Lao Airlines at Luang Prabang Airport

Xian MA60 Aircraft Lao Airlines

Lao Airlines is based in the capital Vientiane and is the national airline of Laos; established in 1976, it is wholly owned by the Lao Government and has a fleet of Xian MA60 and some ATR-72 planes.

You can quickly fly to neighbouring countries or Luang Prabang with Lao Airlines from the capital Vientiane, making your travels hassle-free.

Lao Airlines at Luang Prabang Airport

Airport in Luang Prabang
The Luang Prabang airport.

2008 I took an inaugural trip to Laos from Malaysia using AirAsia. From Vientiane, I wanted to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Luang Prabang, and there were only 3 choices.

With the hard-to-decide choices, they had only one practical option for me due to time, and these were the options for travelling to Luang Prabang back then;

1. A slow boat ride that took almost 2 days (US$4 to $6)
2. A bus ride through the mountains that took about 10 hours (US$10 to $12)
3. Fly there with Lao Airlines, which only takes 45 minutes (US$140).

Obviously, wanting to save time, I booked the Lao Airline flight to Luang Prabang without hesitation, and from the timing, you can see why. 

Notice at Luang Prabang AirportInteresting notices at the Luang Prabang airport.

Travelling From Vientiane to Luang Prabang With Lao Airlines

Vientiane's International Airport has only two terminals: the new Wattay International Terminal and the old run-down domestic terminal. (As of 2008)

To travel locally within Laos, you would take a short 5-minute walk next door to the domestic terminal, which was quite interesting.

All kinds of signs and notices were found on the old-styled boards. One that caught my eye was what kind of guns and explosives are allowed on board.

By the time you read this, there have been considerable changes to the notices and restrictions on carrying arms or explosives on flights.

Like any other airport, the check-in and boarding procedures were no different; they even had flight announcements done in the local and English languages. 

Meal on Lao AirlinesLao Airlines snack box on the flight.

For my flight to Luang Prabang, our plane was the China-made Xian MA60 Turboprop plane which cost about US$12.5 million.

The plane can seat 60 passengers and has a maximum speed of 514 km/h. It was reasonably comfortable and a smooth ride to Luang Prabang.

The snack provided during my flight was odd as I received a box with a bun and a Mandarin orange inside. Oh well, for a 45-minute flight, it was quicker than you expected.

Aerial View of Luang Prabang
Aerial view of Luang Prabang town from the plane.

Before arriving at Luang Prabang's airport, you could see the entire Luang Prabang town from a few hundred feet above.

Also, the Luang Prabang airport is pretty small, and when you exit the terminal, tuk-tuks and hotel representatives will be waiting for you.

Is it Safe to Fly Lao Airlines? 

From their amazing track record, there has been no accident involving any of the Lao Airlines planes since the year 2000.

Also, in 2007 and 2008, Lao Airlines received two awards related to service improvement and also the on-time operation of flights. I would use the airlines anytime after flying twice with them.

Visit the website of Lao Airlines for more flight information and bookings.

Lao Airlines address and telephone numbers;

Vientiane

02 Pangkham Street, P.O BOX 6441
TEL : ( 856- 21 ) 212057
FAX : ( 856 21 ) 212065

Ticketing and Reservations
Tel : ( 856 – 21 ) 212051-54
Fax : ( 856 – 21 ) 212056
Email: reservation@laoairlines.com
ticketing@laoairlines.com

Airport Office
Tel : ( 856-21 ) 512028 (Wattay International Airport )
Tel: ( 856-21 ) 512 000, 512 004 (Wattay Domestic Airport )
Tel ( 856 -30 ) 5256921

Luang Prabang (LPQ)

Town Office
Tel : ( 856-71 ) 212172
Fax : ( 856-71 ) 212406
Email: addy@laoairlines.com

Airport Office
Tel : ( 856 - 71) 212173
Fax : ( 856- 71 ) 252264
Email: lpq@laoairlines.com

Conclusion

Overall, if you want to save a lot of time, I recommend you take Lao Airlines from Vientiane if you are there.

However, in the last 10 years, more airlines have started to fly into Luang Prabang, and recently, AirAsia and Silk Air have direct flights here from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

I started in Vientiane and then decided to explore my options of travelling up north to Luang Prabang; hence I used Lao Airline for my journey.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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