Lao Airlines expands international routes
National carrier Lao Airlines will start new flights between Vientiane and Yangon in Myanmar and to Malaysia in the near future after it opened services to China, South Korea and Vietnam at the end of last year.
“The Myanmar flight will start by end of this year while the route to Malaysia is now under study,” the Lao Airlines Commercial Director Mr Saleum Tayarath said on Monday.
“We also plan to have additional flights for some existing routes,” Mr Saleum said.
The company plans an increase of three to four flights per week for the Vientiane to Singapore route. “We will do that in October,” he said.
“For the route to South Korea, we will also begin the flight schedule on September 30 and it will be a daily service,” he said.
“Currently we only have charter flights to Incheon three times per week.”
The company's business has picked up after Lao Airlines recently added four Airbus 320 aircraft to its fleet.
The carrier recorded 531,653 passengers in 2011 and over 600,000 passengers last year. “We expect to have almost 1 million passengers this year,” he said.
The increasing number of passengers is attributed to the airline's improved service. A report shows it carried 411,977 passengers in 2010 but only 275,249 in 2006.
He said currently Lao Airlines has over 70 ticketing agents in Vientiane and the provinces, and over 400 overseas agents.
The current network includes international routes to Bangkok and Chiang Mai (Thailand); Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Danang (Vietnam); Kunming and Jinghong (China); Siem Reap (Cambodia) and Singapore. It has domestic routes going to the provinces, including Luang Prabang, Champassak, Savannakhet, Xieng Khuang, Oudomxay, Bokeo and Luang Namtha.
Lao Airlines has agreements with TG (Thai Airways), VN (Vietnam Airlines), PG (Bangkok Airways), MU (China Eastern Airlines), QF (Qantas Airways), SQ (Silk Air), CI (China Airlines), KE (Korean Airlines) and BR (Eva Airways), as well as interline agreements with HR (Hahn Air), SU (Aeroflot Russian Airlines), and YO (Heli Air Monaco).
vientiane times
