AirAsia Cambodia (CAM, Phnom Penh) has ferried in its first aircraft ahead of the startup commencing revenue operations in early May 2024. A320-200 XU-819 (msn 5109) flew into Phnom Penh on April 20 from Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta and is the first of two planes AirAsia Cambodia intends to have stationed at the airport during its launch phase.
Revenue services will begin on May 2 with twice-daily roundtrips between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and twice-daily roundtrips between Siam Reap and Sihanoukville. The aircraft is due to make a demonstration/test flight on April 30 as part of its AOC certification drive and is reportedly eyeing starting short-haul international operations as soon as the third quarter of this year.
"Our vision is to transform the way people travel in Cambodia and make air travel an integral part of the country's transportation network," CEO Vissoth Nam said at a launch event in the Cambodian capital last week. The A320 was formerly operated by AirAsia India (Bengaluru International) as VT-IXC but exited the fleet in April 2022. According to ch-aviation fleets data, the aircraft is owned and managed by Avolon.
AirAsia Cambodia is a 51/49 joint venture between Capital A subsidiary AirAsia Aviation Group and local hospitality group Sivilai Asia. In a December 2022 Bursa Malaysia filing, Capital A said the joint venture partners would provide an initial capital contribution of USD5 million to launch the LCC, with Capital A tipping in USD2.55 million and Sivilai Asia the remainder. Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes has previously said he hopes to build AirAsia Cambodia's fleet to as many as 15 aircraft and focus on destinations within four hours flying time of Phnom Penh.
