T’way codeshares with an airline in Cambodia

T’way Air and Cambodia Angkor Air inked a partnership to co-develop new routes and begin codesharing, the Korean low cost-carrier (LCC) said Monday.

It is T’way’s first partnership with a foreign airline.

Codeshare agreements refer to two or more airlines sharing flights under different route numbers. Customers can book the flight from either carrier but only one actually operates the flight.

The partnership will enables Korean customers to go to Cambodian destinations by booking tickets through T’way Air. T’way currently operates services to Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. Angkor Air can take passengers from there to Cambodian cities. The two carriers are also considering direct services between Seoul and Cambodia.

The Cambodian airline, which started operations in 2009, operates two domestic routes and 10 international routes with bases in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

The partnership comes a month after the Korean LCC laid out ambitious goals to expand international services.

“Airlines can’t survive banking on the Korean market anymore,” Jeong Hong-geun, CEO of T’way Air had said in a press briefing in June.

T’way hopes to add five larger planes for mid-to-long haul routes and set up foreign branch offices in markets with growing travel demand such as Japan, Vietnam and China. kim.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]