Pakse Airport to reopen in two months

KPL) Champassak re-improves its Pakse airport and hopes it will be ready for use in May, according to an official.
Head of the Civil Aviation Department, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Mr. Yakoua Lorpangkao, said that the improvement of Pakse Airport began in March 2008 and would take 20 months.
Although the improvement was over the airport could not be used after a test run in November last year. The improvement had been conducted with inappropriate techniques so the airport is being re-improved now, according to Mr. Yakoua.
The improvement includes the expansion of its runway from 1,625 m long and 36 m wide to 2,400 m long and 45 m wide in order to enable the airport in this southernmost province to support large aircrafts such as Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s.

Laos to build new Luang Prabang airport

(KPL) Laos will start construction of its new Luang Prabang airport next year and put it into operation in 2013, said Khampheng Saysompheng, Vice-Governor of Luang Prabang province.
The cost of building of the new airport is estimated at 86.4 million USD, provided by a special credit from the Chinese government under an agreement reached during a recent visit to China by Lao President Choummaly Sayasone.
The new airport will have a 3,000m of runway, parallel with the existing ones. It will be capable of accommodating large-sized aircraft like the Airbus 380. The new airport is expected to fuel tourism, the attraction of foreign investment, and socio-economic development in the province.
Thanks to direct flights to Luang Prabang from Hanoi, in Vietnam, Bangkok, Udon Thani, and Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Siem Reap in Cambodia, up to 70 percent of tourists fly to Luang Prabang, the jewel of tourism of Laos, which has been listed by the UNESCO as a world heritage site.

Laos Airline to reduce price for domestic flight

KPL) The Lao Airline State Enterprise announced recently to reduce its air fee for domestic flight and reduce its flight to foreign countries after the number of passengers has been gradually decreased.
Mr. Lada Sounthone, Marketing Manager of the Lao Airline State Enterprise disclosed that his company has reduced its price about 25% for all domestic flights and reduced some of its flights for oversea routes from 24 March to September.
Mr. Lada expressed that the reduction of price for domestic flight was only for the passengers who bought double tickets (returned ticket ) and the company has also reduced its flight from 7 flights to 5 flights a week from Vientiane –Hanoi and from 7 fights to 5 flights a week from Vientiane – Siem Reap and from 7 flights to five flights a week from Vientiane- Kumming.
The flight from Vientiane – Xiengmai and Vientiane-Bangkok are opened as usual. According to Mr. Lada, the Lao Airline must reduce air price and its flight due to the global financial crisis.
In the past few months, a number of passengers of the Lao Airline has reduced about 20-30% compared to the same period of last year.
Mr. Lada added that the passengers of Lao Airline may increase again during October of this year due to the 25th SEA Games and the Lao Airline will also receive new aircraft ATR 72-500 at the end of 2009 for serving the public

Delays to modernization of Pakse International Airport

(KPL) Improvement work to Pakse International Airport in Champassak province has only been partially completed, although it is already passed the scheduled completion date.
Head of the improvement project for Pakse International Airport, Mr Anousak Kittilath said that even though construction work started in March 2008 but till the present its completion is computed at 42 per cent.He said that work could not go on seamlessly because of a series of delays, the delivery of raw materials, monetary compensation to villagers who were affected by this project and heavy rainfall for three months in 2008.
However, he gave the assurance that the improvement work would be completed by the end of November, 2009. When completed, the big and modern airplanes, Boeing 737 airplane and Airbus 320 would be able to land and take-off from the runway of this airport, added Mr Anousak.
Mr. Anoulack Khithilath, also said that according to the terms of the contract, signed with the Italian-Thai Construction Company, in March 2008, the runway would be lengthened to 2,400 metres from 1,650 metres, the width of 36 metres to be widened to 45 metres and the total construction cost was over 233 million baht.

Traveller numbers fall over New Year period

Transport operators will offer fewer services than usual over the New Year period due to a fall in demand as people choose to celebrate at home in the wake of the economic slowdown.

Public bus and airline operators announced yesterday they were experiencing a major drop in the number of travellers at this time year and would not operate extra buses and aircrafts as they have done in previous years.

Lao Airlines Marketing Manager, Mr Rada Sounthone, said additional flights to Luang Prabang province would not be offered this year, even though all flights were booked out.

“There are no more seats available for flights to Luang Prabang until January 2, however we will not offer more flights because there is not enough demand to justify them,” he told Vientiane Times.

He said the airline has been adversely affected by the global economic slowdown and recent political turmoil in Thailand .

The Vientiane Northern Bus Station will not offer more services to Luang Prabang as demand for the tickets as fallen by more than 30 percent compared to last year.

Vientiane Southern Bus Station Director, Ms Ladavan Sisouk, said more buses would only be put on standby if demand was high enough.

“If buses are overloaded, then we will call in more buses,” she said.

She said the bus station had been unusually quiet over the festive season this year.

“Last year, there were large crowds waiting for buses to travel home, however this year is not the same,” she said.

More than 50 buses depart from the station to the southern provinces of Laos every day. During the New Year period last year this was increased by more than 20 percent to cater for demand.

Ms Ladavan believes the current economic situation means people are opting to stay at home over the holiday period.

Another reason for falling bus passenger numbers is cheaper fuel prices.

“People who own cars will now decide to drive to holiday destinations because fuel prices have fallen,” she said.

Ms Ladavan said she would like authorities to promote domestic travel to boost the transport and tourism sectors.


By Ekaphone Phouthonesy
(Latest Update December 31, 2008)
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/Previous_309/FreeContent/Free_Traveller.htm

Wattay to make way for new airport

(KPL) The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) said yesterday that the government is scouting for a suitable site to build an airport that would give a good image of Laos to air travellers. 
CAD said that there is an urgent need to replace the present Wattay International Airport because it is close to the centre of Vientiane, it is located in a highly urban area of the capital city and the flights of the planes to and from the airport is a source of noise pollution.
Mr Vanpheng Chanthaphone, Vice-Head of the Civil Aviation Deportment said that recently there is an increase in the number of flights to and from Wattay but as its size and available facilities are limited, the government is seriously thinking of building a new one in a more suitable location.

We studied the options and we concluded that Wattay cannot cater adequately to the long term economic growth of the Vientiane Capital and morever its location in a densely populated area of the city means that many people night die in an unforseen air crash near this airport, he added. 
Recently, the Lao government gave the green light for the Booyong Company of the Republic of Korea to conduct a feasibility study to build a new airport. A ceremony was held on 5 December to commemorate the commencement of such a study and the two signatories were Mr Sommath Polsena, Minister of Public Works and Transport and Mr Lee Joong-Keun, Chairman of Booyong Company.The new location has been decided and it will be at Kilometre 21 of Road 13 South, in Xaythany district of Vientiane Capital and near the new International Stadium, the venue of the 25th SEA Games in 2009.
The Civil Aviation Department also said that a land area of 5,000 hectares has been set aside for the new airport and the feasibility study is expected to be completed by 2010. If the Lao government approves the plan, the Booyong Company will carry out construction work in 2011 and its scheduled completion date is 2015.

Lao Airlines loses US$ 300,000 due to Suvarnbhumi Airport closure

(KPL) Lao Airlines admitted last Friday that it lost at least US$ 300,000 or 2.5 billion kip caused by Suvarnbhumi International Airport in Bangkok closed for a week. 
Suvarnbhumi International Airport of Thailand is one of the biggest airports in ASEAN Nations which is main gateway linking to other continents worldwide, but when Thai anti-government protestors seized the airport on 26 November. 
This leads to the closure of Suvarnbhumi airport affected domestic and foreign travelers who are going to visit Thailand and other country especially Laos, said tourism officials.
Vice Marketing Manager of the Lao Airlines, Mr Sitthideth Duangsitthi confirmed that 2,196 passengers of Lao airlines who trapped at the Suvarnbhumi Airport leading to they cancelled and changed their flight for transit in Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. 
Out of the total passengers of the Lao airline, of whom at least 23 Lao people trapped in the Suvarnbhumi airport in this case they decided to change to use the bus and train.

Lao Airlines cancels flights to Bangkok

Lao Airlines yesterday cancelled four flights bound for Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabhumi) after the airport was partially closed when anti-government protestors disrupted airport services.

Lao Airlines Marketing Director, Mr Rada Sounthone, told Vientiane Times the airline had cancelled two flights out of Vientiane and one each from Savannakhet and Luang Prabang airports until further notice.

He was unable to say when flights would resume as this depended on when services at Suvarnabhumi Airport could be restored to normal.

“We also have more than 300 inbound passengers waiting to board flights to Laos at Suvarnabhumi Airport ,” he said.

He said Lao Airlines would refund passengers' money if they decided to travel overland to Thailand instead. Alternatively they could fly from Vientiane to Luang Prabang and from there to Chiang Mai , Thailand .

If the flight on an alternative route costs more than a ticket on the Vientiane-Bangkok sector, passengers must pay the difference. But if the alternative route is cheaper, Lao Airlines will refund the difference.

“All of our flights are fully booked right now because it is peak tourist season,” Mr Rada said.

According to Thailand 's The Nation newspaper, Airports of Thailand (AOT) decided to close Suvarnabhumi Airport after People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protesters blocked an entrance, entered passenger terminals and scuffled with airport officials.

The closure, ordered about 9pm on Tuesday, involved stopping outbound flights. Inbound planes were still being allowed to land on Tuesday night, but could be diverted to key provincial airports if the situation deteriorated.

“The PAD members are now scattered around. I don't know who's who, or who's PAD and who's not,” a senior AOT official, Mr Serirat Prasutanont, told The Nation about 10:30pm on Tuesday.

It is not known how long the closure will last. According to Mr Serirat, the airport had scheduled 44 inbound flights and 40 departures between 11:30pm on Tuesday and 7am on Wednesday.

Thai Airways International (THAI) reported more than 21 flights - to Japan, India, Iran and Europe and other destinations - were cancelled on Tuesday night, affecting up to 6,000 travellers. Up to 10,000 travellers could have been affected on Tuesday night alone, according to airline sources.

The PAD threatened earlier on Tuesday night to close down Suvanabhumi Airport completely after several thousand PAD protesters blocked an entrance earlier in the day and caused turmoil for numerous passengers.

By Panyasith Thammavongsa
(Latest Update November 27, 2008)

http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/Curren_Lao.htm

Lao Airlines opens new route Luang Prabang-Udonthani

(KPL) The Lao Airlines has opened a new direct route between northern Laos' Luang Prabang and Udonthani, northeastern Thailand, to promote the tourism between the two provinces.
The opening ceremony for the new route was held last Friday at the Udonthani International Airport, Thailand, with the participation of Vice-Governor of Luang Prabang, Mr Khamphaeng Saysomphaeng, and Governor Of Udonthani, Mr Umnard Ponrattana, as well as Director General of Lao Airlines, Dr Somphone Douangdara. Relevant officials from both sides witnessed last week's event.
The Head of the Trading and Marketing Division, Lao Airlines, Lada Sounthone, said: the opening of the Luang Prabang-Udonthani air route is to promote the airborne communication and tourism between the two sister towns of world heritage of Laos and Thailand.
The flights between Luang Prabang and Udonthani will be available twice a week (Fridays and Sundays). The airfare in the first three months after the inauguration will cost US$ 70-80 (one way) and US$ 150 (return ticket).
Up to now, the Lao Airlines have opened direct flights between Luang Prabang and five international destinations in the region, including Kunming (southwestern China's Yunnan province), Hanoi (Vietnam), Siem Reap (Cambodia), and Chiang Mai and Udonthani, Thailand

At Phonsavanh's airport

I took holidays. I and my family wanted to fly to Xiengkhouang, North Estern part of Laos. I travelled further to Luang Prabang. I invite you to follow my trip about which I will post from now on.

It was on Sunday, even I tried to book air tickets but I could not do so. So we went straight to the Wattay airport with risk. Luckily there were places for us, 2 adult and 2 children.



We flew on MA60 of Lao Aviation to Phonsavanh's airport which is also called Thong Hai (plain of Jars) Airport. It is located next to the plain of Jars.



Phonsavanh is the capital town of Xiengkhouang Province. It is located among many hills that have no trees growing on them.