The poor state of Myanmar's roads and railways make flying by far the least uncomfortable option of travelling long distances.

State owned and appallingly run Myanma Airways (UB) - not to be confused with Myanmar Airways International (8M) "MAI" - is known for its poor safety record. Even locals prefer to avoid it whenever possible.

There are also four privately owned airlines serving the main domestic routes in Myanmar. They are Air Bagan (W9), Asian Wings, Air Mandalay (6T) and Yangon Airways (YH). While more expensive, they are a safer option and would get you to all the main tourist destinations from Yangon or Mandalay. If you want to plan domestic travel ahead, you can buy Asian Wings tickets on-line.

The private airline companies are usually on time, and even depart early (10-20 min), so be on time and reconfirm your flight and flight time 1-2 days before departure. Sometimes the itinerary might be altered some days before departure (meaning that you will still fly to your final destination on the scheduled time, but with an added or removed in between stop, e.g. Yangon-Bagan becomes Yangon-Mandalay-Bagan). This usually only affects your arrival time. En route stops have only 10-20 min ground time, and if it is not your final destination, you can stay inside the plane during the stop.

Important for Yangon: Yangon international airport serves all domestic flights from the old terminal building. This building is located about 200 m further on the road than the main (new) Yangon International Airport building. When taking a taxi from downtown to the airport, mention to the driver that you are on a domestic flight so you'll not end up in the wrong terminal.

The table below gives some example rates for Air Bagan and Air Mandalay between most visited places in Myanmar (note: these are high season prices, and usually the fare in the opposite direction is the same price. Check for more up to date rates!)