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Cambodia Angkor Air under pressure to expand
August 18th 2017
Following the rapid ascent of JC International Airlines, Cambodia Angkor Air has outlined its growth plan through to 2020. Read More »
According to the Khmer Times, Cambodia Angkor Air chairman, Tek Reth Samrach, said the carrier was looking to more than double its current fleet by adding four ATRs and eight Airbus jets through to 2020. The airline currently operates two A320s, an A321 and three ATR72-500s on scheduled domestic flights, as well as to China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
“Our new routes would include Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, Macau and India,” Samrach said. “We hope to get more Chinese passengers, with the government’s plan to attract two million Chinese tourists by 2020.”
As part of its expansion plan, Cambodia Angkor Air has signed codeshare deals with local competitor Bassaka Air, as well as Lao Airlines, All Nippon Airways and T’Way Airlines.
Nevertheless, if its growth plans materialize, Cambodia Angkor Air will still be smaller in 2020 than JC International Airlines, which launched in March this year.
According to Kao Sivorn, general director of Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), JC International has laid out plans to operate a fleet of 20 Airbus aircraft by 2020. The carrier launched service with two A320ceo on lease from Avolon – one brandnew and the other almost new following a short stint with airberlin. These aircraft are configured in an all-economy class layout seating 180 passengers. JC said it expects another two or three A320s before year-end.
“The main target of JC is Chinese passengers,” said Sivorn, although the airline has applied to the SSCA to also operate flights to Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, as well as domestic hops from its Phnom Penh base to Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
JC International is part of China’s Yunnan Jingcheng Group, owner of Ruili Airlines. Click here for our executive interview with Jingcheng Group chairman, Dong Lecheng.
Phnom Penh-headquartered JC International has registered capital of US$1 million with the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce, but its total investment is US$100 million, according to Sivorn. The full-service start-up is led by CEO Huang Dongyan.
