Thailand - Angkor - Loas Air Travel
 

We're flying from the US to Bangkok in about six weeks. The following day we'll fly to Siem Reap.

After about 4 to 6 days in Siem Reap we'll head for Luang Prabang then Chaing Mai before traveling back to Bangkok.

I was hoping to fly directly to Luang Prabang from Siem Reap but if my research is correct, we have fly to Phenom Penh (on Siem Reap Airways or President) then Vientaine - Luang Prabang - Chaing Mai on Lao Aviation (What's the difference between Lao Aviation and Lao Airlines?). Am I correct on the route and air carriers or is there a better way? I thought about returning to Bangkok from Siem Reap but the flights are booked when we want to travel.

Has anyone had experience making reservation on Lao Air from the US?

You really can't reserve on Lao Aviation from the US. (Lao Aviation = Lao Airlines). You would be best off if you could fly back to Bangkok then on the Luang Prabang on Bangkok Air. It's a better routing and a much better airline. Lao Aviation is not known for its reliability. I'd check back with Bangkok Air and see if you can change your time or date to fly with them.

When you say reliability are you refering to scheduling? Delayed flights and etc.?

Bangkok Air used to have a Mekong Air Pass which covered these sectors without back tracking. Also check some of the new discount airlines flying these sectors - think JamesA posted about them a while ago.

Lao Aviation has a reputation for cancelling flights if they aren't full. They have also had maintence problems with aircraft. While they have purchased some new planes, they still have some old Russian and Chinese planes in their fleet. In the past, they had major safety problems, but I don't think they've had any crashes recently.

Do check the Bangkok Air site. They no longer have the World Heritage route they used to have, but there may be a way to fly between Siem Reap and Luang Prabang now that doesn't involve backtracking to Bangkok. I don't believe that any of the new budget airlines fly these routes, but it doesn't hurt to check.

hi,
we wanted to fly directly from SR to LP, but there was no way to do it (the connect time turned about to be around 30 mins once entering Laos, so no way....) So, I'm flying from Siem Reap to Vientiane, will stay over night, and the next morning will fly onto LP.

I haven't yet bought tkts, but have a travel agent in VN holding them for us.
BTW, this is on Lao Airlines.

Good luck. I'll be heading to VN in about 5 wks, and LP in early December...just trailing you by a bit, I think....