Anyone have info on their safety record? Have the choice of a very good connection BKK/VTE with them, or waiting overnight in BKK for TG. Would appreciate any experience, advice.
Ta Koala

See
http://www.dfat.gov.au/consular/advice/laos.html


Don't you wish Qantas flew this route now?



cheers Peter

Peter - many thanks for this info. Although the advisory warns against Lao Aviation for domestic flights, my guess is that their international ops may not rival the Qantas record - still without one pax accident fatality--pretty good for the world's second oldest airline [after KLM]. Cheers Koala

Koala, did you end up taking the trip on Lao Aviation? how was it? I've found a good 5000 baht fare from BKK... how was vientienne??

If you want to stay on TG, fly BKK-UTH (for less than half the price of VTE). TG runs a shuttle (40 minutes) to the bridge. Vientiane is just across the river.

I flew Lao Aviation two weeks ago from Vientiane to Luang Praban, Laos. It was just fine. I didn't find Vientiane particularly interesting, though - Luang Praban was significantly more interesting.

http://www.traveladventures.org/cont...aviation.shtml

http://www.lao-aviation.com/

Since all planes are small turboprops and distances are short, you never fly very high. This means that you often get spectacular views of the countryside. All in all, while in many parts of the world flying has become a very routine way of transportation, in Laos you can still enjoy the a more romantic way of flying.

Lao Aviation have two Aerospatiale ATR-72 74-seat turboprops (same as American Eagle) which do all international and the bulk of the main domestic runs. They also have two Y-7s, which is a Chinese-built version of the Russian Antonov 24 52-seat turboprop, and four Y-12s, which is a Chinese variant on the DeHavilland 17-seat Twin Otter, with Pratt & Whitney turboprops. These two types are used on up-country runs to remote areas. Lao Aviation have operated them for many years.

I am always somewhat disappointed by those who seek to travel to remote and interesting countries, but then give emphasis to any aspects of aviation (and other features of life) that are not the same as home. If you don't like the idea of Chinese aircraft (and I'm quite OK with them), don't travel to remote Laos. As you probably won't get Starwood points either, this sort of trip is not for you.

I wonder if the Australian consular advice (link above) against the Y-7/Y-12 would have been the same if Lao Aviation had bought the GAF Nomad, a comparable Australian aircraft, instead?

WPB-M -- here is hoping that the warning would have been tougher had Lao Aviation been flying the Nomad.
I do not have the stats on accidents with that craft, but the % of incidents must have been quite high, for the # of aircraft sold. Remember when the new Chief Minister and half of his Cabinet was lost in Sabah, in a Nomad crash. Changed the course of history there.
There is sometimes a problem with aviation firsts, especially when national pride gets mixed in. Remember the Comet?
Koala

[This message has been edited by Koala (edited 01-17-2003).]

There is a saying about this airline:
"Everything is old, apart from the pilots"

The approach to Luang Prabang is certainly memorable on the Y-7 - it's basically between 2 hills and then DOWN to the runway. I looked out of one window and thought - wow that hill is close - looked out the other and though - that REALLY is close!

The Y-7 also has an interesting characteristic that can scare the unwary. Condensation builds in the cabin as you climb and starts appearing as clouds of mist billowing from the luggage racks. Nice country though, and flying Lao Aviation is better than a 14 hour bus journey; or the 6 hour speedboat ride up the Mekong to get to Chiang Rai.

I took a few flights with them a few years back.

You would have to be INSANE to fly them if there was any other choice, but internally - sadly there is not. Totally bald tyres with canvas showing through. Pilot and crew drinking beer with lunch before they took off. Planes half a day late as the run drugs up into the mountains instead etc. No seatbelts, or ones that do not work. Great airline.

http://www.glenstephens.com/indochina.htm

An extract - the taxes etc will chave changed now, but I bet nothing much else has:

Vientiane is a dusty, run down dump, and is not a good introduction to Laos. I made a point of visiting the "Friendship Bridge" just outside the city, that links Laos and Thailand over the Mekong.

Australian taxes for some reason paid for most of its $A42 million cost, and it is of course featured on the 1994 Aussie 95� stamp issue. Happy to wave Vientiane good-bye, I flew Lao Aviation to Phonsavan in the central highlands. Lao Aviation fly ancient Russian built Antanov 24's prop jets, or worse still, Chinese copies of them called a "Y-7".

I was honoured to fly in both, low over rugged mountain ranges (over 50% of Laos is heavily forested) with canvas showing through on the tyres, no seat belts or seat belt checks, no safely drills, emergency notices in Russian or Chinese etc.

Being communist, they still love their paperwork. For all internal flights you need to be at airport a "few hours" early so the desk staffed by three surly "Immigration" Military can each very slowly sight, stamp and check passports and tickets then pass it to the adjoining guy - no exceptions.

Another bunch slowly collect the 300 Kip (10�!) "departure tax". Another bunch takes away this 10� ticket and cancels it. When you arrive domestically, this whole stupid slow Passport stamping circus and delays takes place again ... true!

The planes never, ever, run anything like on time, and are frequently cancelled (often to fly opium to the Golden Triangle it is said) so a full day can nearly pass by, waiting to take a 30 minute domestic flight.


Hint .... WHATEVER you do take the flights to remote Phonsavan if visiting Laos and DO get to see the Plain Of Jars - missed by 95% of tourists to the country:

Phonsavan used to be called Xieng Kuang. Between 1964 and 1973 the Americans literally bombed that off the map, so it was relocated nearby and re-named. The countryside is pockmarked with bomb craters, seen clearly from the air.

I never realised neutral Laos was so heavily bombed in the conflict especially here so far inland from Vietnam, but you live and learn. Unexploded ordinance is still a massive problem in the countryside, killing and maiming hundreds each year. The hill tribe villagers use the huge unexploded bombs as sturdy pillars for wooden house foundations, for fence posts around their opium poppy fields, and all sorts of things that I photographed - they are very resourceful!

Big piles of bomb casings and portions of downed planes etc were piled up near my tiny "hotel" for sale as scrap metal.

The one (and only!) reason to visit Phonsavan is to visit the PLAIN OF JARS. There are a couple of sites, with these huge stone jars lying about. Their origin and purpose is unknown, but my guess is that they were sarcophagi of rulers or nobles as a few stone "lids" are still lying about.

They are up to 12 feet high, and weigh up to 6 tons each with very thick walls and are supposedly 4,000 years old. There are 100's strewn about in remote valleys miles from anywhere and lots more have been souveniered or taken to Museums. The work to create each one from a block of solid rock, without metal tools beggars belief.

The stone used is not local to the area. One of the great archeological sites of Asia, and due to its remoteness, one very few westerners visit. Huge American bomb craters are only metres from the largest Jars.


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~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 06-24-2003).]

Wow, having read that, I must go there someday, hopefully before the tourist.

Yes, oddly very few tourists visit the Plain Of Jars area as the hotels nearby are 1 star at best!

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~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!