laos airfares

I imagine (re: hope) that air tickets are less expensive when purchased locally in Southeast Asia as opposed to the prices that I see here online in the USA. Can anyone comment on prices on the following routes?

Luang Prabang - Chiang Mai

Luang Prabang - Huay Xai

Siem Reap - Vientiane

Phnom Penh - Vientiane

Vientiane - Luang Prabang

It seems like the cheapest way to get from Phnom Penh to Vientiane is to travel on Air Asia via Kuala Lumpur!

laos airfares

I was In LP on the 26 of Feb. We went to the Lao Airline tix office in town and purchased 2 tickets for the next day going to Chiang Mai for 140 USD each one way including all taxes and fees.

laos airfares

Laos and Vietnam stil operate cartels on many routes so it can be a bit expensive. You can also travel thru Thailand for better airfares.

You can check routes/timings and safely book etickets on line with www.laoairlines.com

It only works on Windows Explorer , not Firefox or Netscape.

We just purchased our tickets from Lao Airlines via the net going Chiang Mai - Luang Prabang -Bangkok. Cost us $540 US including all taxes etc. etc. We had to pay $270 US by Visa (they do not have a secure creidt card site to pay on you have to print off their attachment form and either fax it to them or scan it back into your computer and send as an email attachement) BUT the balance of 9180 Baht in cash is paid ONLY at the Lao Airlines office in Chiang Mai prior to day of flight....there is NO office at the airport and, having done this before, I will call the number/mobile prior to heading out of town to this office to pay and pick up tickets.

There flights get very full very quickly so I advise you make your arrangements asap.

Have a good time

liz

by the sound of it you did not buy etickets on the correct site (www.laoairlines.com)but the agency site which has a similar web name (Laos-Airlines I think).On the genuine site you pay in full securely and get an email confirmation with a link to Amedeus.

Whilst you should be OK it is worth looking back on previous postings on this subject as there have been problems in the past.

When I discovered this I rebooked on line with the correct site(waterfall and golden door are featured)and on Explorer and recovered my payment ,50% to the agent,from my Mastercard.

Don`t panic but please look back on earlier postings - there have been reports of bookings through these French based agents not happening and customers having to pay the full fare again and sometimes missing flights and even worse , waiting months to get a refund from the Agent.

Best of luck.

Hi,

This is interesting. I used the same company the last time I went to Laos and booked exactly the same way and had no problem picking up my ticket from their office in Chiang Mai. But I am slightly worried now.

I just sent an email to the other Lao airlines you%26#39;ve mentioned asking them to verify the status of the one I used...

Anyway, I am curious how you got your refund - did you contact Mastercard yourself or did you go through the proper channels to cancel your ticket with Lao Airlines and they refunded your Mastercard quickly?

As I didn%26#39;t have any problem the first time I think I might stay with my reservation as I have already now prebooked and paid for hotels and it would be a bother to have to change everything as my dates are not flexible at this point.

Thanks

Liz

Sorry but where can I find the postings regarding this airline. I just searched around and haven%26#39;t found anything? Where should I look on the forum?

Liz

as you have used this system before you should be fine.

Mastercard refunded me straight away but as the amount was only $65 I suspect they did not persue it with the Agent.

See previous postings on Oct 13th (page 10) and Oct 11th (page 11).especially postings by CunningMcfar and Rususcat. The latter is Vientiane based so it might be worth contacting him direct.

cherrs

Geoff

Thanks. I just received an email from the official Lao Airlines confirming that I have indeed made a proper reservation with their agent and that there will be no problem with me paying balance and being issued a ticket at their office (which is the official office for the airline) So I will stay with this reservation but in future I will use the proper site - I think I didn%26#39;t use it at the time because I was having trouble making a reservation (the stie would freeze on me etc.) and I looked up who I had booked through the first time and just did it again.

Thanks for your concern and the info.

Liz

Liz

Everything sounds fine - especially as you have received confirmation that your reservation is in place.

Sorry if I worried you but I panicked in October when I read the reports.

Enjoy Laos again - look forward to your Hotel reviews on your return.

Geoff