Don't be scared! Lao Airlines are now safe and efficient. (Lao Airlines)

Member Name: Pablo_Sevilla

Product:	Lao Airlines
Date:	03/06/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Safe, free onboard snacks, fly some very helpful routes, staff very friendly

Disadvantages: A little pricey, but then you get onboard snacks for free unlike budget airlines...

I have flown on a few Lao Airlines flights both domestic and international.

In recent years I think it's mostly shaken it's negative reputation as an unsafe airline; The most popular intrenational and domestic routes are flown with French built ATR-72's and these aircraft have NEVER had any problems let alone crashes.
These aircraft fly from Siem Reap (the gateway city to the infamous Angkor ruins in Cambodia) to the Lao capital of Vientiane fairly regulary. This flight is very handy if you have more money than time because by land this takes days and lots stress on bad roads through northern Cambodia.
The other most popular route the ATR-72's fly is actually a domestic flight from Vientiane to Luang Prabang though this is nowhere near as helpful since you can get a bus that takes 10-12 hours. Is it worth it when you take into account you have to get to/from the airports 2 hours in advance then hang around waiting for the flight? You don't really end up saving much time and it's not cheap at around $90 one way

The Y-12 air craft are Chinese built and don't have as good a safety record. From 1993-2000 there were 3 crashes with fatalities, mostly in bad weather. The last incident was in 2003 but there were no fatalities and only minor injuries as the aircraft was forced to crash land shortly after take off due to high winds.

So with no major incidents from 2003 Lao Airlines have become one of the safest airlines in the region and don't deserve the negative reputation.

They have recently re-vamped the website but booking tickets is still not possible on firefox, you need to open the page with internet explorer if you want to make reservations. However, it's fairly well presented and is a big improvement on the old website with a slide show of beautiful and colourful locations in Lao sliding across the corner of the screen now and again. The flight route and information is also satisfactory.

Although not as cheap as other regional airlines, you may find that occasionally Lao Airlines are your only choice to save time on certain routes.

But with very hospitable friendly cabin crew and staff (as you'd expect from Laos), free onboard snacks and drinks and a plane usually less than half-full on many flights, Lao Airlines is actually a very decent all round airline these days.

And with plenty of investment from Chinese Yunnan investors, and regular flights to destinations in China, Vietnam and Thailand (Bangkok to Luang Prabang for $120 is extremely popular as it saves so much overland travel time to this popular destination, expect regular full flights on this one), Lao Airlines' future looks promising and safe.

I'd recommend Lao Airlines for those with more money than time. The Siem Reap - Pakse/Vientiane route saves so much hassle, stress and time.

Summary: Lao Airlines have grown into a more than decent airline.