ANA eyes Cambodia services

PHNOM PENH All Nippon Airways is studying an option to serve Cambodia, according to an analysis released by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
ANA CEO, Osamu Shinobe, told CAPA that Cambodia and Malaysia are under consideration in a bid to secure a market share of 14% on routes between Japan and destinations in Southeast Asia.
Like most scheduled airlines, ANA is losing market share to low-cost airlines that are now offering medium-haul services from Japan to points in Southeast Asia. AirAsaX is leading the attack on this lucrative market sector and based on its track record in short-haul markets it is likely to win in the long-run.
“Kuala Lumpur and Siem Reap would be logical new destinations for ANA as they are popular spots for Japanese tourists and also have potential sixth freedom traffic to North America,” the ANA CEO told the research unit.
inside no 3The Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, which has more business traffic than Siem Reap, could also be a possible. Neither Phnom Penh nor Siem Reap are currently served by nonstop flights from Tokyo.
ANA’s arrival would mark a first for a Japanese airline.
Over the last two years ANA has increased seat capacity to Southeast Asia by approximately 44% from about 15,800 one-way weekly seats in December 2012 to about 22,700 one-way weekly seats in December 2014. The increase over the last 12 months has been about 29%, according to CAPA and OAG, aviation information and analytical services, data.
ANA currently serves seven Southeast Asian destinations – Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore and Yangon. Southeast Asia has been a major growth region for ANA in recent years and has been identified as a focus area in its long-term strategy.
The Public and Private Sector Tourism Working Group co-chair, Ho Vandy, told local media that ANA had been eyeing flights to the kingdom for some time, but no official proposals had been made public.
“For sure, if ANA offers direct flights to Cambodia . . . it will increase Japanese tourism. Since 2005, Japanese tourists have been a big part of the tourism market and it is natural to assume there would be a nonstop service for them.”
Last year, there were 206,932 Japanese travellers to Cambodia increasing 15.4% from 179,327 in 2012.
Japanese travellers visiting Cambodia transit through other Asian gateway destinations to reach Siem Reap, the main attraction. They travel through Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City or even Bangkok.

sourced:ttrweekly.com