New national carrier to launch in Cambodia

Travel Blackboard
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009

The Cambodian government and Vietnam Airlines are set to launch a new national carrier, according to a source within the Phnom Penh International Airport.

The official, who spoke to the Phnom Penh Post on condition of anonymity, said the government would own 51 percent of Cambodia Angkor Air and the state-owned Vietnamese carrier 49 percent.

The airline is expected to make its maiden flight on July 18 and it will initially fly two routes linking Preah Sihanouk province's Kang Keng Airport to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, the official said.

The source did not disclose how much would be invested into the joint venture, or any other financial details.

An unnamed source at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation also confirmed the joint venture was with a Vietnamese airline, but did not specify which carrier.

The news comes after Vietnam Airlines last week signed a $120 million loan package with a consortium of banks to finance the purchase of six 72-500 aircraft from ATR.

The contract was signed in December, in addition to five ATR 72-500s already on order, AFP reported last week.

Vietnam Airlines Corp Head of Market Planning Trinh Ngoc Thanh refused to comment when contacted by the Post.

He said the airline would release a statement "when it is appropriate".

Aom Chenda, an information official at the Council of Ministers, said that Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An told a Vietnamese oil company delegation that a new national carrier would make its maiden flight on July 18.

He repeated the comment to reporters but did not disclose who owned the airline, saying only that it was a local company.

He than contradicted the earlier statement saying the maiden flight would be July 17.

Meanwhile, Mau Havannal, secretary of state at the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA), said Tuesday said that an "anonymous private local company" was preparing documents to apply to run flights out of Kang Keng Airport.

However, Mau Havannal continued to say that no official application had been received.

"We do not know who owns the national carrier because it has not been named yet," he said.

Chea Aun, director general of the SSCA, confirmed that the "private local company" would use French-made ATR planes.

The planned launch of Cambodia Angkor Air appears to have brought to an end a joint-venture relationship between the government and two Indonesian companies first mooted in November 2003.

Sok An signed a memorandum of understanding on the joint-venture carrier with officials from Rajawali Group and PT Ancora International.

According to the MoU the foreign partners would take a 49 percent stake but receive 70 percent of the profits.

Rajawali was founded by Indonesian entrepreneur Peter Sondakh, ranked by Globe Asia magazine last year as the 19th wealthiest Indonesian with a net worth of $510 million.

The chairman of PT Ancora International, Ith Vichit, was CEO of Cambodia's last national flag carrier, Royal Air Cambodge, which ceased operations in 2001 due to bankruptcy caused by tough competition and mismanagement.

A statement released by Rajawali on April 10, last year announced that the deal was still going ahead and it contained no mention of PT Ancora.

The airline was due to have launched last year, with Sok An having since drawn heavy criticism from Prime Minister Hun Sen over the delay.

Another domestic carrier, Siem Reap Airways, was banned in November amid concerns over safety standards and financial irregularities.

According to a source within the SSCA, the ban came after an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit found the Kingdom in breach of 107 international standards, adding that it would ban all Cambodian airlines if action was not taken.