Cambodia Angkor Air kicks off Asian expansion
Cambodia’s national carrier has launched a new phase of expansion that will see it add new routes to Vietnam and Thailand.
Earlier this week, Cambodia Angkor Air launched a new direct service between Phnom Penh and Hanoi. The flights, which commenced on 1 January 2013, will now operate daily using a two-class Airbus A321 aircraft. Then from Monday 7 January, the airline will increase the number of flights it offers between Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) from three to four times a day, as well as upgrading its Phnom Penh-HCMC route from a 67-seat ATR72-500 turboprop aircraft to the 184-seat A321. Also this month, Cambodia Angkor Air will increase the frequency of its Siem Reap-Phnom Penh flights to five flights per day.
Then on 1 February 2013, the national carrier will commence daily flights between Phnom Penh and Bangkok, using its A321 aircraft. The route will be the airline’s second to the Thai capital, following the launch of Siem Reap-Bangkok services late last year.
Cambodia Angkor Air is the latest incarnation of Cambodia’s national carrier, and was launched in 2009 following significant backing from Vietnam Airlines, which partly owns the carrier along with the Cambodian government. All of its six aircraft (four A321s and two ATR72s) are leased from Vietnam Airlines.
Having become only the second airline operating the Siem Reap-Bangkok, in direct competition with Bangkok Airways, Cambodia Angkor Air will now go head-to-head with AirAsia on the Phnom Penh-Bangkok sector. It is also the only airline offering flights to the Cambodian coast, with services between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.