Thai Lion Air is quietly sharpening its claws. Even as international arrivals to Thailand wobble, the budget carrier is pressing ahead with a targeted fleet expansion and a slate of new routes aimed at some of the region’s highest-demand markets — notably China and Japan. CEO Aswin Yangkirativorn says the airline is taking a pragmatic, data-driven approach: “We’re still optimistic that Thai tourism will eventually improve. We adjusted our fleet expansion based on overall tourism growth.” In plain English: don’t expect reckless growth sprees — expect smart, route-driven additions where demand can be captured quickly. Here’s what that looks like in numbers. Thai Lion Air currently operates a lean fleet of 30 single-aisle Boeing 737s — 21 B737-800s and nine B737-900ERs. The carrier plans to add at least two more B737-900s by year-end, with another four to five aircraft pencilled in for next year. That nudges the fleet toward an…
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Late-night dispute in Pattaya condo leaves British man injured; police hunt four transgender women Pattaya police are investigating a violent late-night confrontation that left a 65-year-old British man with a deep head wound after an argument over payment at a high-rise condominium in Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district. The injured man, identified as Duncan Hamish Kirkwood, was discovered bleeding on the 20th floor and rushed to a local hospital after what authorities describe as an escalated money dispute involving a group of transgender women. The incident unfolded just after midnight on September 12. Police Lieutenant Manasak Phonliam, Deputy Inspector at Pattaya City Police Station, received the emergency call and dispatched officers together with Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan rescue workers to the scene. First responders found Kirkwood with a deep laceration in the center of his head; blood was streaming down his face as medics administered first aid before he was taken…
A Thai Businesswoman’s Costly Lesson: How 159 Million Baht Vanished into a Fake Trading App What started as a tempting Facebook ad and the thrill of quick gains turned into a nightmare for a Thai company director identified only as “A.” Between June 24 and July 17 this year, A transferred a staggering 159 million baht to what she believed was a legitimate stock trading app — a scam that preyed on greed, trust and the illusion of effortless profit. The story reads like a modern cautionary tale: in May, A noticed an advertisement for a stock trading application that popped up on her Facebook feed. By June 24 she’d downloaded the app from the Apple Store. The app didn’t just look professional — it used the profile picture of a well-known, highly respected stock trader, which instantly boosted its credibility in her eyes. The Rabbit Hole: From Corporate Account…
A mid‑afternoon welding job in Pattaya turned into a smoke-filled scramble on September 11, when sparks from rooftop work ignited insulation and set a townhouse alight. The blaze erupted at about 2:30pm in Soi Nern Plab Wan, close to the entrance of Chatkaew 9 Village, and quickly drew neighbours, rescuers and a plume of thick black smoke that could be seen rising from the building’s second floor. Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Rescue Centre crews answered the call without delay, sending three fire trucks and teams to the scene. Firefighters, supported by neighbours and other rescue personnel, moved fast to tackle the flames originating at house number 18/38. Local onlookers gathered nearby, anxious but relieved as crews wrestled the fire into submission. Thanks to that rapid response and focused firefighting, the damage was limited: the inferno was contained to the kitchen area and did not spread throughout the house, sparing the structure…
Autopsy reveals how Bangkok zookeeper was fatally mauled by lions — and why safety questions are mounting An autopsy has laid out in stark, clinical detail how a 58-year-old zookeeper at Safari World in Bangkok lost his life after a lion attack, leaving his family and the public searching for answers about what went wrong inside the enclosure. Police Major General Wirun Supasingsiripreecha, commander of the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital, spoke to reporters on September 11 after examining the body of zookeeper Jian Rangkarasmee, who was killed inside the lion area on September 10. Jian’s younger sister, 51-year-old Rattana Rangkarasmee, attended the press briefing as the family received the body back the night before. What the autopsy found According to Pol. Maj. Gen. Wirun, the autopsy revealed a series of catastrophic injuries: a broken neck, severe wounds to the thigh that ruptured a major artery, and…
What should have been a lazy morning at Karon Beach turned into a pulse-racing rescue when a foreign tourist chose to ignore bright red warnings and took on the monsoon-swollen surf. The drama played out on the morning of September 10, when lifeguards had clearly raised red flags and warned swimmers: stay ashore. One man, apparently unconcerned, waded past the safety line — and within moments a monstrous wave carried him out beyond his depth. Witnesses described a surreal mix of calm indifference and sudden panic. Some beachgoers stood frozen, others screamed, and a few — all too human in the smartphone era — filmed the unfolding emergency rather than rushing in. The sea, furious from monsoon winds, threw the tourist back and forth like a cork. He fought to stay afloat, coughing and spluttering as strong currents pulled him farther from shore. Fortunately, Karon’s lifeguard team sprang into action.…
Imagine craving a silky avocado smoothie and instead being served a blender-full of green chicken curry. For Thitiwat Koosakul, this wasn’t the nightmare food mashup of a sleep-deprived chef—it happened for real, and he did what any modern fed-up foodie would do: he went public on Facebook. Thitiwat ordered what sounded like a perfectly normal lunch through the LINE Man app: spicy grilled chicken with rice and a boiled egg, plus an avocado smoothie to wash it all down. What arrived, however, was a culinary identity crisis. His avocado smoothie tasted like—well—green chicken curry. To make matters worse, the spicy grilled chicken he’d paid for had also been replaced by green chicken curry. At first he tried to be generous with his assumptions. “Maybe it’s an unfamiliar variety of avocado,” he thought, taking a sip. The verdict was instantaneous and dramatic: he vomited. He described the smoothie as fishy, salty,…
What began as an ordinary day in Kamala, Phuket, turned disturbingly memorable when a local woman became the target of an alleged public sexual offence. Video shared by the popular Facebook page เจ๊ม้อย v+ (Jmoi v+) shows the chaotic aftermath: a man reportedly from India followed a woman into her home, exposed himself and masturbated in front of her before neighbours intervened. The post didn’t give an exact date, but the footage and the caption sketch a clear sequence. The suspect is said to have arrived in the community on a motorcycle, parked, and then followed the victim on foot. As she reached her doorway he allegedly approached, exposed himself and began masturbating. The woman screamed, chased him out of her residence and called for help — a reaction that summoned nearby residents and local administrative officers. Officers detained the man and escorted him to the police station, where the…
Thailand’s battle against domestic and sexual violence is at a crossroads. Campaigners, activists and lawmakers have turned up the pressure on the new government, insisting that current laws do more to protect abusers than victims and that urgent reform can no longer be postponed. On September 10, the Coalition Against Gender-Based Violence Thailand convened a public forum that felt less like a polite town-hall and more like a collective wake-up call. The room brought together activists, legal experts and sympathetic lawmakers who laid out, in stark terms, how legal gaps and cultural complacency are leaving survivors exposed. Lawmakers and advocates sound the alarm Sasinan Thamnithinan, vice president of the Thai Women Parliamentarian Caucus, delivered one of the forum’s most forceful warnings: violence wears many masks. “It’s not just physical assault or overt abuse,” she told the audience. “We’re talking sexual harassment, emotional manipulation, online abuse — all of which current…
It was a brisk mid-morning sweep in Patong that had locals doing a double take: at 10:30 a.m. on September 10, officers from Patong Police Station set out on a determined mission to reclaim the public way. What began as routine patrolling along Rat Uthit 200 Pi Road in Kathu district quickly turned into a tidy-up operation aimed at one of Phuket’s most persistent urban nuisances — improvised kerbside parking claims. Leading the charge was Police Colonel Chalermchai Hirasawat, flanked by senior officers including Police Lieutenant Colonel Somporn Surin and Pol. Lt. Col. Chamnan Sapsin, with the traffic unit under Pol. Lt. Col. Charuwat Thiamnakha coordinating movements. The scene was almost cinematic: officers methodically walking the pavement, inspecting each makeshift blockade, and removing anything that wasn’t meant to be on a public road. The offenders, if you can call them that, were not human but a motley assembly of plastic…