BANGKOK, 31 July 2024: Korean Air will deploy its first Boeing 787-10 on the Seoul Incheon – Bangkok route starting 1 August, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian country the airline serves with its newest widebody.

The SkyTeam Alliance carrier, which has four daily (28 weekly) flights on the Seoul Incheon – Bangkok route, will deploy the 787-10 on six of those weekly flights, using the airline’s first 787-10 delivered in late July. By 8 August, Korean Air 787-10 flights on the route will increase to 12 times weekly.

Korean Air’s 787-10 cabin features 289 economy-class and 36 business-class seats. The 787-10 is the first aircraft to feature Korean Air’s new business-class product:  Prestige Suites 2.0, offering lie-flat seats with 46 inches (117 cm) of pitch and 21 inches (53 cm) of width. 

Large 23.8-inch (60 cm) personal 4K monitors keep passengers entertained throughout their journey. The 1-2-1 configuration ensures easy aisle access for all Prestige Class passengers. The seats also include a wireless charging pad and powerful 60W USB-C charging ports.

Economy-class offers improved comfort with 13.3-inch (33cm) personal monitors, a seat pitch of 32 inches (81cm), and a width of 17.2 inches (44cm).

The new Boeing widebody, which has more seat capacity than the A330, is being deployed to Bangkok in response to growing passenger demand on the route, especially among business travellers.

“Thailand is a vital market for Korean Air. Many Korean companies are investing and doing business in Thailand, fuelling demand for business travel,” said Korean Air’s  Thailand Country Manager Jong Min Kim. “We are committed to supporting Thailand’s tourism and economic missions. With 13 gateways in North America and 12 in Japan via Seoul Incheon Terminal 2, Korean Air is dedicated to serving Thailand through our extensive global network.”

According to data from Thailand’s tourism ministry, South Koreans were Thailand’s third largest source of international arrivals last year, with 1.65 million visits.

Meanwhile, according to the Korea Tourism Organization, Thailand is South Korea’s eighth most significant source of arrivals. It says 119,455 visitors from Thailand visited the country from January to April this year, accounting for 2.5% of South Korea’s total arrivals.

BANGKOK, 30 July 2024: Thai Airways International issued a warning on its social media accounts last week, saying fare deals targeting senior travellers posted on Facebook by “a professional” are fake.

The airline ran an image of the promotion denouncing it as “fake news”. Although it did not elaborate on the definition of “professional,” the inference was that a scammer was pretending to be a travel agent with the inside track on a TG fare discount for seniors (over 60 years old). The promotion’s small print pointed to a fake address airtravel6.live.

The THAI social media team describes the hoax offer: “This is fake news from a professional offering cheap, affordable flights for seniors. It is spreading on social media in large numbers.”

THAI’s communications team advises travellers to check all information carefully.
“If you see such news, do not be deceived … warn friends around you. For the safety of your property and information, do not click on any links, add to Line account, transfer money, or agree to any transaction.”

The airline advises travellers to check out the fares and offers on its website directly or contact the airline’s call centre. So, what’s the bottom-line advice? Don’t trust social media travel offers, and don’t click on any social media fare deals unless you are absolutely sure the site you are about visit is safe.

We checked the senior fares offered by THAI and opened the link below to see what the airline offers us. Visit https://www.thaiairways.com/en_TH/book/offers/special_offers/senior-fare.page.

Before you can check the senior offers, which are limited to travel in Thailand, you have to show that you are 60 years or older. The offers should pop up first. Instead, you have first to insert travel dates and choose a destination. Then it tells you to show proof of age (membership card number?). It’s not a very user-friendly website to browse. It needs to improve if it wants seniors to spend time browsing its fare offers online, and there should be offers for regional travel not just domestic destinations. 

Scammers target the airline industry

Meanwhile, Andrea Feldman of BlueVoyant, an expert combating cyber fraud in the aviation industry, posted the following observations last week saying: “Fraudulent cyber attacks targeting the airline industry are a common issue largely seen on the underground, such as the deep and dark web.” 

According to RSA Security, airlines are the industry most affected by online fraud, accounting for 46% of fraudulent transactions.
“As a result, airlines face huge financial costs, with losses due to fraud estimated at 1.2% of global airline revenue.

“Over the past few years, BlueVoyant has observed a significant spike in threat actors targeting the aviation industry worldwide due to airlines’ increasing reliance on online booking and reservation platforms. 

“These online tools make it more convenient for customers to purchase airline tickets and have become an industry standard, but they have also made it easier for fraudsters to exploit vulnerabilities in online systems. The significant disruption and increase in remote work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have also increased fraud in recent years.”

Analysing Fraud in the Underground Market

“Posts offering flight tickets or compromised accounts with frequent flyer miles or reward points at advantageous prices are very common in underground forums, chat platform groups, and even on social media.”

Discounted Tickets

“The method that threat actors commonly use to sell flight tickets at reduced prices typically involves using compromised credit cards to purchase the tickets. These posts are frequently seen in the underground market targeting airlines worldwide.”

(SOURCE: THAI news and additional observations from BlueVoyant)