Lao Airlines is introducing a new service to Savannakhet

There have not been much news coming out of Laos during past few weeks, but finally good news are here from Laos Airlines which announced direct flights later this year between Vientiane – Savannakhet and Savannakhet – Bangkok.

The airline will operate three-weekly flights on both routes using its MA60 aircraft.

Effective from 15 August, flight QV201 will depart Vientiane at 1030 every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, and arrive in Savannakhet at 1130. The return flight QV202 departs Savannakhet on the same days at 1210 and returns to Vientiane at 1435 via Pakse.

On the Bangkok service, the Savannakhet – Bangkok flight will operate from 29 October onward. QV621 will depart Savannakhet on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 1210 and arrive in Bangkok at 1320. QV622 departs Bangkok at 1420 and arrives in Savannakhet 1530.

Savannakhet province is located in central Laos, and is bordered in the north by Khammouane, Vietnam’s Quangtri and Quanbinh provinces, Salavan to the south and Moukdahan, Thailand to the west. The province is on Route No 9 of the East-West Economic Corridor, a transit route across Thailand, Lao and Vietnam.

With the development of the economic corridor and the second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, the number of overland tourists to Savannakhet has more than doubled. According to Lao National Tourism Administration, 399,667 tourist visited Savannakhet in 2007, a jump of 141% over the 165,360 arrivals recorded in 2006.

Most of the travellers fly to Thailand’s Ubonratchathani Airport and travel overland to Mukdahan, cross the Friendship Bridge and start their journey on the 240-km Route No 9 via Savannakhet to Danang in Vietnam.