Angkor Airways executive sued for fraud

Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Nine local travel agencies yesterday filed an accusation of fraud against Alex Lou, executive director of the Taiwan branch office of the Cambodia-based Angkor Airways, after suffering total losses of over NT$100 million caused by the airline's abrupt suspension of flights between Taipei and the Southeast Asian country.

Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the Travel Agent Association of the ROC, Taiwan said the firms, all based in Taipei, took legal action against Angkor Airways after consulting with the Cabinet-level Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) yesterday morning.

Yao said CPC officials advised them that the most effective way for the travel service firms to get back money they have paid for advance bookings on flights offered by the PhnomPenh-based airline between Taipei and Siem Reap -- home to the world famous Cambodian historic site of Angkor Wat complex.

In total, the travel agencies have sustained losses valued at over NT$100 million (US$3.2 million) due to the suspension of the flights, Yao said.

Lou was detained by prosecutors in Taipei on May 1 in connection with an alleged embezzlement scandal involving Taipei-based Far Eastern Air Transportation Corp., which leases planes to Angkor Airways.

Lou has been solely in charge of sourcing funding for operations, and his detention has plunged the company into financial woes, according to Angkor officials.

As a result, the carrier closed the branch last Friday and temporarily suspended all its Taipei-Siem Reap flights, stranding many Taiwanese tourists in Cambodia.

Angkor Airways operated between 20 and 23 chartered flights between Taipei and Siem Reap per month.

Also yesterday, CPC officials said a group of Taiwanese tourists stranded in Cambodia by the abrupt shutdown of Angkor Airways are scheduled to return to Taiwan today.

The officials said the nine travel service firms involved have arranged a China Airlines (CAL) plane to fly the 118 Angkor Airways ticket holders from Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

More than 100 other Angkor Airways ticket holders were flown back to Taiwan on several flights Saturday. They were among 449 Taiwanese tourists left without a return flight when the Phnom Penh headquartered carrier suddenly decided Friday to temporarily suspend all its flights between Taipei and Siem Reap.

The travel agencies have also promised to fully reimburse all expenses to the ticket holders, the CPC officials said.

The decision was reached in a coordination meeting held by the commission earlier in the day and attended by officials from the Civil Aeronautics Administration, the Tourism Bureau, the Travel Quality Assurance Assn., as well as travel agency alliance representatives.

The nine travel agencies include: Lion Travel Service Co., Ltd., Flyee Travel Service Co., Ltd., Favor Holiday, South East Travel Service Co., Ltd., PK Travel, Tai-Der International Travel Co., Ltd., China Times Travel Service and Come Best Travel & Tour Ltd.

The firms have also decided to soon file another suit against Angkor Airway to demand compensations from the airlines.

Taiwanese tourists stranded in Cambodia return home via Phnom Penh

By Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, May 10 (CNA) - A group of Taiwanese tourists stranded in Siem Reap, Cambodia, by the abrupt shutdown of Angkor Airways arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Saturday on a China Airlines (CAL) flight from Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

The travelers were the first of among 449 Angkor Airways ticket holders to return home after being left without a return flight when the Phnom Penh-headquartered carrier suddenly decided Friday to temporarily suspend all its flights between Taipei and Siem Reap -- home to the world famous Angkor Wat complex -- because of financial woes.

A total of four flights on Saturday were expected to bring a combined 134 of the tourists home, with the remaining passengers expected to catch other flights to Taipei on May 12 and 13.

They have been forced to find connecting flights from Phnom Penh, and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, on CAL, EVA Airways and Vietnam Airlines.

Such flights added five hours to travel times to Taipei compared to the canceled direct flights between Taipei and Siem Reap, according to local travel agencies, which reportedly will suffer substantial financial losses because of the flight cancellations.

Angkor Airways operated 20 to 23 chartered flights between Taipei and Siem Reap per month. It attributed the suspension of flights to the detention of Alex Lou, the managing director of the carrier's Taipei branch, who is suspected of being involved in Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) embezzlement case.

Lou was responsible for the financial management of the branch, the carrier said, and without him, the branch faced insurmountable cash flow problems.

The suspension of Angkor Airways flights has only added to the woes of debt-ridden FAT, which has leased aircraft to the Cambodian airline for its Taipei-Siem Reap service, FAT executives said.

They noted that the partner airline owes FAT NT$790 million (US$25.77 million) and the cancellation of the flights will deprive FAT of NT$1.34 million in daily income from the lease contract.

FAT, Taiwan's oldest private carrier that has been hit hard by a deteriorating domestic aviation market, filed for bankruptcy protection with the Taipei District Court on Feb. 17 and has been struggling to meet its operating obligations since.

Taipei prosecutors suspect that top-ranking managers at FAT pocketed company funds and purposely let Angkor Airways delay paying FAT the debts in exchange for kickbacks.

Cambodia carrier ends Taipei flights over its financial crisis

Saturday, May 10, 2008
The China Post news staff (Taiwan)

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Cambodia-based Angkor Airways will suspend its flights between Taipei and the Southeast Asian country today, as it has run into financial difficulties after the detention of a top company executive on criminal charges in Taiwan, the airline's branch office in Taiwan announced yesterday.

Alex Lou, executive director of the Taiwan branch office, has been solely in charge of sourcing funding for operations, and his detention has plunged the company into financial woes, the office said.

The announcement came in the afternoon, while its flights to Siem Reap, the location of the famous Cambodian historic site of Angkor Wat, had still taken off as scheduled in the morning.

A total of 449 passengers from Taiwan were originally scheduled to take three Angkor charter flights back home in the next four days, the company said. But the office said it has already asked the passengers' travel agencies to rearrange their clients to fly home from Phnom Penh via China Airlines or EVA Airways.

Lou has been detained following questioning by prosecutors in Taipei on May 1 as part of their investigation into an embezzlement scandal hitting the debt-ridden Fast Eastern Air Transport.

The branch office said the headquarters in Cambodia respects the due process in Taiwan.

The travelers were originally scheduled to fly back to Taiwan from Siem Reap on May 10, 12 and 13.

Although it does not have a representative office in Cambodia, Taiwan's foreign ministry has appealed to Cambodia-based Taiwanese businesspeople to help the stranded tourists get rooms at local hotels, ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh said late last night.

Taiwan's government will arrange for Taiwanese airlines to pick up the tourists from both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap over the next four days, with FAT sending a plane on May 13, Yeh said.

For more assistance, Taiwanese citizens can call Taiwan's representative office in Ho Chi Minh City at 002-84-903927019, the spokeswoman said.

Angkor Airways, a regional airline with three routes between Siem Reap and Japanese cities in addition to its Taipei route, operated 20-23 chartered flights between Taipei and Siem Reap every month.

Although the statement said all flights would be suspended temporarily, there was no mention of if or when the charters would resume.

According to the airline's website, its charter flight routes include ones from Taipei, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka to Siem Reap.

But its current flight schedule has only flights between Taipei and the Cambodian destination.

Debt-ridden FAT, Taiwan's oldest private carrier that has been hit hard by a deteriorating domestic aviation market, filed for bankruptcy protection with the Taipei District Court on Feb. 17 and has been struggling to meet its operating obligations since.

Taipei prosecutors suspect that top-ranking managers at FAT pocketed company funds and purposely let Angkor Airways delay paying FAT the NT$700 million owed for leasing aircraft from the Taiwanese carrier.

Support requested for flights between Japan and Cambodia

Saturday, January 26, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

A Japanese official belonging to the International airport industry asked the Cambodian government to support flights by Angkor Airways between Japan and Cambodia. The Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper reported that Hajime Miyamoto, chairman of the Kansai-Osaka International airport, told Thong Khon, the minister of Tourism about this issue during a meeting held in Phnom Penh on 22 January 2008. Hajime Miyamoto told Thong Khon that, currently, the Angkor Airways has flights scheduled between Osaka, Japan, and Cambodia, and in the future, it wants to schedule flights between Nakuta and Fukuoka, Japan, and Cambodia also, and in particular, flights to Siem Reap. Therefore, Hajime Miyamoto wants Cambodia to support the flights scheduled by this airline. He also told Thong Khon that there could be 3 weekly flights and this number will increase to daily flights using new airplanes.