Lao Airlines adds more flights to heritage sites

Lao Airlines will add extra round-trip flights from Vientiane to Luang Prabang and Pakxe from April 10-19 to meet the needs of passengers travelling to celebrate the Lao New Year.

According to the Commercial Director of Lao Airlines, Mr Rada Sunthorn, the airline will increase the number of return flights from Vientiane to Luang Prabang from three to seven daily.

Return flights from Vientiane to Pakxe will increase from three a week at present to five times weekly... more info

“If we find demand increases even further, we will add more flights. Every year, more and more people travel to Luang Prabang at this time of the year,” he said.

“Not only is it well known as a World Heritage Site, it is a very popular destination for local people and foreign residents of Laos , who like to go there to celebrate the traditional activities staged at New Year.”

Mr Rada said that over New Year, this group constituted 60 percent of visitors to the city whereas, normally, overseas tourists formed 70 percent of the total number of visitors.

The second most popular destination in Laos was Champassak province, which is home to the World Heritage Site of Vat Phou.

Overseas visitors usually go there by plane during the New Year, whereas most local people drive there.

He said that the prices of these flights would remain unchanged, with people of Lao nationality paying 470,000 kip and foreigners paying US$63 for a one-way ticket from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. From Vientiane to Champassak, the cost was 750,000kip for Lao people and US$95 for foreigners.

“We have cancelled flights from Vientiane to Houaxai airport in Bokeo province for a further two weeks because of poor visibility due to smoke from forest fires and slash and burn farming. We are waiting for the skies to clear before we resume flights on this sector,” he said.


By Panyasith Thammavongsa
vientianetimes