January 14, 2015
By Paul Howard / Published January 14, 2015
This article first appeared the in the July 2012 issue of Airways magazine.
A Cambodian Angkor Air local office. All Images Courtesy of Paul Howard
From Siem Reap with its banyan trees to the glistening beaches of Sihanoukville, purple ‘birds’ are sharing Cambodian airspace with the Giant Ibis(Pseudibis gigantean)—or Aov Loeuk, as the kingdom’s national bird is known locally. But unlike the latter feathered creatures, those mechanical avian contrivances belong to Cambodia Angkor Air, the national carrier, which in December 2011 added service between Siem Reap-Angkor International and Sihanoukville.
Formed in 2009—to replace former national airline Royal Air Cambodge bankrupted in 2001—Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) is a government joint venture with Vietnam Airlines (VN), the two partners holding 51 percent and 49 percent of CAA, respectively. Two Airbus A321s and two ATR 72-500s are wet-leased from VN, the airplanes returning to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) each night.
CAA’s initial service was from Cambodia’s capital city airport Phnom Penh-Pochentong International to SGN, with the prime internal Phnom Penh–Siem Reap route added shortly afterward; service between Siem Reap and SGN followed late in 2010. The latest route has already proved a godsend for Sihanoukville’s under-utilized airport which, although open for many years, has lacked scheduled flights. The previous traffic was only itinerants and domestic charters, the latter diminished with the withdrawal of Antonov An-24/AVIC (Xi’an) Y7 twin-turboprops operated by a miscellany of now-extinct local carriers.
A Cambodian Angkor Air ATR-72.
While Sihanoukville would like an aerial connection with the capital Phnom Penh, 224km (140mi) away, no airline could attempt to compete with the multitude of bus companies plying between the two centers every hour, offering seats in air-conditioned coaches from $4 to $6 one-way for a four-hour journey. It therefore made sense to link the two most popular destinations in the ‘Kingdom of Wonder’ with a 70-minute flight. The surface journey requires ten or more hours via Phnom Penh.
Begun as a seasonal service, the air route has become popular enough to retain year-round. Meanwhile, more international routes are being assessed, the important link to Bangkok in neighboring Thailand being the priority, while Seoul, South Korea, is a likely addition in the near future.
CAA’s reservations system is provided by SABRE, although the online booking site is frequently ‘down’, with an explanatory/advisory message stating: ‘Maintenance–Please Try Later’. A good-quality in-flight magazine, titled Angkor, includes the company’s mission statement embodying a commitment to quality assurance in compliance with all the requirements of international regulations. Elsewhere it wishes ‘Their Royal Highness, Princes, Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen passengers, lucky and successful trips forever’.
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Contact the editor at benet.wilson@airwaysnews.com
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