NICHOLAS IONIDES/SINGAPORE Following the demise of Cambodia's flag last year several groups are aiming to move in to fill the void An Australian group is preparing to launch a new airline in Cambodia to fill the void left by the collapse late last year of national carrier Royal Air Cambodge (RAC). Meanwhile, another group led by China's Hainan Airlines is in talks with the Cambodian government on a possible revival of RAC. The Cambodian government has already issued an air operator's certificate to new-start Mekong Airlines, which is controlled by a group of Australian industry veterans through a company called VIA Aviation. Business development manager Anthony Sandford says the carrier is aiming for a launch in February. Services will begin with three Boeing MD-83s wet-leased from a Turkish ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance & insurance) provider as well as two ATR 42s taken on lease-purchase arrangements. Mekong plans to operate on international routes formerly served by RAC, including those from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Guangzhou and Shanghai. It will also operate high-frequency domestic shuttle services between Phnom Penh and the booming tourist city of Siem Reap, the gateway to the famous Angkor Wat temples. Sandford says the MD-83s will be gradually replaced with Boeing 737-300s. He says the carrier will be 90%-owned by VIA Aviation and 10% by Cambodian investors, claiming it will be able to operate internationally despite the fact that many air services agreements stipulate that airlines must be majority owned and controlled by nationals of the base country. A precedent has already been set in Cambodia as one small international airline, Siem Reap Airways, is majority-owned by Bangkok Airways of Thailand. Industry sources confirm that Mekong Airlines' plans are well advanced and say the group has secured much-needed government support. Cambodia's leadership is known to be bitter about RAC's collapse and officials are welcoming foreign investment in the country's industry, preferring not to have equity exposure to carriers. RAC was only established in 1994 as a joint venture with Malaysia Helicopter Services, now known as Naluri, but it stopped operating under sizeable debts in October, saying it wanted to find a "new financial solution". The sources say China's fast-growing Hainan Airlines, which is minority-owned by a company headed by US financier George Soros, has held discussions with the Cambodian government on taking an equity role in a possibly relaunched RAC. The sources add, however, that RAC is facing a number of law-suits from creditors and its substantial debts make a relaunch in its current form difficult, if not impossible. Cambodia already has a number of independent airlines - but none has yet managed to make much of an impression on international markets. Industry observers say there is probably room for only one main carrier based in the country, adding that there is significant potential given the boom in the country's tourism industry in recent years and predictions of continued growth.
Source: Flight International
