Cambodian Tour Operators Fight Bangkok Airways' Angkor Air Route Monopoly

[george]

Cambodian tour operators fight Bangkok Airways' Angkor air route monopoly

PHNOM PENH: -- The stranglehold over travel to Cambodia's largest tourist draw allows Bangkok Airways to keep ticket prices too high, tour sector leaders have told the government.

"We have requested that the government explain why only one company is flying on that route," said James Kheng Sok of the Cambodia Hotel Association, which represents 119 hotels in the capital Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and the seaside resort of Sihanoukville.

Under an agreement signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 1997, Bangkok Airways has free reign over the Bangkok to Siem Reap route until 2009, according to the Cambodian Aviation Authority head Mao Havannal.

"This is government policy," he told AFP Thursday, adding that he thought the monopoly had little impact on tourist arrivals.

But Kheng Sok argued that the route should be opened to competition from other carriers "for the sake of passengers and tourism. ... If the ticket price is cheaper, there will be more arrivals", adding that the government has agreed to set up another meeting between tour industry officials and the airline.

Thai Airways said it has tried to four years to secure a Bangkok to Siem Reap, the English-language paper Cambodia Daily reported a carrier official as saying.

Moeung Son, managing director of Eurasie Travel, said the price of a round-trip Bangkok Airways ticket between Bangkok and Siem Reap is around 280 US dollars, while the trip to Phnom Penh only cost 156 dollars.

Ekkaphon Nanta-O-Sot, chief of media relations in Bangkok Airways' corporate communications department, declined to comment but said he was aware of the complaint.

More than 1.4 million tourists arrived in 2005, and the government aims to attract three million per year by 2010.

Several other airlines operate direct routes to Siem Reap from other countries, including Singapore and Malaysia. South Korea's Asiana Airlines and Korean Air recently increased their flights to handle the rising number of tourists.

Cambodia is one of the world's poorest countries, and tourism is a rapidly growing industry bringing in much-needed revenue.

--AFP 2006-10-12

[Soju]

Good, I hope something can be done about this. I find it totally offensive that Bangkok Airways has such a monopoly on this route and refuse to fly them unless forced to as my protest against their unfair business practices.

Moeung Son, managing director of Eurasie Travel, said the price of a round-trip Bangkok Airways ticket between Bangkok and Siem Reap is around 280 US dollars, while the trip to Phnom Penh only cost 156 dollars.

And if you look at the price of an AirAsia round-trip ticket to Phom Penh, it's way below $156.

Also take a look at the ancient and/or dinky planes that Bangkok Airways is flying and I find it almost criminal that they should be allowed to charge such rediculous prices.

[Diablo Bob]

Good, I hope something can be done about this. I find it totally offensive that Bangkok Airways has such a monopoly on this route and refuse to fly them unless forced to as my protest against their unfair business practices.

Moeung Son, managing director of Eurasie Travel, said the price of a round-trip Bangkok Airways ticket between Bangkok and Siem Reap is around 280 US dollars, while the trip to Phnom Penh only cost 156 dollars.

And if you look at the price of an AirAsia round-trip ticket to Phom Penh, it's way below $156.

Also take a look at the ancient and/or dinky planes that Bangkok Airways is flying and I find it almost criminal that they should be allowed to charge such rediculous prices. Bangkok Air owns the airports for Sukothai and for Trat and Koh Samui, they own the land and the facilities outright, with NO government assistance.

I disagree.

Bangkok Airways might have a percieved monopoly, but when you consider what they have spent......

Bangkok airways was the one to upgrade not only the landing strip but the terminal facilities.

Bangkok Airways was the one who is financing the local entrepeneurs in hotels and guesthouses.

They are the ones who took the chance and developed the market. Let them recoup their investment, it is only fair!

[rak sa_ngop]

Flying to Siem Reap with Bangkok Airways may be expensive but when I flew earlier this year it was the most pleasant flying experience I have had for a long time. No queues, no delays, no hassles, friendly service and great views from the turbo-prop ATR.

Made it a real value for money experience that you rarely get in these days of mass transport.

[Soju]

I disagree.

Bangkok Airways might have a percieved monopoly, but when you consider what they have spent......

Bangkok airways was the one to upgrade not only the landing strip but the terminal facilities.

Bangkok Airways was the one who is financing the local entrepeneurs in hotels and guesthouses.

They are the ones who took the chance and developed the market. Let them recoup their investment, it is only fair!

Do you have any links that show exactly how much they invested in Siem Reap? I found it interesting how they defended their position in this snip from a Bangkok Post article

Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, the airline's founder and chief executive, said the exclusive right granted to the carrier to operate the route was a legal deal struck with the Cambodian government at a time when Siem Reap was not well known among international tourists.

Why didn't he mention some large investment? Anyways, around Siem Reap I got the feeling that Bangkok Airways is not very well liked. The locals I spoke to say that the road from Siem Reap to the Thai border is specifically not upgraded due to lobbying by Bangkok Airways to keep it as-is so that tourists will be forced to fly in. They say it's nothing short of criminal what Bangkok Airways and the Cambodian officals have done. Of course this is only rumor, but if true would certainly be totally unethical business practices and enough to keep me from ever flying them. Certainly the situation seems very suspicious to me. Siem Reap has the potential for bringing in huge numbers of tourists, so why wouldn't the Cambodian government want to have a decent land route to there from Thailand? What is holding up this project?

But regardless of that, and how much they may have spent to upgrade the Siem Reap facilities, I simply don't agree with the whole situation. I come from a background where even a ligitimate monopoly is frowned upon if that monopoly does anything to suppress legitimate competition, and certainly I see Bangkok Airways as doing that. If nobody else wanted to fly the route, then fine, let them charge what they want. But if others want to fly, then they should be willing to make a deal, such as tell Thai Air that if they reimburse them for half of the cost they spend on the airport facilities, they'll be given equal landing rights.

In that same Bangkok Post article, Bangkok Air claims to have flown 120,000 passengers on that route last year. For each round-trip, they make about a USD 130 windfall profit. That's over a 15 million dollar windfall profit each year, and set to increase substantially as the numbers of tourists skyrockets. That to me seems to be way too excessive.

Why is it that flights from Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore are allowed, with apparant free competition (being both Korean Air and Asiana fly from the same destination), but yet Bangkok Air is given a monopoly from Thailand? It just smacks of shady business deals with the Cambodian government.

[Soju]

Flying to Siem Reap with Bangkok Airways may be expensive but when I flew earlier this year it was the most pleasant flying experience I have had for a long time. No queues, no delays, no hassles, friendly service and great views from the turbo-prop ATR.

Made it a real value for money experience that you rarely get in these days of mass transport.

No queues: agreed, no more queues than are present with Thai Airways, or Nok Air. Nothing better, nothing worse.

No delays: well, I flew them once and there was a short delay, but nothing major. From that one experience I'd again say on-par with THAI or Nok.

No hassles: agreed

Friendly service: agreed

Great views: depends if you have a window seat or not

Some things you didn't mention...The ATR turbo-prop is not exactly the most comfortable plane to be on!!! Extremely noisy if you get a seat upfront. Extremely compact overhead bin isn't big enough for a large percent of carry-ons that fit in any full-sized aircraft. Seating is very cramped.

Experience that you rarely get in these days of mass transport: I repeatedly get an equal or better experience most times I fly. Absolutely nothing stands out in my experience with Bangkok Airways that isn't equal or better in most Asian carriers. Perhaps a better experience than European or American airlines, but certainly not better than THAI, Singapore Air, Cathay Pacific, etc.

Made it a real value for money: Absolutely 100% totally disagree. Terrible value for your money considering other airlines fly a further distance to Phnom Penh on full-sized modern aircraft for considerably less.

Overall, my experience visiting Siem Reap / Angkor Wat was absolutely fantastic but paying fpr a rediculously overpriced ticket on a turbo-prop was definitely the low-point of my entire trip.