Mingalar Aviation Services () formerly known as Air Kanbawza or Air KBZ, is a privately owned domestic airline in Myanmar based in Yangon.

History

The airline was established in June 2010 as Air Kanbawza by KBZ Group of Companies, then owned by Aung Ko Win. The airline began operations with domestic scheduled services from Yangon, Myanmar on 2 April 2011. In 2015 Air KBZ began

codesharing A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

international flights with its partner

Myanmar Airways International Myanmar Airways International Co., Ltd. () is a privately owned airline headquartered in Yangon, Myanmar. It operates scheduled international services to destinations mainly in Southeast Asia and is based at Yangon International Airport. Myanm ...

, and on 2 December 2016, Air KBZ itself expanded internationally, launching its first scheduled service outside Myanmar with flights connecting

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and

Chiang Mai Chiang Mai, sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, second largest city in Thailan ...

in neighboring

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. In late 2018, 24 Hour Group, owned by Aung Aung Zaw, bought Air KBZ. In December 2023, KBZ completed its exit from Air KBZ. On 6 January 2024, the new owner launched a rebranding initiative, renaming the airline to Mingalar Aviation Services ("Mingalar").

Destinations

Mingalar Aviation Services serves the following destinations as of January 2024:

Codeshare agreements

Mingalar Aviation Services has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with the following airlines: *

Fleet

Current fleet

As of January 2024, the Mingalar Aviation Services fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Former fleet

The airline previously operated the following aircraft under the name of Air KBZ (as of April 2024): * 6

ATR 72-500 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pa ...

* 5

ATR 72-600 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's typical standard seating capacity of 72 pass ...

, 1 sold to Mann Yadanarpon Airlines

Sponsorships

In 2014, Mingalar Aviation Services started sponsoring Myanmar's national sport,

lethwei Lethwei (; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) or Burmese boxing is a Full contact fighting, full contact combat sport originating from Myanmar and is considered as one of the most brutal martial arts in the world.} * * * * * * Lethwe ...

. The event is called the Air KBZ Aung Lan Golden Belt Championship, and is held at Thein Phyu Stadium in

References

{{Navbox Airlines of Burma Airlines of Myanmar Airlines established in 2010 2010 establishments in Myanmar Companies based in Yangon