Lao Airlines plans route expansion
Lao Airlines A320
Lao Airlines, the national carrier of Laos, will add a new route to its 19-destination network across the landlocked Southeast Asian country.
The new route, to Attopeu, will be flown 3X-weekly from the carrier’s base in Vientiane, retuning via Champasak region capital Pakse. It is looking to fly to Jakarta in the coming months using an Airbus A320.
The airline suffered a fatal crash in October 2013, killing 49 passengers and crew on an ATR 72 approach to Pakse, but has since pushed for an expansion of its route both domestically and internationally. It now operates flights to Taiwan, China, Singapore, Korea, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as 10 domestic destinations.
At the end of December, it added a fourth route to China from Luang Prabang to Chengdu.
The official opening up of the ASEAN Open Skies policy this year will likely see increased competition across the region, with Lao Airlines already seeing increased inroads onto its potential market.
This is currently highlighted by a dispute between Thai Smile, a subsidiary of THAI Airways International, and the Department of Civil Aviation of Lao PDR (DCA) over the former flying into Vientiane from Bangkok on THAI’s bilateral agreement’s ticket.
~News courtesy of Air Transport World~
Lao Airlines A320
Lao Airlines, the national carrier of Laos, will add a new route to its 19-destination network across the landlocked Southeast Asian country.
The new route, to Attopeu, will be flown 3X-weekly from the carrier’s base in Vientiane, retuning via Champasak region capital Pakse. It is looking to fly to Jakarta in the coming months using an Airbus A320.
The airline suffered a fatal crash in October 2013, killing 49 passengers and crew on an ATR 72 approach to Pakse, but has since pushed for an expansion of its route both domestically and internationally. It now operates flights to Taiwan, China, Singapore, Korea, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as 10 domestic destinations.
At the end of December, it added a fourth route to China from Luang Prabang to Chengdu.
The official opening up of the ASEAN Open Skies policy this year will likely see increased competition across the region, with Lao Airlines already seeing increased inroads onto its potential market.
This is currently highlighted by a dispute between Thai Smile, a subsidiary of THAI Airways International, and the Department of Civil Aviation of Lao PDR (DCA) over the former flying into Vientiane from Bangkok on THAI’s bilateral agreement’s ticket.
~News courtesy of Air Transport World~
