Lao company airs aviation plans

Laos's first privately-owned airline said Thursday it plans to enter the region's booming aviation market later this year.Phongsavanh Airlines is aiming for a September takeoff with an initial service to Bangkok, said the carrier's spokesman Viphasouk Saysanavongphet.But if not we will definitely begin our service before the end of this year, he told AFP.

None of this could be independently confirmed and in Vientiane, tourism sources told TTR Weekly the airline's immient launch has been cocktail talk in trade circles since last year.Last year, the airline advertised locally for airline crew and opened an office in Vientiane, but local travel industry executives confirm there has been very little else to suggest the airline is about to launch regional services.

Reports published in the Vientiane Times in July 2010, suggested the airline was prepared to start services later that year and was about to place an order with Sakol, a Russian commercial aircraft manufacturer, for three 80-seat aircraft.

Based in the Lao capital of Vientiane, the airline is also lining up routes to Hanoi and Siem Reap, the airline spokesperson said, which will put it in direct competition with flag carrier Lao Airlines.We are aiming at serving the ASEAN region to begin with, Viphasouk said, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.Phongsavanh is positioning itself as a premium low-cost airline, offering business and economy classes, he added.

The airline, with initial registered capital of US$9 million, is part of Lao-owned Phongsavanh Group, whose other interests include timber, construction, petroleum and banking.It says it will start service with three Boeing 737-400s purchased second-hand, each with a capacity of about 150 passengers.But with the competitive market that we have right now, we will be happy with 80-100 passengers per flight to begin with, Viphasouk said.

Such a purchase would immediately leep frog it ahead of the national airline in fleet strength and seat capacity. Aviation observers say it will require a considerable investment to operate Boeing 737s successfully from a home base in Vientiane and see it through a first critical year.Communist Laos remains one of Asia's poorest nations but officially grew at 7.9% between 2006 and 2010, largely on the exploitation of natural resources.

Source = ttrweekly