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Stormy skies for airlines in Cambodia
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving the airlines, hospitality, restaurants and related support industries to the brink.
Amid all these, Cambodia Angkor Airline the national carrier of Cambodia, a Cambodia, Vietnam Airline joint venture, is facing turbulent times with the minority partner putting its stake for sale, including its five aircraft.
Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman of the SSCA, speaking to Capital Cambodia recently said that at present there are nearly no flights and no passengers at Siem Reap International Airport.
“We recorded around two to three flights per week. Recently, the airport in Siem Reap reduced some operations and staff and closed some areas that are not currently necessary because they want to save costs,” said Sin. He added that airline companies and Cambodia Airports have adopted a crisis strategy.
Çambodia Angkor Air was formed on July 28, 2009 with an initial capital of $100 million. It uses Phnom Penh International Airport as its main hub with Siem Reap International Airport as a secondary hub along with Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam.’
It replaced the previous national airline Royal Air Cambodge, which ceased operations in 2001.
It has a fleet strength of seven, comprising four Airbus jets and three ATR turbo props, though the announcement by Vietnam Airlines last week said it had five Airbus jets.
Cambodia Angkor Air has a partnership with USA based Optiontown to run a prepaid flight subscription platform called Flight Pass, which enables customers to pre-purchase flights at the best available price and decide when they want to travel at a later date.
Under the same partnership, there is an option for passengers to upgrade their ticket to Business or First class for a low price. In addition passengers can pre purchase their preferred seat assignment, extra baggage, lounge access as well as empty seats next to them on the flight.
Cambodia Angkor Air has codeshare agreements with Lao Airlines and Vietnam Airlines (SkyTeam).
It was reliably learned that Cambodia Angkor Air had suitors as far back as 2019 when a local start-up had reportedly expressed interest in buying Vietnam Airline’s stake for an undisclosed amount.
It reportedly has up to 18 slots in China, three slots in Vietnam, including Danang which it launched on October 27, 2019.
The main reason for suitors for the National Carrier is the number of available slots in various countries in Asia, including China, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Cambodia Angkor Air has been hard hit by the lock downs imposed by almost airports it flies to and dropping passenger loads in others where it still flies, albeit meagre routes and even lower loads.
Since 2015, Cambodia had seen a spate of airline companies being registered in Cambodia and fold equally fast, leaving just three, Cambodia Airways, Lanmei Airlines and JC Airlines as the only airlines still plying routes, mostly to China.
Potential suitors need to have very deep pockets to gear up for an upswing in tourism related travels predicted for 2021.
This dire situation has been caused by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) which has forced many countries to close their borders, shut down airlines and to ban their citizens from travelling, to prevent further infections.
The State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) reported that it expected decline in flights of 50 percent at Phnom Penh International Airport, 60 percent at Sihanoukville and 70 percent at Siem Reap in mid-March. However, the situation is now worse than predicted.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50713879/stormy-skies-for-airlines-in-cambodia/