Thai's route is governed as much or more by politics than business. They have to fly routes that lose money, and perhaps there are people who would see Thai flying to Siem Reap as taking business away from destinations in Thailand, and don't forget that the political tensions between Thailand and Cambodia haven't gone away. They're still bubbling away beneath the surface.

There was an interview with Thai AirAsia's director some months back in which he said they were not flying to Siem Reap from Bangkok "out of respect" for Bangkok Airways. Bangkok Airways may have had some kind of deal in the past, when they were developing Siem Reap Airways, but once that business got blown out of the water, it seems any exclusivity they might have enjoyed went with it.

PogmahonBKK, I think you over-estimate AirAsia's reliance on western tourists, and you're wrong about them flying to Europe and Australia. They have long-haul service from KL to both destinations, although Europe has been drastically cut back due to the poor economy there. On my flight to Hat Yai yesterday, I was the only westerner on the plane. My next flight with them is to Nakhon Panom, and I'd be willing to bet I'm the only westerner on that one too. Sure, they have a lot of westerners on flights to Chiang Mai and Phuket, but I'd guess they could fill flights with locals and regional people. I don't think they will, since it would be wrong to underestimate the lure of cheap flights or the stupidity of many first-time visitors.

Lets see. Just received my travel plan for October/November. 14 flights within Asia, all with other carriers than Air Asia. Its sad, I love to fly with them but that's history soon. By the way Air Asia stopped flying to Europe completely :-(