China invests in Cambodia’s aviation

TR Weekly | August 29, 2014

PHNOM PENH, 29 August 2014: Aviation Corp of China (AVIC)  launched Cambodia Bayon Airlines , last week in Phnom Penh, with its first flights scheduled to begin in January.

Cambodia Bayon Airlines, China’s first airline venture in the Mekong region, opened officially in Phnom Penh  with officials touting the venture’s potential to advance relations between the two countries.

Its major shareholder is an aircraft manufacturer in China.

The airline will offer domestic flights using MA60 turboprops th AVIC assembles. It will eventually expands its network to include flights to Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and China.

AVIC president Lin Zuoming said the airline would build closer relations between China and Cambodia through the import of aviation related technology.

Bayon’s first flights will be from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville.

The airline is committed to building its route network to connects Cambodia with other ASEAN nations, China, Japan and Korea.

Bayon Airlines has a firm order for 20 of the Chinese-built MA60 aircraft. The airline plans to introduce two MA60s, this year and expand the fleet to 20 MA60s and 10 Airbus A320s, also built in China within the next five years.

AVIC has received more than 270 orders for its MA60 aircraft from domestic and international carriers; nearly 100 aircraft have been delivered