AirAsia to Open an Office in Cambodia

24th Jan 2017

Thailand’s low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia Bhd plans to open an office in Cambodia. This was revealed by the airline’s CEO Tony Fernandes following a meeting he had with the Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

At the moment, AirAsia operates a total of 67 flights every week out of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap airports.

AirAsia’s presence, said the Prime Minister, would bring more tourists to the country. He also added that the airline helped bring tourists from all over the globe to Cambodia.

Secretary General of Cambodia’s National Tourism Alliance Ho Vandy also agreed that AirAsia’s popularity and low fares would help bring more tourists from all over the world to Cambodia.

Mr. Vandy said:

It’s a reflection of the airline market. It will serve the high demand of passengers and tourists traveling by plane and it will meet the government’s ‘Open Sky’ policy.

Director General of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation of Cambodia Keo Sivorn added that AirAsia’s decision to open an office in the country was thanks to the passenger and cargo demand to Cambodia. In addition, he said the new office is also a response to the number of local airlines offering services in Cambodia.

Mr. Sivorn said:

It will help the company provide additional satisfied service to its passengers. AirAsia has existing flight service operations to Cambodia. It will open an office here soon because it sees the demand of the aviation sector in Cambodia increasing thanks to the country’s high economic growth.

According to Mr. Sivorn, two more airlines will start operating in Cambodia from this year. With them, the total number of local airlines will be six, including Cambodia Angkor Air, Bassaka Air, Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Sky Angkor Airlines.

Regarding this, Mr. Sivorn said:

By this year, the two airline companies will hopefully start providing service. Due to economic growth and stable politics, the number of airlines is increasing.

Meanwhile, AirAsia reported it finished the third quarter of 2016 with a profit. The company ended the period July-August-September with RM353.9 million in plus and its revenue went up 11.2% to RM1.69 million.