Cambodia Angkor Air Rebranded As Air Cambodia - New Routes On Horizon
Effective from the beginning of 2025, Cambodia Angkor Air has rebranded as Air Cambodia as the nation's national flag carrier launched new promotions and looks to add to its current fleet and routes in 2025.
Air Cambodia Purchases More Aircraft For 2025
Towards the end of 2024, airline manufacturer ATR announced that Cambodia Angkor Air had purchased three ATR 72-600s via HNCA Aviation Financial Leasing Co., Ltd (HNCAL), a Chinese lessor, which were being leased to the carrier with deliveries were scheduled for 2025.
Nathalie Tarnaud Laude, Chief Executive Officer at ATR, commented: “Our partnership with Cambodia Angkor Air and HNCA is a testament to ATR’s dedication to providing advanced, efficient, and low-emission aircraft that are well-suited to the unique demands of regional markets. The ATR 72-600 will allow Cambodia Angkor Air to enhance its domestic services and strengthen links across South-East Asia, ensuring connectivity for people and businesses alike.”
The fleet expansion comes as the airline offers both domestic and international flights across Southeast Asia and the current fleet indicates a relatively young fleet of five aircraft with an average age of 11.8 years according to online data. Air Cambodia has two Airbus A320-200s, one A321-200, two ATR 72-500s, with the three ATR 72-600s on order. (A separate report from local media suggested a fleet of 32 but we can not confirm that number).
Air Cambodia Vice Chairman and CEO Zhan David said this is a significant milestone for the airline as it expands its fleet with the addition of the three ATR 72-600s. The partnership with ATR and HNCA underscores the commitment to providing passengers with reliable and modern air travel options. David said, "We are excited about the opportunities this new fleet will bring, enhancing our connectivity both domestically and internationally while supporting the growth of the Cambodian aviation industry."
Air Cambodia Rebrand - New Routes & Promotions
The national Cambodian air carrier launched operations in 2009 and the Royal Cambodian Government own a majority stake in the airline. The Vice Chairman and CEO said the airline had a successful 2024 and had experienced “groundbreaking results in market performance, safety, service quality, fleet growth, and local talent development.”
For the rebrand, the airline stated “We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter, bringing fresh energy and continued commitment to providing exceptional travel experiences for all our passengers.”
The airline announced it saw a 20 per cent growth in income in 2024, including a record month in December 2024, and that the annual sales were the biggest since 2019.
Zhan David added that “Air Cambodia played an increasingly important role in promoting people-to-people exchanges and economic and trade cooperation between Central China, Cambodia, and ASEAN."
It was also announced the airline will resume flying between Phnom Penh and Bangkok on February 17, 2025, using an A320, and other new planned routes include services to Japan and South Korea. The airline is targeting more destinations and intercontinental routes next year in 2026.
Air Cambodia launched the "Happy Cambodian Traveller 2025' travel package which is tailored for Cambodian citizens and promotions such as free air tickets for Cambodian university students, offering Cambodian passengers free checked baggage allowance for two pieces (each not exceeding 23 kg) on all Air Cambodia routes, as well as offering Cambodian passengers free first-time date changes for their booked flights.
IATA Predicts Sector Growth in 2025
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced its financial outlook for the global airline industry in 2025 indicating net profits are expected to be US $36.6 billion in 2025 which is a slight improvement from the expected US $31.5 billion net profit in 2024. The average net profit per passenger is expected to be US $7.0 (below the US $7.9 high in 2023 but an improvement from US $6.4 in 2024).
Passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.2 billion in 2025, which is a 6.7 per cent rise compared to 2024-this will be the first time that the number of passengers has exceeded the five billion mark.