Gone are the days of limited domestic flights in Cambodia. Now, there are any number of options for domestic flights in Cambodia: between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. JC Airlines is the latest addition to the market, and are offering cheap flights on both of these routes.
JC International Airlines aren’t skimping on the plane size, even between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
JC Airlines are operating two full-size A320 planes — these are not the nerve-wracking propeller planes flown by some of the other airlines in Cambodia. The hard product is pretty basic, with cheap but not uncomfortable seats. If you’ve flown budget airlines like Ryanair you’ll have an idea of what I’m talking about.
The soft product is fine, though. Even though the flight is only 40 minutes, they come around and offer passengers a water and half of a ham sandwich, crusts removed. The onboard crew was very nice, and the check-in was smooth (it’s handled by the airport staff that do all airlines). You must check in for JC Airlines domestic flights at least 40 minutes in advance.
Dinner is served!
The airline is closely affiliated with a Chinese budget airline, Ruili Airlines, which flies domestic routes in the Chinese mainland. JC Airlines has plans to expand and offer flights to Macau, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and have dreams of operating even further in Asia, but it remains to be seen if that will happen.
My only concern about JC Airlines is that I am not sure what experience level or training the pilots have. Although it’s cheaper than Cambodia’s national airline, Cambodia Angkor Air, my gut feeling is that it might not be as safe. The JC Airlines staff who post on Facebook haven’t soothed my nerves at all. That said, I’d definitely fly them again just because of the price.
The friendly faces of Cambodia’s newest airline, JC International Airlines.
One-way tickets between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap cost between $40 and $80, and Siem Reap to Sihanoukville are usually between $45 and $100, but they do have special deals that you can find on their Facebook page. Tickets can now be booked through a local travel agent or on their website.
hello, how about Lanmei airline? is it safe?
Yes..fly with them if i can..chinese airline ..20kilo free…never had a problem..ans suprisingly on time departure…prices can fluctuate to treble if flying the wrong day and as we have been told trackers see you looking so strange how a couple of searches puts price way up..but i found them good..
Cheap fly, and the company policy is way even cheaper!! My luggage handle made of steel, they broke it. I called for responsibility, they replied it was a minor damage!! NO COVER!! — Mostly fly delay..!!
I live in Cambodia and have flown these guys a few times… Unfortunately.
About half the time the flight is delayed: usually 2 to 3 hours.
It’s cheaper and faster to take a bus than depend on this dump.
Thanks for the update. They were on time the only time I took them. Sad to hear they are getting worse.
I am travelling from the Philippines to Phnom Penh this January, but could not book a flight because the name of the city is not registered in their system (I supposed).
The real question is: (i) is the airline investing in ensuring that it’s planes are well maintained and are safe to fly? That will be the primary concern for travellers. Bayon have not been permitted to make international flights to China – for – you guessed it: safety reasons – not that I trust the Chinese aviation authorities, but it is a huge cause for concern!
I hadn’t heard that before about Bayon. Anywhere I can read about it?
Thanks for this great site! I don’t think we would have booked JC without reading your review. We got two tickets for $70, but couldn’t get the payment to work on the JC page. We saw a comment on trip advisor that the flight could be booked on CTrip, and we were able to pay there too. It was a good flight.
Good tip. Thanks!
can now book through website.
Would you recommend JC over Basaka Air as pricing are similar
They seemed about the same to me, so I would book whichever one had a more convenient schedule.
Basaka is on time.
JC will arrive the same day…maybe