Small Planet Airlines will base two A320 in Cambodia

Lithuanian leisure carrier Small Planet Airlines expands its activities to other continents. Two aircraft will start flight operations this November from Cambodia to China and South Korea, the company told. The airline has further plans for the Asian market which it will announce in the near future.

Under a contract with Skywings Asia Airlines, flights will commence this November and operate until the end of March next year whereby two of the company’s Airbus A320 Aircraft will carry passengers between Siem Reap, Cambodia and cities in China and South Korea.

“We have a busy schedule carrying passengers to popular European tourist resorts during the summer season, but by the end of it the intensity of flight operations in Europe decreases. Small Planet has a clear roadmap of how to address the current seasonal imbalance of the business by concentrating winter activities in regions that are characterized by the reverse seasonality of that in Europe,” said Vytautas Kaikaris, CEO of Small Planet Airlines.

Siem Reap is one of Asia’s most visited tourist destination, with people particularly attracted to the unique Angkor temple complex. Small Planet Airlines plans to operate more than 500 flights carrying about 100,000 tourists during these winter months. “For our company, this is a large and ambitious project with scheduled flights to be carried out for a period of four months, which comes close to the length of the summer season in Europe,” stressed the head of Small Planet Airlines.

“Our decision to work with Small Planet Airlines is no coincidence,” said CEO of Skywings Asia Airlines, Mr. Mak Rady. “We assessed the company’s experience in Asia and its profound understanding of the specifics of the regional market. It is very important that our partners offer flexible terms of cooperation, aircraft that meet the highest technical standard and are represented by professional flight crew. We are hopeful this partnership will fulfill our expectations and turn into a successful and long-term cooperation.”

Last winter, Small Planet Airlines ran a service with Bhutan Airlines carrying passengers from Bangkok in Thailand to Paro in Bhutan. According to Kaikaris, flights from Bhutan represented the company’s first attempt to establish itself in the Asian market. The project was successful and Small Planet Airlines gained much valuable experience with regard to the Asian aviation and tourism market.

The partnership with Skywings Asia is the Company’s first project of the winter season that is outside from Europe. In the coming weeks, Small Planet Airlines expects to report further about its plans for the Asian market.

About

Small Planet Airlines was established als flyLAL Charters in 2007. The company is based at Vilnius Airport, but it has operating bases in Poland, France and the United Kingdom. The Airline operates scheduled and charter flights around Europe for various tour operators and airlines, to destinations such as: Greece, Spain, Turkey, Egypt, and other popular holiday destinations. The company also performs flights for military, government and private companies on an ad-hoc basis.