Hi Fodorites! We are going to Southeast Asia in Feb, 2006, and I have used this site to plan out the trip. Does anyone know if there is a flight from LP ( Laos) to Chang Rai?

Thanks, ldtc2

As far as I know, there is not. There is a flight on Lao Aviation from LP to Chaing Mai. (Only you can decide if you are willing to fly Lao Avaiation) Apparently you can no longer fly between CM and CR directly but have to connect through BKK. I'd suggest flying from LP back to BKK (Bangkok Air) and taking a non-stop flight from BKK to CR (Thai Air).

Hi Kathie, Thanks for your reply. How bad is Lao Avaiation? I guess I could go from LP to Chang Mai, and then drive up to Chang Rai, and then take a flight back to Bangkok. I am still in the process of developing the trip.

Lao Aviation is considered a very unsafe airline. The US State Dept. tells it's people to avoid it unless absolutely necessary. The problem with travel in Laos is that it IS necessary. It's the only airline to fly from point A to point B within Laos, (though not from other countries). That said, it's probably still safer than going overland within Laos. I flew Lao Aviation several times and all flights were uneventful. Since you are coming from Thailand, you can avoid if if you feel it's warranted.

Oh great.. the only way to get from Point A to Point B in Laos huh?

Thanks, Bette

Bette, it's a matter of convenience for you since you will be coming from Thailand to LP so you could fly from BKK on a different airline. It's a matter of what you are comfortable with. You could fly Lao from LP to CM and save time, or you could go the safer route through BKK. When I got on the first Lao flight, I was a bit nervous but the plane and flight was just like any other. My feeling is, what are the odds that a plane will crash, even a plane with an airline with a spotty record. I decided the odds were it would get me there in one piece and not crash. But we had to make a choice because we were going back and forth from Vientienne to LP and the only other choice was overland. With horrible dirt roads, cars that lack brakes, drivers who are not cautious, snipers in the countryside, land mines and UXO, flying, even on Lao, was definitely the safer way to go! Also, we had a choice of flights that use different aircraft and made sure we were on flights that used newer French planes, rather than flights that use Chinese planes which are not considered as safe mechanically. My understanding is that their international flights use French planes but you may want to confirm this.