VIENTIANE, Laos, 11 October 2022: Thai Smile Airways will launch direct daily flights from Bangkok to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Luang Prabang later this month.
Ground handling services confirmed the flight should commence on 30 October following last week’s introduction of a second daily flight from Bangkok to Vientiane to the Lao PDR capital. The airline now serves the Vientiane route with morning and afternoon flights.
THAI Airways International’s services to neighbouring Mekong Region countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) have been transferred to its daughter airline, Thai Smile.
Using a fleet of A320s, Thai Smile will fly daily to Luang Prabang departing Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airport at 0845 (WE576) and arriving in Luang Prabang at 1020. The return flight (WE577) will depart Luang Prabang at 1120 and arrive in Bangkok at 1255. According to a web search, the cheapest roundtrip fare on Thai Smile is USD197. The flight time is one hour and 25 minutes.
Thai AirAsia flies daily to Luang Prabang from its Don Mueang base quoting fares ranging from USD157 to USD220. Lao Aviation also flies daily on the Luang Prabang route using an ATR72.
Bangkok Airways will resume daily flights to Luang Prabang just one day after Thai Smile on 1 November from its Bangkok Suvarnabhumi base quoting a roundtrip fare starting at USD473. However, it uses the smaller 70-seat ATR72 plane taking two hours and 18 minutes to complete the flight. Pre-Covid, the airline scheduled three daily services to Luang Prabang.
