R oyal Air Cambodge (RAC) has been given permission to fly to two destinations in

China - Kunming and Guanzhou province - from September.

RAC has also

scored a Memorandum of Understanding for direct flights to Paris from

1996.

"The Chinese national carrier Air China has approved our request

but they need to talk with their government," RAC vice-chairman Pan Chantra

said. Government approval is considered a formality, he said.

He said

the Cambodian national carrier had a similar agreement with China in 1963,

flying to four destinations, "but now we will begin with two

destinations."

He said the company had chosen the two provinces because

of the many Chinese investors and tourists from those areas that presently

travel to Cambodia via Hong Kong or Singapore.

Those passengers prefered

directs flights rather than transits, he said. Two Boeing 737-400s, which can

carry 168 passengers, would be used.

Flights would be three times weekly.

No fare price had yet been set, Chantra said.

Chantra said RAC would

probably launch direct flights to Paris on January, 1996 if agreement was

granted by France.

"We are in negotiation. We haven't received any fomal

answer yet but we have a Memorandum of Understanding," he said.

Chantra

said direct flights from France would be an emormous boost, given the numbers of

French tourists and Khmer emmigrants who want to visit Cambodia.

RAC

plans to use Boeing 767s on the French route, able to carry 200

passengers.

RAC currently flies to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala

Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City. A Cambodian-Indonesia link is also planned, Chantra

said.