Lao Airlines to launch Vientiane-Kumamoto service in November

Source: Japan Times

Lao Airlines said Thursday it is planning to launch regular flights in November connecting the Laotian capital of Vientiane and the resort town of Luang Prabang with Kumamoto in Kyushu.

The route will offer the first regular flights connecting Japan and Laos. Lao Airlines President Bounma Chanthavongsa said in a news conference in Kumamoto that his airline is preparing to file an application for the planned service with Japan’s transport ministry.

An Airbus A320 aircraft with 142 seats will be used for two round trip services a week to each of Vientiane and Luang Prabang, a major travel site registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The planned flights will connect the two countries in about four and a half hours.

Bounma said his company is hoping to help make Laos one of the travel hubs on the Indochina Peninsula by launching its service to Japan. Lao Airlines said it selected the airport because it acquired takeoff and landing slots there that were convenient for connections to other airports in Japan.