PHNOM PENH, 8 August 2018: Cambodia’s Lanmei Airlines has introduced three new routes to China pre-sold to Chinese tour operators who sell holiday packages to Cambodia.
None of the services, even though they were launched in late July and 1 August, are bookable on the airline’s website, or via popular online travel agency booking sites.
That suggests the flights are essentially scheduled charters with seat allotments pre-sold to Chinese tour operators.
Timetable information from Airlineroute shows the airline adding a service from Siem Reap to Meixian in China effective 1 August.
The airline will offer a twice-weekly service using an A319. Meixian is a district of Meizhou City in Guangdong province.
A single weekly service using an A319 was introduced between Siem Reap and Ordos in China late last month.
Ordos is a major city in Inner Mongolia that hosted Miss World 2012 and was often described as a ghost town by western media, a reference to its mainly unoccupied grandiose malls and buildings. But today it has one of the strongest GDP in the country.
At the same Lanmei Airlines introduced a twice weekly service from Sihanoukville to Shantou in China, but that will be cut back to a single weekly service effective 5 September. Shantou is a major east coast city in Guangdong province, China.
Sihanoukville is coastal town and port famous for its beaches and an amazing assortment of casinos. It is understood the Lanmei Airlines’ service will fly in holiday groups, mainly punters heading for the town’s casinos and nightlife.
Meanwhile a plan to launch a Siem Reap-Male (Maldives) service has been postponed until September.
The Chinese-backed airline launched operations in 2017 with a leased A319 two A321s and one A320.
