Cathay Pacific Airways has warned Thai tourists planning to visit Japan during Songkran that it has not been booked for any chartered flights out of Bangkok during the water festival as claimed in some online advertisements.
The airline sent a note to tour agents informing them that it was not involved in a promotional tour package campaign in email advertisements which put its name as the airline of choice.
Since the carrier has yet to be booked for the service and the departure dates of such packages are approaching, its representative reported to Lumpini police as evidence it had nothing to do with the campaign.
According to the police’s report dated Wednesday, the airline said it had received enquiries from agents and the public about two chartered flights for package tours organised by Wealth Ever for Life during April 5-10 and April 11-16.
The police’s report was posted on the community website Pantip.com. One user also showed the airline’s letter to travel agents informing them that the airline has not operated any chartered flights or offered promotional fares to Japan during Songkran.
The price for the package tour to Osaka during April 11-16 was 13,130 baht with total seats limited to 150, according to the online brochure posted on Pantip.
Several people commented that the price was too good to be true, especially for travel during Songkran when the fare alone already exceeds the entire package's price. One said his mother had decided to go but her group had not yet paid for the trip.
It was not clear whether the sale is still open but the ad shows the booking deadline was March 15. However, the ad posted on Pantip does not contain any contact number and people who have seen them claimed it had been forwarded to them.
A Cathay staff member told the Bangkok Post that booking a chartered flight had to be done 5-6 months in advance and the carrier had no chartered flights scheduled during the long holidays in Thailand in April.