Lao Airlines State Enterprise
."

Lao Airlines. 18 October 2013. Retrieved on 20 October 2013. is the

national airline A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. His ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

, headquartered in

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

. It operates domestic and international services to countries such as

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

. Its main operating base is

Wattay International Airport Wattay International Airport is one of the few international airports in Laos and the country's main international gateway, serving the capital Vientiane, located 3 km (2 mi) outside of the city centre. A larger domestic terminal was ...

in Vientiane. It is subordinate to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

History

In September 1976, the company was formed from the merger of existing airlines

Royal Air Lao Royal Air Lao was the national air carrier of the Kingdom of Laos that operated from 1962 to 1974. History The company was founded in 1962. In September 1976 the Civil Aviation Company was formed from the merger of Royal Air Lao and Lao Air ...

and Lao Air Lines. The company became Lao Aviation in 1979. In 2000, a joint venture with

China Yunnan Airlines China Eastern Yunnan Airlines ( zh, s=东方航空云南有限公司, t=東方航空雲南有限公司, p=Dōngfāng Hángkōng Yúnnán Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī), is an airline based in Kunming, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. It is t ...

and the Lao government was formed which re-nationalized Lao Aviation. The A320s are the first jet aircraft to be purchased by Lao Airlines and feature a two-class layout seating 126 passengers in the main cabin and 16 in Business Class, and they are powered by

CFM International CFM56 The CFM International CFM56 (U.S. military designation F108) series is a Franco-American family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International (CFMI), with a thrust range of . CFMI is a 50–50 joint-owned company of Saf ...

engines.

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Lao Airlines has

codeshare agreement A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...

s with the following airlines: *

Cambodia Angkor Air Cambodia Angkor Air ( km, កម្ពុជា អង្គរ អ៊ែរ) is the national flag carrier airline of Cambodia, with its corporate headquarters and main hub in Phnom Penh. The company slogan is "''Proudly Serve the Kingdom''"''. ...

Thai Airways Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...

Vietnam Airlines Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a state-owned enterprise in April 1989. Vietnam Airline ...

Fleet

, Lao Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Retired fleet

Livery

Lao Airlines have the plumeria livery on the

vertical stabilizer A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, sta ...

Plumeria ''Plumeria'' (), known as frangipani, is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Rauvolfioideae, of the family Apocynaceae. Most species are deciduous shrubs or small trees. The species variously are endemic to Mexico, Central America, and ...

is an official national flower of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The words "Lao Airlines" are colored in

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

Accidents and incidents

*On 1 September 1979, a Lao Aviation

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Tw ...

(registration RDPL-34037) force-landed in a corn field at Ban Mai, Thailand, due to fuel exhaustion after the pilot became disorientated in heavy rain; all 74 passengers and crew survived, but the aircraft was substantially damaged; the aircraft was repaired and flown back to Vientiane on 31 January 1980 where it was written off after crashing on landing. *On 22 April 1990, a Lao Aviation

Antonov An-24RV The Antonov An-24 ( Russian/Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-24) (NATO reporting name: Coke) is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport/passenger aircraft designed in 1957 in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau and manufactured by Kyiv, Irku ...

(registration RDPL-34008) overshot the runway at Luang Namtha Airport after an aborted takeoff; the aircraft collided with a building, killing one; all three on the aircraft survived. *On 13 December 1993, a Lao Aviation Harbin Y-12-II (registration RDPL-34117) crashed on approach to Phonesavanh Airport after clipping trees in fog, killing all 18 on board. *On 25 May 1998, a Lao Aviation

Yakovlev Yak-40 The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the ...

(registration RDPL-34001) crashed in the jungle in heavy rain near Long Tieng, Xiangkhouang Province, killing all 26 on board. The aircraft was carrying a Vietnamese military delegation from Vientiane to Xiangkhouang. *On 19 October 2000,

Lao Aviation Flight 703 Lao Aviation Flight 703 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Vientiane to Xam Neua, Laos. On 19 October 2000, the Harbin Y-12 II crashed into a mountain from the airport due to pilot error Pilot error generally refers to an acc ...

, a Harbin Y-12-II (registration RDPL-34130), crashed into mountainous terrain in bad weather while on approach to Sam Neua Airport en route from Vientiane; eight of 17 on board died. *On 14 February 2002, Flight 702, a Harbin Y-12-II (registration RDPL-34118) crashed on the runway while taking off from Sam Neua Airport due to a wind gust; all 15 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off; the engines were sent to Singapore to be rebuilt, the fuselage was cut up and sent to Vietnam for scrap metal. *On 16 October 2013, Flight 301, an

ATR 72-600 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

(registration RDPL-34233) twin turboprop carrying 44 passengers and 5 crew, crashed into the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

River, at about 16:00 local time; all 49 on board died. The aircraft was flying from

Pakse Pakse (or ''Pakxe''; French: ''Paksé''; Laotian: ປາກເຊ 'mouth of the river'; th, ปากเซ) is the capital and most populous city of the southern Laotian province of Champasak, and the second most populous city in Laos. Loc ...

in Champasak Province in southern Laos, and was attempting to land in bad weather associated with Typhoon Nari.

References

External links

Lao Airlines official websiteChampa Meuanglao, official inflight magazine
{{Airlines of Laos Airlines of Laos Airlines established in 1976 Government-owned airlines Economy of Vientiane 1976 establishments in Laos