What are a person's option in terms of direct flights from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai (travelling on Saturday January 7th)? Thai Air seems to be all booked that day.

You could try Lao Aviation, which I think has direct flights between LP and CM. I don't think you can book through their web site however, you may need to do it once there. I booked flights with Lao Aviation when I arrived in Vientienne and it was not a problem.
http://www.laoairlines.com/schedule.htm

Thai does not seem to fly this route anymore which leaves only Lao. They operate on tues/fri/sun only. Your best to book through a travel agent.

Lao airlines goes non-stop on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays Luang Prabang - Chiang Mai. You'd have to change to the 6th or the8th to use them.

It seems like Thai Air has flights, but not until after January 10th. Nothing at all comes up on their schedule before the week of the 10th.

The official website of Lao Airlines is:

http://www.laos-airlines.com/index.asp

Schedules on:http://www.laos-airlines.com/horaire.asp

Thanks for the info. I will call Thai Air on Monday and see if they any extra info. I guess I could fly on January 6th and shave one night off Luang Prabang (so I'd have 3 nights there) and add a day to Chiang Mai (so I'd have 4 nights there). I have to be back in Bangkok on January 10th for final 2 nights in the Peninsula. Any place that would be easy to get to from Luang Prabang, that might be better than Chiang Mai and still get me back in Bangkok by January 10th?

Sorry James but I have to correct you on the Lao web site you gave. This is a French agent's site and some people have had trouble getting Loa to honour the tickets from here. Great site for getting schedules and fares from though. Offical site is www.laoairlines.com
Thai restarts their service on monday Jan16/06. Cost with thai $110, with Lao around $63.

No problem Scotters, glad you pointed out the difference between them, I had that written down from a web search I did. Shows you never know!!
There was another with similar to Lao Airlines that went to some gambling site!!

Try http://www.laoairlines.com/

The difference is the hyphon

some people have mentioned safety issues with Lao airlines, specifically with their chinese and something else planes. Is there any way to know when you're booking a flight what type of plane you're getting?