Russian Airline Eyes Laos as New Regional Air Hub

[reader]

From Vientiane Times

VIENTIANE ( Vientiane Times/ANN) — A Russian airline is eyeing Laos as a new potential regional hub — thanks to ongoing international developments, according to a top company official."Given the current international environment, Laos is now a new potential hub for the airline," the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the RUSASIA, Mr Roman A. Virich, said in Vientiane.

The top manager of the Russian company, which operates Ural Airlines, spoke in an exclusive interview with Vientiane Times on December 19. He discussed his airline's business strategy and performance of the first Vladivostok- Vientiane flight. Mr Virich said that the Lao government's policy to transform this landlocked nation into a land-linked nation and the limitation of flights from Russia to Asean has provided a great opportunity for the company to launch the Russia-Lao connection. Ural Airlines launched the Vladivostok- Vientiane flight in October, becoming the first civilian flight between the two countries.Lao and Russian policymakers believe that the establishment of an air connection between the two countries would promote tourist exchanges and economic cooperation between the two nations.

It takes six hours for the 168-seat airbus to connect the Laos and Russian cities. "Apart from promoting the Laos- Russia tourist exchange, we expect to fly international passengers who want to travel from the Asean countries to Russia and vice versa," he said, adding that passengers from Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries who are suffering due to the limitation of fights to Russia can now catch a flight from Vientiane. When asked about the performance of the Vladivostok- Vientiane flight, Mr Virich said that the company is satisfied with the growing list of passengers, adding that the company is planning to increase one more flight in the near future. "There will be two flights between Vladivostok and Vientiane in a week in the near future to meet the growing demand of passengers," Mr Virich said, the Vladivostok- Vientiane flight, Mr Virich said that the company is satisfied with the growing list of passengers, adding that the company is planning to increase one more flight in the near future."There will be two flights between Vladivostok and Vientiane in a week in the near future to meet the growing demand of passengers," Mr Virich said, adding that the airline believes that the additional flight would make a significant contribution towards the Laos- Russia economic cooperation and tourist exchange.

[macaroni21]

Very strange choice of a hub airport. Seems to me that there are other non-aviation considerations involved.

An effective hub airport is one with good connections regionally. Vientiane is not that.

It's also hard to see Vladivostok (population 600,000) as a place with enough outbound tourists to make anything of a hub out of Vientiane.

[reader]

25 minutes ago, macaroni21 said:

 Seems to me that there are other non-aviation considerations involved.

Strongly agree.

It would provide another opportunity for those would-be inductees for Putin's war to escape.

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Very strange choice of a hub airport. Seems to me that there are other non-aviation considerations involved.

An effective hub airport is one with good connections regionally. Vientiane is not that.

It's also hard to see Vladivostok (population 600,000) as a place with enough outbound tourists to make anything of a hub out of Vientiane.

It's just rhetoric, what kind of hub  that  airline needs with just  1 flight per week. But sure Laos can use more tourists and Siberian Russians are not that far

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, reader said:

Strongly agree.

It would provide another opportunity for those would-be inductees for Putin's war to escape.

+1

[Moses]

18 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

t's also hard to see Vladivostok (population 600,000) as a place with enough outbound tourists to make anything of a hub out of Vientiane.

Vladivostok is hub for whole Kamchatka region, Primorie region, Khabarovsk region and some more. In general it is center of territory greater than France+Germany together. It is also center of foreign business in Russian Far East (mostly Japan, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Laos).

Ural airlines is just 5th by passengers transportation airline in Russia (1.000.000+ passengers per year). They are trying to establish hub in Vladivostok and serve more passengers on the Far East of Russia. 

One more reason to have hub in Vladivostok: Far Eastern Federal University, there are about 7.000-10.0000 foreign students, most are from Southeast Asia and China. 

[vinapu]

16 hours ago, Moses said:

Vladivostok is hub for whole Kamchatka region, Primorie region, Khabarovsk region and some more....

Ural airlines ... are trying to establish hub in Vladivostok and serve more passengers on the Far East of Russia. 

One more reason to have hub in Vladivostok: Far Eastern Federal University, there are about 7.000-10.0000 foreign students, most are from Southeast Asia and China. 

while it may make sense at Russian end, trying to establish hub in Vientiane where there are  very few connections to countries in region other than immediate neighboring seems overoptimistic but as I said above after recent trip , Laos can use seeing more tourists and they started preparation as we can see below.