As ties between South Korea and Cambodia continue to strengthen, Korean Air has unveiled plans to deploy its new Airbus A321neo aircraft on its daily Seoul Incheon to Phnom Penh route from July 1.

With more than 60,000 Cambodians working in South Korea, according to figures from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, Phnom Penh is one of Korean Air's top routes into Southeast Asia.

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According to a press release from Korean Air, Cambodia is a growing inbound and outbound market for the airline. In addition, growing business links between Cambodia and South Korea is driving demand for business travel.

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says trade volume between the two nations hit $1.1 billion in 2022. The ministry added that there are about 300 Korean companies active in Cambodia’s economy in various sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, and finance.

"We are excited to deploy our new aircraft type on the Phnom Penh route," said Jaewon Jung, Korean Air’s General Manager - Cambodia. "Deploying the new A321neo on flights to Phnom Penh is in line with our strategy of offering the best premium service offering.”

The A321neo is a new aircraft type and Korean Air’s first narrowbody aircraft to have fully lie-flat seats in its Prestige Class (business class). This is a feature usually found exclusively on widebody aircraft.

The aircraft boasts 174 economy class seats and eight Prestige Class seats.

Prestige Class passengers can enjoy a 44-cm personal monitor for audio/video on demand (AVOD) services and a wireless smartphone charger. Economy class passengers are treated to a 33-cm personal monitor.

Convenient AVOD Bluetooth pairing is also available in economy and Prestige Class. Korean Air is the first Asian airline to feature Airbus’ Airspace cabin on an A321neo. The SkyTeam carrier’s Airspace cabin elevates passenger comfort, cabin ambiance, and inflight services to the next level.

The airline is slated to receive a total of 30 A321neo aircraft by 2027 and will also be deploying these aircraft on other routes to Southeast Asia, as well as connections with China and Japan.

"Offering fully-lie flat seats in Prestige Class on board our new A321neo aircraft, also provides a seamless in-flight service experience to those passengers traveling from Phnom Penh to our long-haul markets, such as North America and Europe, via our Seoul Incheon hub,” added Jung.

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marissa.carruthers@kiripost.com