Cambodia Angkor Air Finally Resumes Online Booking

In a bit of obscure airline news, Cambodia Angkor Air's website has finally fixed their online booking engine. I had been planning my Cambodia trip ever since I booked the international segments last summer, and I knew for the domestic leg from Phnom Penh (PNH) to Siem Reap (REP), I wanted to try out Cambodia Angkor Air. While it is a very short flight at 45 minutes, and their fleet of ATR 72s aren't especially comfortable, it isn't every day that you get to experience a small boutique airline halfway around the world!

Last summer, when I went on Cambodia Angkor Air's website, it directed all customers to the Vietnam Airlines website in order to book tickets. This is due to the fact that Vietnam Airlines owns a 49% stake in Cambodia Angkor Air, and they have a somewhat better online presence. However, once I was on the Vietnam Airlines website, it became clear that there was absolutely no way to book domestic Cambodia flights.

I created a thread on Flyertalk about this issue and got many responses, all basically saying that there was no current way to book domestic Cambodia Angkor Air tickets online. The only way was to either book it through your hotel, or wait until you actually arrive in Cambodia and find a travel agent.

Finally, around the end of November, someone posted on the same Flyertalk thread that Cambodia Angkor Air had relaunched their website and was now able to take online reservations. A week later, however, when I noticed the post and tried to go on the website, a message appeared stating that the booking engine was under maintenance, and to check back later. This message then stayed on there for the next three months!

Just today, when I inadvertently went on Cambodia Angkor Air's website again, I suddenly noticed that the front page had slightly changed, and a flight search function had been added. Immediately, I entered the date I needed and saw that it was indeed allowing online reservations! It accepted my Visa with no issues, and there were no additional charges for using a credit card. However, it does warn you that the name on the card must match at least one of the passengers on the ticket, and you must present the card at the airport for verification.

So if you have an upcoming trip to Cambodia, be aware that you no longer need to book the domestic leg through a hotel or travel agent. Hopefully the website will continue to remain functional from now on.