Winter season is coming – and we’re excited!
The winter season is upon us: starting October 27, airlines will switch from their summer schedules to the winter program, offering more flights during the high season to many destinations.
Some airlines are finding it profitable to offer year-round routes to popular or growing destinations. Cambodia Airways announced a new service from Phnom Penh to Fuzhou, China; it started August 31 and the carrier plans to operate it throughout the year. Air China’s Phnom Penh-Beijing route, which launched in January, will go daily with the change of season. And starting September 23, Xiamen Airlines is flying daily Sihanoukville to Xiamen year-round, offering a new route to China.
Phnom Penh: Where the nation’s airlines grow
In fact, many airlines have seen strong growth, even for new routes, to the Kingdom’s capital. China Southern and Spring Airlines have each increased seats year-on-year by over 18% and have very high load factors. Cambodian carriers Cambodia Airways and Cambodia Angkor Air have also seen an increase in passengers, and the former has launched new routes to Bangkok and Macau.
Siem Reap’s numbers down, but it’s growing
Siem Reap is seeing a decline as Sihanoukville has gained popularity, but it shouldn’t be counted out. Malaysia Airlines has decided to end its direct flight between the Angkor town and Kuala Lumpur, but that’s great news for Air Asia which still runs the route and has chosen to reduce afternoon flights to four times a week, cashing in on controlling supply and demand. And Cambodia Angkor Air is seeing a huge increase in Siem Reap domestic passengers – it’s just shy of double from last year!
All roads lead to Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville continues its meteoric rise. Three airlines that had begun international flight routes to the seaside city have seen higher-than-average load factors. Chinese carriers Lucky Air and Qingdao Airlines started servicing Sihanoukville this summer and are seeing strong performance, as is Thai Air Asia which launched a new route to its hub in Bangkok on July 1.
Grow into a new aircraft
Qatar Airways and Eva Air are both updating their aircrafts to handle the larger numbers of passengers coming to Cambodia. Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Phnom Penh will switch from Airbus 350-900 to Boeing 777-300, increasing the number of seats from 339 to 412 starting October 2. Eva Air has up-gauged from an A321 to A330 and still has an increased total load factor for its flights between Taipei and Phnom Penh.
More information: www.cambodia-airports.com - Follow us on our Facebook page