Taking time to launch an airline
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Thirteen years ago, members of the Royalist Party and of the People’s Party fought for supremacy in Cambodian skies. The Royalist party won the right to recreate Royal Air Cambodge, the prestigious Cambodian carrier from the 1960s which became the Kingdom’s new national carrier. Unfortunately, the economic crisis of 1997/98 and corruption took their toll on RAC. With debts of over US$45 million, the airline was forced to close down in October 2001.
In 2004, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen mulled the idea of launching a new national carrier. First Cambodian Airlines was born but it didn’t last a whole year, beset by similar problems and lack of management skills. It lost a million dollars.
But rumour has it that Hun Sen is at it again.
“I am waiting for more negotiations, but don’t let this carrier end up like Royal Air Cambodge,” Hun Sen said, disclosing talks are underway with some airline companies. A national carrier would in fact help to promote tourism which now depends on dominant foreign carriers like Bangkok Airways and its subsidiary Siem Reap Airways. The new Minister of Tourism, Thong Khon, is keen to fly to Japan and Korea but he has to wait for his PM’s signal for the right time. A question of not losing face a second time.
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