Cambodian low-cost airline launches inaugural flights to Macau and Palau within 1 day

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan

                  / KUCINTA SETIA

Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

Lanmei Airlines, a Chinese-owned Cambodian low-cost airline, has launched inaugural scheduled flights from Sihanoukville to Macau and Koror, capital of Palau in the Pacific Ocean, on 29 September 2017. It becomes the first Southeast Asian low-cost airline to operate low-cost flight to Palau. On 12 October 2017, it launches additional flights to Macau via Siem Reap from Phnom Penh. All flights are operated by its Airbus A320-200 aircraft, which was leased from Myanmar Airways International and registered as XY-AGO.

On 29 September 2017, Lanmei Airlines flight LQ502 departed from Sihanoukville for Koror via Macau at 8.45 am, transit in Macau at 12.25 pm before leaving for Koror under flight LQ9509 at 1.15 pm and arriving in Koror at 6.15 pm. At 7.15 pm, flight LQ9508 departs from Koror for Macau, transits in Macau at 10.15 pm before taking off for Sihanoukville at 11 pm and touching down in Sihanoukville at 12.45 am on 30 September 2017 under flight LQ503.

The Sihanoukville-Macau-Koror-Macau-Sihanoukville flights take place regularly on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

To mark the launch of Cambodia's first long-haul flight to Koror, Lanmei Airlines' passengers were given free postcards to mark the event.

On 12 October 2017 (Thursday), Lanmei Airlines flight LQ806 departs from Phnom Penh for Macau via Siem Reap at 12 pm, arrives in Siem Reap at 12.50 pm before leaving Siem Reap for Macau at 1.40 pm and touching down in Macau at 5.10 pm. The return flight LQ807 leaves directly from Macau for Phnom Penh at 5.55 pm and arrives in Phnom Penh at 7.35 pm.

The Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Macau-Phnom Penh flights will be operated on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Direct Monday flight from Phnom Penh to Macau takes place on 16 October 2017 with Lanmei Airlines flight LQ806 departing from Phnom Penh for Macau at 12.15 pm, arriving in Macau at 5.25 pm before leaving Macau for Phnom Penh at 6.20 pm and touching down in Phnom Penh at 7.50 pm under flight LQ807.

Lanmei Airlines was formed in 2016 and only recently obtained AOC from the Cambodian civil aviation authority to launch scheduled flights. The name Lanmei is short for Lancang-Mekong River in Chinese. Its logo is made up of a peacock and its six wings spanning across the six countries that share the Mekong River, namely Myanmar, Thailand, China, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam.

Lanmei Airlines first launched scheduled flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap on 15 September 2017, followed by Sihanoukville days later. It plans to launch future scheduled international flights from Sihanoukville, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap to Bangkok, Yangon, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vientiane, Kunming and Xi'an.