Flight Review: Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City Onboard Cambodia Angkor Air

Where: Cambodia

February 6, 2014 www.jaunted.com | by jetflyboy | 

Flying on a new airline is so much fun, especially when said airline is slightly obscure and exotic. We ticked both those boxes when traveling on Cambodia Angkor Air around Cambodia and the region, from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City.

The Cambodian capital serves as the new airline's hub, so schedules and frequencies were plenty. The airline doesn't have a fleet as large as most other major airlines and so flies either an A321 or a ATR 72-500 turboprop; we planned our flights specifically for the Airbus and they just happened to be the better departure times.

Check-in was pretty uneventful and quiet. We had booked a Business Class seat and did get to use an expedited business class lane. Regardless of class, the staff was greeting passengers with a warm smile and attentive service. We were almost ready to fly before heading through a eerily basic customs lane and security checkpoint, and then it was off to a nearly hidden business class lounge.

Once we were ready to board, we were greeted by a customary wai and a bow from a pair of striking cabin crew dressed in purple to match the plane. After settling in our seats and being greeted again by the customer service manager with water and newspapers, we noticed that we had the entire front cabin to ourselves. This continued to be the case until the door was shut and we were ready to hit the skies. We guess Business Class isn't so popular yet on the airline.

Flight time was just under an hour, so we'd only be offered some coffee or tea and no meal, which was fine with us. Although the coffee was served on a small tray, we were surprised to find the tray and flatware were plastic while the cup was porcelain; truly not what to expect in business class even on an hour-long flight.

The cabin itself was very clean and pretty basic, with two big comfy seats on each side of the aisle. On second inspection, we noticed the upholstery is that of Vietnam Airlines with Cambodia Angkor Air antimacassars. This makes sense considering the plane is leased to Angkor Air from the airline, who is also a 49% stakeholder.

All in all, a good flight that exceeded service expectations and an ideal way to spend an hour in the air in Southeast Asia.

[Photos: Jaunted]