LAO AVIATION COMPANY: BP 119, 2 Rue Pang Kham, Vientiane, Laos; Phone 865 (21) 212 057; Fax 865 (21) 212 056; http:// Www. lao-aviation. com; Code QV; Year Founded 1976. The Lao Civil Aviation Company is formed at Vientiane on January 19, 1976. The company, which had operated during the Indochina War on behalf of the Pathet Lao with assistance from North Vietnam, is the People’s Republic of Laos’ successor to the earlier Royal Air Laos, S. A. and Lao Airlines. Having ceased operations with the Communist victory the previous May, the two companies are now combined under the new banner. The initial fleet comprises 6 Antonov An-24s, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40, and 1 Vickers Viscount 700 taken over from Royal Air Laos, S. A. As there are now parts or maintenance available for the damaged Douglas DC-3s, DC-4s, and Lockheed C-130 Hercules, these aircraft are sold or scrapped.
Flying from Wattay Airport, the carrier inaugurates domestic flights to major provincial centers, including Luang Prabang, Savannakhet, and Pakse. In December 1977, a bilateral agreement is signed with Thailand. The arrangement allows the company to inaugurate DC-3 services to Chiangmai and Bangkok during 1978.
In 1979, the company name is changed to LAC. In association with Thai Airways Company, Ltd. (TAC), the carrier inaugurates twice-weekly An-24 service to Hanoi. During the 1980s, the fleet includes 7 An-24RVs, 2 Yak-40s, 2 Viscount 700s, and 2 Sikorsky S-58 helicopters. Services connect Vientiane with Bangkok, Hanoi, and Phnom Penh in addition to the domestic network. There are few changes over the next 12 years.
Having aborted its April 22, 1990 takeoff from Luang Namtha, an An-24RV with three crew, overshoots the runway and crashes into a building, killing one occupant.
On July 16, 1991, the carrier is reformed. Although domestic responsibility is still held by a state enterprise, international shareholding is divided between the Del Chang Import-Export Company and China Travel Air Service at Hong Kong.
Hu Chang is named managing director and the workforce is increased to 300. An Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-300 is leased for a year, along with two Boeing 737-291s. Three An-24RVs are grounded as their service lives end; as arrival of the Boeings is anticipated, a
Tupolev Tu-154M is leased from Balkan Bulgarian Airlines. Permission is sought to begin flights to Rangoon, Chiangmai, and Kunming.
As the company waits into 1992 for authority to fly to the desired Burmese and Chinese markets, economics force the carrier to cut its expensive Western aircraft leases. Removed are one Boeing and the ATR42-300, replaced by four Harbin Yu-12 IIs and one Xian Y-7-100.
The service life of one An-24RV is stretched by Russian engineers during the former year and the remaining leased B-737-291 arrives in June from Iceland (where it is registered) via Keflavik, Helsinki, Tehran, and Bombay. A month later following departure of the Bulgarian jetliner, the new Boeing enters service from Vientiane’s Wattay Airport to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Phnom Penh.
In the spring of 1993, the fleet includes the 4 Chinese-made Yu-12s, 1 Y-7-100, 2 Mil Mi-8 helicopters (only 1 of which is operable), and 1 An-24RV, as well as 1 B-737-291. The non-American built aircraft maintain domestic services to the old capital of Luang Prabang, Sara-van, Pakse, Louang Namtha, Savannakhet, and smaller stations.
Westcoast Helicopters (Pty.), Ltd. of Australia begins Bell 206B JetRanger charter services on behalf of the government and the UN. The An-24RV with 17 aboard crashes 100 mi. E of Vientiane on December 1; there are no survivors.
While on final approach to Phong Savanh on December 13, a Yun-shuji Y-12-II with 2 crew and 16 passengers, collides with a treeline in fog and crashes, catching fire; there are no survivors.
Managing Director Hu Chang’s 1994 fleet includes the 1 B-737-291, 3 Y-7s, 3 Y-12s, and 2 new, leased Avions de Transport Regional ATR42-320s. As traffic improves, a second B-737, a Dash-2P5A, is now chartered and the lease on the first Dash is extended.
In 1995, the company charters an ATR72-202s. In 1996-1998, the company owns 6 Y-12s and 1 Y-7. It also operates, under lease, 2 ATR72-202s and 1 each Y-7 and B-737-2P5A. Regional destinations visited include Bangkok, Chiangmai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kunming, Luang Prabang, Pakse, Phnom Penh, Xieng Khouang, and Yangon. Enplanements average 65,000 per year.
While on its normal service between the Xaysomboune and Xieng Khouang provinces on June 25, 2000, an Mi-8 with 3 crew and 15 passengers, encounters bad weather and crashes into Phasay Mountain. There are no survivors.
While on approach to Sam Neua from Vientiane on October 19, Flight 703, an off-track Harbin Y-12 with 2 crew and 15 passengers, crashes into an 1,800-ft. high mountain ridge at a point 15 km. from its destination. Eight passengers are killed. One of the survivors leaves the wreck site to summon help.
LAOS (LINEAS AEREAS ORIENTALES, S. A.): Colombia (19711978). Alfredo Betancourt and Manuel Borde form LAOS at Villavi-cencio in 1971 to offer all-cargo services to Mitu and other regional towns. A fleet of 3 Douglas DC-3s is employed, along with a Curtiss C-46. Unable to compete with larger carriers also hauling freight, this small operator stops flying in 1978.
World History
