MALAYSIA Airlines suffered a slight decline in its Cambodian business in 2009, though it beat the industry average, as a company official said he sees business picking up this year. Malaysia Airlines saw a 2.6 percent decline in Cambodian passengers, a decrease from 43,855 in 2008 to 42,715 in 2009, Abdul Karim Md Isa, the company’s manager in Cambodia, wrote in an email Tuesday. “2009 was a tough year for the airline industry, and our operation in Cambodia was not immune from the global crisis,” he said. The airline managed to outperform other carriers operating in Cambodia, which saw a total decline of 10.3 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to the Ministry of Tourism. At the same time, the number of Malaysian visitors dropped 3.7 percent. Malaysia Airlines, which began operations here in 1992, runs daily flights between Phnom Penh and Kuala Lumpur and thrice-weekly flights from Siem Reap to the Malaysian capital. The airline’s Cambodia manager said it might start flights to Sihanoukville International Airport.
