Interesting story about trainee pilots paying for right seat time (hours building) as pretend 1st officers. Those sort of rumours have circulated in aviation roughly as long as aeroplanes have been used to transport people. Without the ATPL level licence, which IIRC requires 500 hours PIC (pilot in COMMAND) in the log book, they’re not allowed to sit in that seat while the engines are running. CPL (commercial licence) doesn’t cut it for airline transport operations.

Having said all that, such things are not impossible, if enough people can be persuaded to turn a blind eye…. Surely not in Cambodia though?

Where are their pilots from, and are they paying to get their flight hours?

Yes, this needs to be updated. However, even though Cambodia Angkor Air sucks, they are the most reliable overall. There are constantly new airlines entering the market that disappear without a moment’s notice. So while there may be better choices if you are buying a ticket for within the next week, if you’re planning in advance (as most tours do) CAA is still the best choice.