Cambodia Angkor heads for Seoul

Cambodia Angkor Air will launch its first medium-haul service to Seoul this December.

Cambodia Angkor Air manager marketing department, Le Chi Quan, told TTR Weekly at the ITE HCMC 2011 travel fair, Thursday, that airline has taken delivery of additional A321 aircraft that will be used to launch the Seoul service and expand the network.

Seoul will be linked to Siem Reap with daily services, a popular destination for Korean visitors, followed by a new Hanoi-Siem Reap service possibly by early January 2012.

Also in December, the airline will serve the Siem Reap-Sihanoukville route to ferry tourists from the world heritage town to the country’s prime seaside destination. It will fly to Sihanoukville, three or four times a week, using a 70-seat ATR72.

The southern coastal resort town has an airport capable of handling 737s, but has not been used since a  fatal airline crash in 2008.

Mr Le Chi Quan added that during 2012 to 2015, Cambodia Angkor Air will take delivery of another four A321 aircraft.

In Southeast Asia, the carrier has delayed plans to fly to both Bangkok and Singapore. In its long-term plan it identified Japan and China as the most important markets for the airline to draw tourists and business travelers to Cambodia.

Commenting on the new Seoul service, Mr Le Chi Quan said two Korean carriers have already been flying to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, but the carrier hopes the attractive fares will win market share in the leisure travel segment.

Korea is the second largest tourist supplier after neighbouring Vietnam. During the first half of this year, arrivals from Korea reached 172,568, up 19.8% from the same period last year.

Cambodia Angkor Air is a joint venture between the Cambodian government (51%) and Vietnam Airlines (49%). It commenced services in July 2009. Currently, its fleet comprises of three A321s and two ATR72s operating on three routes – Phnom Penh- Siem Reap (five daily); Siem Reap-Ho Chi Minh City (three daily) and Phnom Penh-Ho Chi Minh City (twice daily).

Source - ttrweekly