livery.
BOARDING
Time to board!
Mingalaba!
ONBOARD
Welcome onboard XY-ALB, featuring 8 business class recliner seats in a 2-2 configuration. A Panasonic IFE system is available at each business class seat. Patrick Shea covered this product in his recent MNA video, but the IFE wasn't working on his flight. The remotes did appear to have power here.
In economy class, there are 156 Collins Pinnacle seats in a standard 737 3-3 configuration. I will be seated in 23F on the other side. Honestly, these seats might have been more comfortable than the Qatar 777 seats.
The cabin was relatively well kept and clean enough. The crew were great, as is typical with Burmese hospitality. I love the jade green color scheme of the economy cabin.
Seat pocket contents include a safety card, waste bag, and surprisingly a magazine (to be exact, MNA Inflight Magazine)! That's great, since there doesn't currently seem to be any streaming entertainment, even though a previous report on this site suggests that there was such in the past.
Ever wondered what a Burmese airline magazine looks like? Well, there's a poorly-done bingo card (where the free space isn't in the center), some AI slop (not pictured), and a corporate guide with an A340 for some reason, which is aspirational for an airline like MNA. Of course, there's a route map and fleet page! MNA actually has previous versions of their magazine on their website to view in your free time, ideally after you finish reading this report.
There are overhead monitors and audio entertainment, but neither were used on this flight.
Legroom is alright, being 5' 11".
The crew then started passing out something on a tray. I thought those were towelette packets at first, but those were in fact arrival cards. Better to fill it out on the ground because of the service that will happen in the air.
PSU, with air vents, as is the case of narrowbodies.
Universal power socket.
Wing.
DEPARTURE
Lights are dimmed, pushback began, safety demo performed.
Some heavies.
Bye bye Bangkok!
IN-FLIGHT
Not long after takeoff, the seatbelt sign was switched off, and the crew announced that they would start serving "dinner", which might have been a little bit of a stretch.
Trays out, I was served this: a two-course pastry platter, with a cheese croissant for the main course, and some fruit-filled cupcake for dessert (which I didn't eat). This was served alongside packaged water, a towelette (finally!), and some cream and sugar should you order a hot drink.
Since I didn't want caffeine, I ordered an extra water cup. Alpine water, no less. I would drink many bottles of Alpine water throughout my stay in Myanmar. Stay hydrated! The best American carriers could give you is a Biscoff and drink on a flight this long. I think I know their secret: use hard-to-perish items (like those pastries), have no other options, and include the water cup so even if there's not enough time for a proper drink service, passengers can have something to drink. All in all, that's some dedicated Burmese hospitality in action!
ARRIVAL
Welcome to Myanmar!
Getting off the plane. Ah, so nice to see the Yangon airport again.
Of course it's a ghost town.
Nice report on a special airline.
Decent service considering the flight's only in the air for such a short time. I flew Myanmar National Airlines domestically in 2018 and at the time the magazine was proudly advertising the new 737s on international flights, I didn't realise until reading this that their fleet had shrunk so drastically. On the streaming IFE, I do think that they used to have it because I remember that being part of the advertisement when I flew them.
Thanks for sharing!