Lao Airlines to add extra New Year flight on Luang Prabang sector
Lao Airlines to add extra New Year flight on Luang Prabang sector
Lao Airlines will add an extra flight on its Vientiane-Luang Prabang sector over the Christmas and New Year period to cater for the surge in tourists visiting the popular world heritage site.
The airline will make the change in response to increased bookings as many visitors will head to Luang Prabang to celebrate the New Year. Extra flights have been added in past years over New Year and Lao New Year in April, when tourist numbers peak.
The airline usually operates three flights daily on this sector but will add one more flight from December 25 to January 4, Director of Marketing and Planning Mr Sitthideth Douangsiththy told Vientiane Times .
Usually, flights depart from Vientiane at 9:10am, 11:30am and 5pm, but an extra one will be added when the number of passengers exceeds the seat capacity of these flights, he said.
Flights on other domestic routes are expected to remain the same, although on overseas routes the airline may replace the normal plane with a larger aircraft if passenger numbers require it, said Mr Sitthideth.
Domestic flights to some other destinations are also fully booked over the New Year holiday, he added.
On the Vientiane-Luang Prabang sector Lao Airlines flies an Airbus on two of the daily journeys while an ATR makes the third flight. An Airbus will be used on the extra flight.
Mr Sitthideth said Luang Prabang always attracts a host of visitors over the New Year, while large numbers of people who work in Vientiane also head home to the area for the holiday.
According to the Tourism Development Department, the number of Lao and foreign visitors making trips to Luang Prabang has increased every year. In 2012 there were around 410,000 visitors, which increased to almost 468,000 people in 2013 and to 500,000 people in 2014.
Lao Airlines has 15 planes, of which seven are ATRs, four are Airbuses, and four are MA60s.
The airline operates domestic flights to Luang Prabang, Champassak, Savannakhet, Xieng Khuang, Oudomxay, Bokeo, Huaphan, Attapeu and Luang Namtha.
The airline's network also includes international routes to Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand; Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam; Kunming, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Jing Hong in China; Siem Reap in Cambodia; Singapore; and Seoul and Busan in the Republic of Korea.
