First direct flight leaves Hanoi for Phnom Penh
Cambodia Angkor Air (CA Air) on January 6 inaugurated the first non-stop flight route between Phnom Penh and Hanoi in a bid to meet the increasing transport needs of the two countries.
The daily route is run by the commercial passenger jet Airbus 321, which will make the 1,000km journey between the two capitals in about one hour.
The direct flight will help boost the social and economic relations between the two countries, according to CA Air’s CEO Trinh Hong Quang.
Quang said the new route is part of the airline’s master plan to expand its networks. Other new routes include Siem Reap-Bangkok, Siem Reap-Hano and Phnom Penh-Bangkok.
Direct flights to Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore are under consideration, Quang added.
Flights between Phnom Penh and HCM City are increasing in frequency.
The Phnom Penh based airline, a 51/49 joint venture between the Cambodian Government and Vietnam’s flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, currently has 11 flight routes including three domestic flights and eight international flights.
After three years of operation, CA Air, which possess five aircraft including three A320 jets, has registered 5,570 safe flights.
It carried 325,000 passengers in 2012, up 6 percent compared to the previous year with a set occupancy rate of 68 percent.
CA Air plans to have 10,500 flights and carry 754,000 passengers in 2013.