Airline Name
Kampuchea Airlines
(Apologies for the low-ish quality.)IATA: KT / ICAO: KMP / CALLSIGN: KAMPUCHEA
Exact date of founding and beginning operations unknown/not clear, but airline was at least functional by 1992 (see note below), ceased operations in 2004
(Reason for ceasing of operations unknown)NOTE: Many sources claim the airline began operating in 1997, but the earliest screenshot I was able to find was dated from 1992. If this is wrong however, or if there’s a source that explains why sources claim 1997 while pictures go back to 1992, I’d appreciate it if you replied to this post with it - thanks in advance.
Country of Origin
Cambodia / Kingdom of Cambodia ()
Main Hub(s): Phnom Penh International Airport (PNH)
Aircraft Types Used (from those available in WoA)
(For this airline, some types are available in WoA, some not.)Aircraft operated (already in-game/planned):
Antonov An-12 (-12B, AN12) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: CCCP-12988 - later scrapped)Boeing 737 (-200 Adv/-200C Adv, B732) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-200 Adv N470TA - later scrapped, known as RA-73003 at end of its life)I just wanted to add a quite note about this aircraft real quick:
While the aircraft clearly does have the airline’s titles, logos and colors, this aircraft has simply no record of being under the operation of Kampuchea (note the American registration). I’m unsure as to why, maybe never delivered/not taken up?Anyways, moving on:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-200C Adv OO-SDR - now known as C-GNRD)Now this aircraft does have a record of being part of Kampuchea, though the colors and paint scheme are because the airline leased it from Sabena.
Now, here’s what I can assume to be an older(?) or at least alternative paint scheme:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-200 Adv HS-TBA - now known as PK-LIA, preserved)I believe that should be it for the 737s. Next, we have:
Boeing 757 (-200, B752) - 2 former.
(Pictured below: XU-123 - now known as N939FD)If this livery looks a bit too familiar, it’s because the original aircraft, along with the previous airline’s paint, were from another airline, MyTravel Airways, who they leased this aircraft from.
There was another livery variant or ‘derivative’ that appeared on this aircraft though:
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)Now, this appears to be a “hybrid” livery between Kampuchea and One-Two-Go, though of course still presenting the MyTravel colors.
Moving on to the next aircraft, though:Aircraft operated (not in-game):
Antonov An-24 (-24RV, AN24) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: XU-312 - status unknown)ATR-72 (-202, AT72) - 3 former.
(Pictured below: F-GKOC - later broken up, known as OM-VRC at end of its life)Media of the 3 ATRs appears to be pretty scarce, so I don’t know if they had an updated, ‘later’ livery or not, or just any other liveries or shots besides this.
However, continuing on again:
Lockheed L-1011 (-100, -200, L101) - 9 former.
(8/1 for both variants, respectively.)
(Pictured below: Lockheed L-1011-100 XU100 - now known as 9L-LFB, preserved)(Pictured below: Lockheed L-1011-100 HS-LTA - later broken up, known as XU-600 at end of its life)
Note the “HS” prefix instead of “XU” - this aircraft appears to have been leased from Orient Thai Airlines, though they later appeared to have bought out the aircraft, reregistering it to what would be its final registration above.
I’ll include a photo example of what XU600 looked like before moving on:
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above, just under new registration)You might notice the little marking below the “Kampuchea Airlines” logo and text near the front. When I looked into its context, I found out that this L-1011 was operating on behalf of the IOM (International Organization for Migration), hence its somewhat unusual location, at least given its regional airline status (the airport is Zurich, if you’re curious).
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any media of XU-122, the only L-1011-200 (if I’m not wrong; it’s designated as a L-1011-385-1-15, which is the FAA Certification name for the L-1011-200). If there’s any media you could find of XU-122, I’d appreciate it if you added it on in a reply below.
Moving on to the next type:
Tupolev Tu-134 (A-3, T134) - 2 former.
(Pictured below: XU-101 - status unknown)Here’s one of their (earlier?) liveries on the type:
(Pictured below: XU-102 - status unknown)(I understand that the registration is not visible from this angle, but this picture does come up if you look up XU-102.)
Now would be the part where I’d close off the suggestion, but there’s just one last section I wanted to save for last:
Helicopters operated:
Mil Mi-8 (-8PS, MI8) - exact number of helicopters operated not available or not clear.
(Pictured below: XU-802 - status unknown)Mil Mi-17 (no specific variant listed, MI8) - exact number of helicopters operated not available or not clear.
(Pictured below: XU-170 - status unknown)However, I’d like to advise you to take in these helicopter types with a grain of salt. Some sources have reported that these were operated on behalf of the Cambodian Air Force (and just… had Kampuchea Airlines titles for some reason?). Well, as per usual, if you find any more information on them, don’t hesitate to put it in a reply down below, I’m curious to know more of the story about their purpose, or why they have titles referencing the airline to begin with.
Why should this airline be added?
I’d say this airline should be added because it has a very, very diverse fleet of aircraft that could be added, and even only considering what’s currently in-game, it’s still quite unique and notable, with the 757s (mainly as in passenger 757s) and An-12s especially being extremely rare in Asia. The 737-200s they operated also could be added with the 737 remodel coming soon, and all 3 aircraft currently/soon to be in-game would make for amazing events or even special contracts.When it comes to special contracts, or just event arrivals, the two best airports for it are Bangkok and Hong Kong, with an emphasis on Hong Kong. (though not complaining about its current special contract count at all lol)
I put an emphasis on Hong Kong, as the airline ceased operations in 2004; HKG opened in 1998, while BKK opened in 2006, some years after the airline ceased operations - I would assume Kampuchea operated to DMK instead. While I still do think it’s possible for the airline to appear as a special contract in BKK, I think it would work best in HKG.
As for events in general, I believe that they could serve a good chunk of Asia, along with some other parts of the world - BKK, HKG, MCT and maybe SYD? If aircraft like the L-1011 are added later, then the airline should be capable of showing up as events around Europe, too.So, to summarize, I think this airline should be added because of its historical significance and amazing event potential, as the airline operated elusive types like the An-12 and 757, making them very notable for a region like Asia, which again, doesn’t see many types like them.
Their unique liveries will also make them quite an eye-catcher - with several variations and leased liveries, not to mention the aforementioned rare types, I believe that the airline is cut out to be amazing event or special contract material for the Asian region.Sources:
Kampuchea Airlines’ Planespotters.net Page
Kampuchea Airlines’ Wikipedia Page
Royal Cambodian Air Force info (contains some bits about the Mil helicopters)