Journey to the Jare plain
We left from Vientiane airport which is located near the city and is very small, reachable with a short taxi ride.
We went to the desk of the LAO AIRWAYS company to transform our reservation into tickets to carry out the check-in operations.
Few check-in desks but friendly and quick staff.
Security checks on the second floor of the airport are very fast and scrupulous.
The waiting room is small and welcoming, it's a shame that the view of the track is hindered by the presence of a terrace in front of the window.
At the scheduled time the boarding procedure begins and the boarding pass control procedures are quickly completed - we go down to the runway to go to our plane which is waiting for us on the runway.
The plane is an ATR 72 – 600 RDPL 34225 and our seats are 05A and 05B and we sit down and wait for all the passengers to get on and take their seats.
The cabin staff are very professional and welcome us kindly.
Once boarding and safety procedures have been completed, the plane moves and we head towards the runway for take-off.
Takeoff is scheduled for 1.50pm but we take off 2 minutes early at 1.48pm
As soon as the plane climbs to altitude, the on-board staff offers us wet wipes, a bottle of water and some snacks.
There is an on-board magazine and foldables with safety instructions.
The flight took place without problems and at 2.21pm, 4 minutes early, with a somewhat hard landing due to the presence of a bit of wind, we landed at the XIENG KHOUANG airport with a flight that lasted 33 minutes.
It feels like we've gone back in time.
The runway is located on a plain in the middle of the hills and we are at an altitude of about 1000 meters and the airport looks like this:
The plane is stopped in a parking area on the side of the runway and the baggage is unloaded by hand onto a tractor with trolleys attached to the back.
We reach the terminal on foot along a strip of asphalt that leads us to the small airport.
The airport terminal
We proceed with the checks at the immigration desk …
… and observe the airport activities of the flight that will soon leave to return to Vientiane.
And we are waiting for our luggage
Meanwhile, luggage arrives in the passenger terminal.
We collect our bags and head outside where they are waiting to take us to the place where we will sleep.
A very cool and exotic first report! Vientiane airport seems like a pleasant little airport that is easy to get in and out of. The Lao ATR76 interior is very nice and looks modern and well-maintained. It's impressive that they offer a bottle of water and snacks on such a short flight under a half-hour in the air! Only in Asia...that would never happen in North America or Europe, haha.
P.S. I had to change your cover photo as we require that the photo show a part of the flight experience (it looks like the photo may have been a tourist location?).
Thanks for sharing your first review here with us and welcome to Flight-Report!