Lao Airlines

This article deals with the airline Lao Airlines, founded in 1976, for an airline with a similar name, which was dissolved in 1975, see Lao Air Lines .

Lao Airlines ການ ບິນ ລາວ
IATA code :	QV
ICAO code :	LAO
Call sign :	LAO
Founding:	1976
Seat:	Vientiane , Laos
Turnstile :	Vientiane airport
Home airport :	Vientiane airport
IATA prefix code :	627
Management:	Somphone Douangdara
Frequent Flyer Program :	Champa Muang Lao
Fleet size:	11 (+ 2 orders)
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.laoairlines.com

Harbin Y-12 of Lao Aviation

Harbin Y-12 of Lao Aviation

Lao Airlines ( Lao ການ ບິນ ລາວ ; originally Pathet Lao Airlines , then Lao Aviation from the beginning of 1978 to March 2004 ) is the national airline of Laos , based in Vientiane and based at Vientiane Airport .

history

After the revolution and seizure of power by the communist movement Pathet Lao , the Lao People's Democratic Republic was proclaimed in December 1975 . Before that, the two old state-owned airlines Lao Air Lines and Royal Air Lao had been dissolved as a result of the political upheaval in the same year . Because of the uncertain political situation and the pending rebuilding of the orphaned national aviation authority, Laos was excluded from the ICAO at the same time , which meant that no civil international air traffic was possible.

In order to maintain a national scheduled operation, the new state airline Pathet Lao Airlines was founded at the beginning of 1976 . With Soviet support, operations began on January 19, 1976, each with an Antonov An-24 and a Jakowlew Jak-40 . At the beginning of 1978, the aviation law requirements for taking up international flights were met. At the same time, the company was renamed Lao Aviation . At the time the company was using three Antonow An-24s and one Vickers Viscount 700 . The first international destinations were Bangkok once a week and Hanoi three times a week. The mid-1980s was the fleet of Lao Aviation from a Antonov An-2 , six Antonov 24, two Yakovlev Yak-40 and two helicopter of the type Sikorsky S-58 . At the same time, the company used a Douglas DC-4 and three Fairchild C-123 on cargo flights. At that time there were international flights to Bangkok, Hanoi and Phnom Penh .

As a replacement for the Antonov An-24, six Harbin Y-12s were put into service from February 1990 to December 1994 . The delivery of the first Xian Y-7 took place in August 1991. As of March 1993, a leased Boeing 737-200 was the first jet aircraft to be used on international routes. In 1992 the company ordered two brand new ATR 42s from the manufacturer Avions de Transport Régional , but in January 1994 it only accepted one. This machine was replaced by an ATR 72 in September 1995 . Lao Aviation received a second ATR 72 in November 2000. The two ATRs were mainly used on the main routes, while the Xian Y-7 and Harbin Y-12 flew the less frequented routes.

In March 2004, Lao Aviation changed its name to Lao Airlines and introduced a new corporate identity and new livery for its aircraft. From July 2003 to early 2005, the company operated an Airbus A320-200 on the international routes to Bangkok, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Kunming for the first time . In addition to the Airbus A320, the fleet at that time consisted of two ATR 72-202s, a Cessna 208B (used for mail transport) and five Harbin Y-12 IIs.

The first of four Xian MA60s was acquired in July 2006. From September 2009 the ATR 72-500 replaced the older ATR 72-200. In 2011 two more Airbus A320-200s were put into service, which were originally intended for Afriqiyah Airways . At the beginning of 2013, the fleet was expanded to include two more A320s.

Destinations

Lao Airlines serves domestic destinations as well as cities in Southwest and East Asia from Vientiane .

fleet

ATR 72-500 of Lao Airlines

As of March 2020, the Lao Airlines fleet consists of eleven aircraft with an average age of 8.3 years:

Aircraft type	number	ordered	Remarks	Seats ( Business / Economy )
Airbus A320-200	4th			142 (16/126) 158 (8/150)
ATR 72-500	4th			70 (- / 70)
ATR 72-600	3
Comac ARJ21-700		2	Ordered in December 2007, originally planned for delivery in late 2011
total	11	2

Boeing 737-200 of Lao Aviation .

The following types of aircraft and helicopters were previously operated:

Antonov An-2 Antonov An-12BP Antonov An-24 and An-24RV Antonov An-26 ATR 42-300 ATR 72-200 Boeing 737-200 Cessna 208B Douglas DC-4

Fairchild C-123 Harbin Y-12 II Yakovlev Yak-40 Mil Wed-8 Mil Wed-17 Sikorsky S-58 Vickers Viscount 786D Xian MA60 Xian Y-7 II

Incidents

• On October 16, 2013 crashed ATR 72 -600 (RDPL-34233) of the Lao Airlines coming from the Vientiane airport after a failed landing on the Pakse at 15:55 local time in the river Mekong . All 49 occupants died (see also Lao Airlines flight 301 ) .

See also

• List of airlines

Web links

Commons : Lao Airlines  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Lao Airlines website (Lao, English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ JP airline-fleets 76
2. ^ Aero, issue 216, year 1987
3. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 78
4. ^ Flight International, April 28, 1979 (in English), accessed August 14, 2016
5. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 86
6. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 95/96
7. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 92/93
8. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 93/94
9. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 94/95
10. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2001/02
11. ↑ laoairlines.com - About us , accessed on November 14, 2014
12. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2005/06
13. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, Edition 2010/11
14. ↑ airliners.de - Lao Airlines becomes new Airbus customer August 30, 2011
15. ↑ laoairlines.com - Route Map (English), accessed on November 14, 2014
16. ^ Lao Airlines Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. Retrieved March 24, 2020 . 
17. ↑ laoairlines.com - Fleet Information , accessed on July 28, 2016
18. ↑ China Aviation Daily, COMAC ARJ21 to Enter Service in February 2016 ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (in English), accessed on August 14, 2016 
19. ↑ JP airline-fleets international, various annual issues
20. ↑ www.laoairlines.com ( Memento of the original from October 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. CEO Press Conference, October 17, 2013. Accessed October 23, 2013.  
21. ^ Accident report ATR 72 RDPL-34233 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 4, 2019.
22. ↑ aero.de - ATR 72 crashed in Laos - 49 dead October 16, 2013