Kon Tiki Sky starting flights from Antwerp?

[LJ]

Here is another "realization" from the two guys behind the failure of Jets-Sky (AMS), the failure of Sobelair Sun Tours, and the bankruptcy of Antwerp Ship Repair (2007): the bankruptcy of CTR

He should be in jail right now according to the link below (in Dutch).

http://misdaadreporter.blogspot.com/201 ... y-van.html

The Macedonian Kon Tiki Sky is a Macedonian travel agent. They seem to have started their own airline, but why would they start a service ex Antwerp... Really this smells all the way. Furthermore, the Macedonian website doesn't have any link with the .com. Finally, the .com website mentions that the flights are operated by Alfa Air. Alfa Air is a Romanian VIP and Air Ambulance operator...Thus no link to Kon Tiki at all (One would assume they would use their own airline for their flights). In the end this smells... Oh why no pictures of an ATP or RJ70 in Kon Tiki Sky c/s on the website (well answer....because the planes don't exist???)?

Well I'll be... First I thought... a hoax, but then...
I tried the website... and well, they allow you to book...
I ckecked the internet, and they appear to exist.

How to con someone..
1. Come with a plausible or good story
2. Make sure you have a good looking website supporting your story (as everyone will look on the internet first

How to spot a con artist
1. If your first feeling it's a hoax...it usually is a hoax

[Bralo20]

The more I search, the more I'm convinced that it's a scam. Just to be sure I've asked one of my contacts at Fedpol to look into it. But with the way things work it can probably take a while before hearing something about it.

[LJ]

They've changed their website and now they mention the following under "Antwerp Update"

ANTWERP UPDATE
BackPrint

Due to last minute rescheduling “Antwerp” has been replaced by “London” as KON TIKI SKY’s new base.

KON TIKI SKY placed some ads during the last few days in Belgian newspapers, announcing its “low fare flights” from Antwerp. These flights will not take place because of the rescheduling!

We apologize for any false hopes that we have created in Belgium with our low fares offer for this summer.

Kon Tiki Sky will see if during 2012 local circumstances did change allowing us to put low fares on the Belgian marketplace in 2013.

http://kontikisky.com/index.php/en/comp ... ws/94-news

Have the they discovered this thread on luchtzak.be and decided that there's too much knowledge to sucessfully scam Belgians? It may seem so.

[Passenger]

Have the con artists discover this thread on luchtzak.be and decided that there's too much knowledge to sucessfully scam Belgians? It may seem so.

Agree !

[Bruspotter]

Hi


Well I was looking to it very critically as well indeed, reason the more because I haven't heard anyone on Antwerp airport talking about it so far, and usually these things go around very quick, especially in such a small community. Neverthless, would be nice if in he near future there might be some more competition on the market, so far we may be already very happy if we COULD keep all the traffic in EBAW so ...
But hoping for the best.

Scam/hoax or not, let's keep the best hope up and thx for sharing anyway

Best regards, Yannick

[Bralo20]

Agree !

Yup, and the Federal Police is also looking into it

Wrong bet to start a scam in Belgium

[Flanker]

Agree !

Yup, and the Federal Police is also looking into it

Wrong bet to start a scam in Belgium

The government doesn't like competition.

It's more likely that talks with the airport or other authority stalled.
After all, if you purchase with a credit card, you're protected, don't see how you can be scammed.

[LJ]

It's more likely that talks with the airport or other authority stalled.
After all, if you purchase with a credit card, you're protected, don't see how you can be scammed.

First, the airport in London, which now becomes a base, doesn't know anything regarding Kon Tiki Sky. Second, your purchase may be protected but why would a criminal not use your credit card number + details for other means? Let's be honest if you're a criminal you probably know what you can do if you have someones credit card number + details. Of not, you're a very stupid (which I don't think these people are).

[Passenger]

After all, if you purchase with a credit card, you're protected, don't see how you can be scammed.

Flanker, once you wll have left the school banks, you will find out that real life is a bit more complicated then what you find on the world wide web. Ticket payments with a credit card are only guaranteed when done through IATA’s BSP (and only as long as the airline's bond with IATA lasts). That's not the case here, so there is no protection.

When a trader wants to accept credit card payments, he makes an agreement with the c.c.company when the actual money will be transferred into his bank account. General principle: if a trader waits one month, he has to pay less commission to the c.c.company then if he's paid out after two weeks (example from real life: 2,5% if paid after two weeks and 1,3% if paid after one month).

Previous scammers like Jets-Sky (AMS, 2004) and Sobelair Sun Tours (ANR, 2007) have surely applied for the shorter period: the sooner they could take up credit card payments as cash, the better. However, in both cases, the fraud was exposed before a credit card company had paid out.

But the scam is not in the transaction itself but in the validity of the goods one buys. Meaning: you receive your monthly c.c. status and you then have two weeks to ask your bank to pay the c.c.company. If you agree today that the c.c.payment made to Kon Tiki Sky is valid, you cannot hold Visa responsible on 15th July 2012 that there is no 737-500 available to take you to Barcelona.

(LJ : indeed, they will probably sell your credit card details to other crooks - once they've served themselves).

[sn26567]

It seems that Routes Online still believes in the venture:

http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... operation/

According to its website, the venture will introduce flights at Antwerp from May 1, 2012 including a twice daily business link to London Southend. This will be complemented by four weekly flights to Girona, three weekly services to Sofia and twice weekly links to Alicante, Bucharest and Skopje. From the start of June it will expand into a number of Balkan markets with flights from Bucharest, Constanta and Skopje.

From Bucharest it plans to offer at least twice daily services to Chisinau, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Suceava and Timosoara from June 18, 2012. From Skopje it plans links to Ancona, Basel, Bergamo, Berlin, Bologna, Bratislava, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Istanbul, Malmo, Rome, Stuttgart and Trieste from the same date, while from Constanta it plans to offer tickets Bergamo, Berlin, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Dusseldorf, Girona, Hamburg, London Luton, Madrid, Malmo, Paris, Rome, Stuttgart, Suceava and Timosoara.

And the website is still active, but it is now impossible to book a fligh from ANR... Only flights from airports in Romania and Molavia seem to be possible.

Is this a real image or a Photoshop creation?

[Mirror]

Is this a real image or a Photoshop creation?

It's a real one, they used to operate this one on routes to DUS as part of MAT

[Bralo20]

Is this a real image or a Photoshop creation?

It's real...

Z3-AAM is (or was?) effectively painted with Kon Tiki Sky titles (however, the livery is MAT Airways), the only thing that isn't accurate anymore is the rudder which seems to be plain white on the latest picture I've found. The owner of the plane is Wells Fargo Bank Northwest.

However, Kon Tiki Sky is mentioning they will use Alfa Air Service but the plane they use on their site (Z3-AAM) is a MAT Airways plane. MAT Airways is a Macedonian carier (founded by Kon Tiki Travel and some investors) and has only 1 plane in their fleet. MAT Airways stopped voluntary it's operations last year (I think somewhere in the middle of the summer).

Oh, and Alfa Air Services has only one bird active despite what is written on their website, they only have one single BAe 146 at the moment.

[DeltaWiskey]

Long time ago - back in 2004 - there was a company in the Netherlands "Jets-sky" who wanted to do about the same thing: offering very cheap flights from AMS. However, research from De Telegraaf showed they had no leasing contract for aircraft. Check this topic:
viewtopic.php?t=2962&p=23109

The same story happened again in 2007, this time out of Antwerp : Sobelair Sun Tours. They also had no lease contract for aircraft. Their project was stopped when the two persons behind this set up were arrested in a major fraud case (Antwerp Ship Repair) as you can check in this newspaper report:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... d=721B8VMR

Some other relevant articles:
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail. ... d=H01B8SPR

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Ar ... angehouden

Any similarity with the names of the persons, company names and addresses is pure coincidence...

euhm... today in the news:
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/r ... ShipRepair

Just coincidence, as you said...

[sn26567]

It seems that Routes Online still believes in the venture:

http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... operation/

Routes Online has modified its article, which now expresses doubts about the venture:

http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... operation/

[Passenger]

Long time ago - back in 2004 - there was a company in the Netherlands "Jets-sky" who wanted to do about the same thing: offering very cheap flights from AMS. However, research from De Telegraaf showed they had no leasing contract for aircraft. Check this topic:
viewtopic.php?t=2962&p=23109

The same story happened again in 2007, this time out of Antwerp : Sobelair Sun Tours. They also had no lease contract for aircraft. Their project was stopped when the two persons behind this set up were arrested in a major fraud case (Antwerp Shiprepair) as you can check in this newspaper report:
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail ... d=721B8VMR

Some other relevant articles:
http://www.standaard.be/artikel/detail. ... d=H01B8SPR

http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Ar ... angehouden

Any similarity with the names of the persons, company names and addresses is pure coincidence...

euhm... today in the news:
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/r ... ShipRepair

Just coincidence, as you said...

Actually, this particular case is different. The above news article is about financial problems at the "new" Antwerp Ship Repair, a new company established on 17 August 2007. They dind't file for liquidation today, but have ask protection against debtors (called WCO - Wet Continuïteit Ondernemingen - previously concordaat).

The "old one", with the curious link to Sobelair Sun Tours, was Antwerp Shiprepair nv, and it went bankrupt on 15 May 2007. Sobelair Sun Tours was founded in 2005 as Love Air (Belgium), then became Antwerp Air, then became Sobelair Sun Tours, then became Sobelair.com, then went bankrupt on 31 May 2007.

[LJ]

After 2 months of hearing nothing, it appears that they now decided to fly from AMS to Bucharest (daily), Timisoara (4 weekly) and Cluj (3 weekly). Who would have guessed this 2 months ago.

[Bralo20]

They aren't flying at all... It was a scam and it will always be a scam... None of the airports they allegedly operate have ever heard from this airline.

[LJ]

They aren't flying at all... It was a scam and it will always be a scam... None of the airports they allegedly operate have ever heard from this airline.

I know, but it amazes me that they're still running this site (and come up with many new routes compared to previous time). Probably not enough "bookings" yet.

[Bralo20]

Well they dropped Antwerp and Southend when those airports (and in the case of Belgium the Federal Police) where informed by the existence of the Kon Tiki site, maybe we should inform all the airports on the list of this scam?