Yangon Airways Logo PNG
Yangon Airways: Brand overview
In 1996, Yangon Airways was a private airline based in Yangon, Myanmar, and operated by the Air Thanlwin conglomerate. A year after its founding, the airline began operating domestic flights, connecting Yangon to major cities such as Mandalay and Bagan, utilizing a fleet of Fokker F-28 aircraft.
At the turn of the century, Yangon Airways expanded its horizons by launching international flights in 2001. The airline began operating international flights to countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. To keep up with this development, by the mid-2000s, the airline expanded its fleet with larger aircraft such as Boeing 737-800s and ATR 72 turboprops.
However, by the late 2000s, Yangon Airways was facing financial difficulties, mainly related to economic problems and international sanctions imposed against Myanmar. Despite attempting a temporary suspension and recovery in 2010, the airline failed to recover and permanently ceased operations the following year.
During its heyday, Yangon Airways operated scheduled flights to more than 15 destinations in Myanmar and other Asian countries. Despite its relatively short existence, the airline made a significant contribution to the development of air travel in Myanmar as the country’s aviation industry developed in the late 1990s.
Meaning and History
1996 – today
Until 2019, Air Thanlwin was known as Yangon Airways and featured the original winged elephant logo. This refers to Myanmar myths that mention Airawata, the king of all elephants. It is believed that his first descendants had large wings that allowed them to fly. The animal on the emblem is colored white with black outlines. It is located inside a yellow circle, and next to it are two parallelograms: red and green. This is an allusion to the flag of Myanmar.
The choice of the winged elephant serves as a multi-layered symbol, reflecting both cultural specificity and the essence of aviation. The use of national flag colors in parallelograms adds a note of patriotism, tying the brand to the home country. The yellow circle symbolizes the unity or global scale of the airline.
