Thai - Lao Airlines Clinch Aviation Pact

THAI-Lao Airlines clinch aviation pact

BANGKOK, March 30 (TNA) - Thai and Lao national airlines have signed a bilateral agreement on aviation cooperation, paving the way for the Thai kingdom to become a major tourism gateway to the Indochinese region.

Somchainuk Engtrakul, Acting President of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) and a board member of the national airline, signed the bilateral pact with visiting Lao aviation authorities here on Thursday.

The agreement is believed to help boost the number of tourist arrivals in Laos to more than one million annually by 2007, from around 926,000 in 2005, according to Mr. Somchainuk.

It would also help promote Thailand as a major tourism gateway to neighbouring countries in Indochina, he revealed.

"This's because THAI and Lao Airlines will launch joint air routes to attract more foreign tourists from major markets, namely the United States, France, Australia and Japan, into Thailand and Indochina," he noted.

Weekly flights between Bangkok and Vientiane, as well as Chiang Mai and Luang Phrabang would also increased, said the acting THAI chief.

--TNA 2006-03-30