In 2022, I had to deal with a blatant case of plagiarism by a blogger who was ripping off entire chunks of my work and presenting it as his own. That content has since been purged, and the website is no longer active.
I was hoping that would be the last time I faced such an issue, but now another case has emerged. The culprit this time is Voyage Avance, a Japanese-medium blog that’s a part of the Boarding Area network (something the author is clearly very proud of, as every post carries the line “I am PAR@Seasoned Traveler, the first Japanese official BoardingArea blogger”).
What’s been copied?
I’ve been reviewing the articles on Voyage Avance and have identified numerous instances where my work, as well as the work of others, has been copied โย almost shamelessly, in many cases.ย
This is not an exhaustive list by any means. In all likelihood, there are many more examples that I haven’t found yet.
ย | Note: To preserve the evidence, I have used the Wayback Machine to take snapshots of Voyage Avance’s website. If you’re interested in viewing the actual live version (and it hasn’t been modified or taken down), you can still do so by copying the URL in the Wayback Machine’s address bar. |
Exhibit #1: GHA DISCOVERY offering Titanium and Platinum status renewals with D$ purchase
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
GHA DISCOVERY Titanium and Platinum aren’t particularly difficult to attain, requiring as few as three and two nights per year respectively. Nonetheless, if you still haven’t settled your requalification for 2025, GHA is now sending out targeted offers to Titanium and Platinum members, offering upfront status renewals in exchange for purchasing DISCOVERY Dollars (D$). If you plan to stay at GHA properties anyway in the upcoming year, this might be an interesting opportunity. |
It is not particularly difficult to obtain GHA’s Titanium and Platinum status, which can be obtained by staying 3 nights and 2 nights per year, respectively. If you have not yet renewed your 2025 qualification, they are offering an offer to renew your status early in exchange for purchasing DISCOVERY Doller (D$). If you are planning to stay at a GHA accommodation next year, this may be an interesting opportunity. |
GHA DISCOVERY Titanium and Platinum members are receiving offers via email to renew their status tillย 31 December 2025,ย by making a purchase of:
The purchase must be made fromย 5-30 December 2024,ย and any D$ purchased will be valid for 12 months from the date of awarding. Purchased D$ will be credited immediately, but the status extension may take up to 10 business days to be processed. Once again, this is a targeted offer, but you can see whether your account is eligible byย visiting this page and logging in. |
GHA DISCOVERY Titanium and Platinum members may have received an email with information on how to renew their status by 2025/12/31. The purchased D$ will be credited immediately, but the status extension process may take up to 10 business days.ย You can check if your account is eligible by visiting this page and logging in.ย |
Buying D$ is effectively pre-paying for a few stays down the road, and if those stays happen to be early in the year, then the opportunity cost of tying up some funds shouldnโt be that great | Buying D$ is effectively a prepayment for a stay several days down the line, and if that stay happens to be early in the year, the opportunity cost of tying up the funds should not be that great. |
Exhibit #2: GHA DISCOVERY Titanium adds free breakfast at Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL Hotels
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
No disrespect to the rest of the DISCOVERY portfolio, but all the GHA brands with free breakfast so far have been relative microchains with a limited regional focus (case in point:ย Paramount Hotelsย has only two properties, both in Dubai). In contrast, the Pan Pacific Hotels Group has more than 50 hotels, resorts and serviced suites across more than 30 cities worldwide. Itโs still predominantly Asia Pacific focused, but thatโs a feature, not a bug, for someone based in Singapore.ย |
Until now, all GHA brands that have offered free breakfast have been small, regional chains (such as Paramount Hotels, which only have two hotels, both in Dubai). In contrast, Pan Pacific Hotels Group operates over 50 hotels, resorts and serviced suites in over 30 cities around the world. While still centered in the Asia Pacific region, major GHA brands like Pan Pacific and Kempinski are finally offering free breakfast. |
Thankfully,ย GHA DISCOVERY is keeping their benefit much more straightforward. As stated in the T&Cs: The Benefit applies to breakfast served at the hotel and will be for the same breakfast type that the hotel offers to guests who have booked a room and breakfast package In other words, you get the same breakfast as anyone who books a breakfast-inclusive rate. If they get a full hot buffet, so do you. If they get bread and water, so do you. |
Thankfully, GHA DISCOVERY makes the benefit much easier to understand. The Benefit applies to breakfast served at the hotel and will be for the same breakfast type that the hotel offers to guests who have booked a room and breakfast package. So if the breakfast plan offers a full hot buffet, Titanium members get the same. If it’s bread and water, Titanium members get bread and water. |
Exhibit #3: Guide to booking infant tickets with Singapore Airlines
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
As a preamble: Singapore Airlines requires infants to be at least seven days old to fly, for obvious reasons. If you have medical clearance to fly with a newborn between 48 hours and 7 days of age, you will need to contact Singapore Airlines to assist you with the booking.ย Also, there is no option to redeem miles for an infant ticket. Regardless of whether you have a commercial or award booking, your infant ticket must be paid with cash. |
As a preamble, Singapore Airlines (SQ) requires that infants must be at least 7 days old to fly. If you have medical clearance to fly with a newborn baby who is more than 48 hours old but less than 7 days old, you will need to contact Singapore Airlines to help you make the reservation. There is also no option to use mileage points for infant tickets. Infant tickets must be paid for in cash, whether paid or reward. |
The refundability of infant tickets follows the rules of the fare type the ticket is issued under. Thatโs to say, you canโt get a refund if the infant ticket is issued under the Economy Lite bucket, but you can if the infant ticket is issued under Economy Standard. The refund fee for an adult ticket will cover the infantโs ticket too (since itโs seen as an add-on). For example, if I book an Economy Standard ticket with an infant attached to my booking and later cancel my flight, the cancellation fee will include both mine and the infantโs ticket. |
Infant fares are refunded according to the rules of the fare type the ticket was ticketed for. For example, if I book an Economy Standard ticket with an infant added, and later cancel the flight, the cancellation fee will cover both my ticket and the infant’s ticket. |
If youโre travelling with an infant, youโll presumably want a bassinet seat, which allows your little one to get some proper horizontal rest. Itโs not guaranteed, however, since these seats are allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis. If all the bassinet positions are occupied, your infant will need to be seated in your lap, with an infant seatbelt provided.ย |
If you are traveling with an infant, you will probably need a bassinet seat. However, these seats are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and are not guaranteed. If all bassinet positions are taken, the infant must sit on your lap and wear the infant seat belt. |
When the seatbelt sign comes on, infants must be lifted from the bassinet and seated on your lap, with the infant seatbelt fastened. I understand the safety aspect, but itโs really annoying when it happens, especially if your baby is the kind who wakes up easily and takes a long time to fall asleep again. Bassinets on Singapore Airlines measure 768mm (L) x 298mm (W) x 158mm (H), and can support a maximum weight of 14kg. |
When the seat belt sign is on, the infant must be removed from the bassinet and seated on your lap with the infant seat belt fastened. This can be a challenge, especially for babies who wake up easily and take a long time to fall asleep again. |
Now, itโs commonly cited that infant tickets added to a redemption ticket cost 10% of the full fare ticket. Thatโs not correct. Infant fares cost 10% of the lowest available fare bucket available at the time of request, regardless of whether itโs a commercial or redemption booking. The problem is: the calculation is done manually, and itโs possible for the CSO to get it wrong. Before calling up, make a point of doing a dummy booking to see how much an infant fare should cost on your flight, based on the lowest available fare bucket. This will give you an idea of how much you should expect, so you can challenge the CSO if overquoted. |
It is generally said that there is a 10% fee on the regular fare when adding an infant ticket to an exchange ticket. To be precise, the infant fare is 10% of the cheapest fare available for that cabin class at the time of the request. Since the calculation is done manually, the receptionist may make a mistake in the calculation. Before calling, make a dummy reservation to see how much the infant fare will be for your flight. That way you will know how much to expect and can dispute any overquotes. |
Exhibit #4: Singapore Airlines launching service to Beijing Daxing Airport from November 2024
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
Singapore Airlines has announced that it will launch daily flights between Singapore andย Beijing Daxing International Airportย on 11 November 2024. This airport, which has the worldโs largest single-building terminal, is located in the south of Beijing, giving passengers convenient access to the Hebei and Tianjin regions via highways, subways and railways. SIA will also increase its frequencies to Beijing Capital International Airport to 21x weekly service from 5 August 2024, up from the current 18x weekly service.ย |
Singapore Airlines (SQ) has announced that it will launch daily flights between Singapore (SIN) and Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) on 11/11/2024. PKX is located in the south of Beijing and has easy access to Hebei Province and Tianjin areas via highways, subways and railways. SQ will also increase the number of flights to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) from the current 18 flights per week to 21 flights per week starting 5/8/2024. |
Beijing Daxing Airport is located around 50km south of Beijing, and opened to passengers in September 2019. This airport was the replacement for Beijing Nanyuan, and designed to take some load off Beijing Capital Airport.ย Itโs the largest single-terminal airport in the world, stretching over 1,000,000 square metres with four runways. It can handle up to 75 million passengers annually (original plans called for as many as 200 million passengers a year, which if fully utilised would make it the worldโs busiest airport by far).ย The airport is connected to the Caoqiao Station in Beijing, with rides taking about 20 minutes.ย Daxing onlyย restarted international operations in 2023ย after a three-year pause due to COVID, but now has many more connections including Kuala Lumpur, London-Heathrow, Phnom Penh and Amsterdam, to name a few.ย |
Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX) is located about 50km south of Beijing and opened in September 2019. The airport was designed to relieve the strain on Beijing Capital Airport (PEK). It is the world’s largest single-terminal airport, covering 1 million square meters with four runways and can accommodate up to 75 million passengers per year. The airport is connected to Beijing’s Caoqiao Station, with a travel time of about 20 minutes. PKX only just resumed international operations in 2023 after a three-year hiatus, but now connects many cities, including Kuala Lumpur (KUL), London Heathrow (LHR), Phnom Penh (PNH), and Amsterdam (AMS). |
Exhibit #5: Singapore Airlines to serve Cristal 2015 champagne in Suites and First Class
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
While Dom Perignon may no longer be in the Singapore Airlines stable (having become anย Emirates exclusiveย in November 2022), Suites and First Class passengers are far from deprived, withย three excellent champagnesย poured throughout 2024 including Krug Grand Cuvee and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. But the airline always gives its passengers a special treat around Christmastime. Last year,ย Krug 2004 and Krug Roseย made an appearance in December, and this year, thereโs some big news for oenophiles, as Singapore Airlines announces the addition ofย Cristal 2015ย to its line-up.ย |
As of November 2024, Singapore Airlines (SQ) offers three excellent champagnes to suite and first class passengers, including Krug Grand Cuvรฉe and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne. However, SQ always gives passengers a special treat during Christmas. In 2023, Krug 2004 and Krug Rosรฉ were introduced in December, but this year they announced that they will be adding Cristal 2015 to their lineup. |
Exhibit #6: World of Hyatt offering 2X points at Hyatt Place and Hyatt House
MileLion Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
World of Hyattโsย last global promotionย ended on 30 April 2024, and while weโve yet to see a new one, the chain has launched aย 2X points offerย for stays at all 550+ Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties worldwide. These limited-service brands arenโt necessary the most luxurious that Hyatt has to offer, but itโs a straightforward enough promotion with no minimum spend or stay requirement. |
Hyatt has launched a 2x points campaign for stays at all 550+ Hyatt Place and Hyatt House properties worldwide. ใ These hotel brands are not the most luxurious Hyatt offers, but the promotion is easy enough to understand, with no minimum room rate or stay conditions. |
As a reminder, World of Hyatt is running a year-long fast track offer for employees of selected MNCs, which grants them instant World of Hyatt Explorist status for a 90-day period, bypassing the usual 30 night requirement. During this period: members who stayย 10ย qualifying nights willย retain Explorist statusย until February 2026 Qualifying nights include both points and cash stays, at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide of Small Luxury Hotels of the World properties. Youโll need to register by 31 December 2024, but the sooner you complete the challenge the better, since the status expiry date is fixed at February 2026 regardless. This offer is open to employees of an unspecified list of companies. You can always try your luck by entering your membership number and company email. Known successes include Apple, Ernst & Young, Google, IBM, PWC, Linkedin, Microsoft and Netflix.ย |
Hyatt is running a one-year fast track promotion to grant employees of select multinational companies Hyatt Explorist status immediately for 90 days. You must register by 12/31/2024, but the status expiration date is set for February 2026, so the earlier you challenge, the better. This offer is open to employees of an unspecified number of companies. You can try your luck at any time by entering your membership number and company email.ย To date, Apple, Ernst & Young, Google, IBM, PWC, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Netflix, and others have been eligible. |
Other sites have been copied too
While I’m flattered that Voyage Avance has taken a liking to my work, it’s not just my content that’s being copied. When browsing through the blog, I got the feeling that some stories sounded awfully familiar. And they wereโ I’d just read them elsewhere first.
ย Again, just a snapshot of what I’ve uncovered so far…
Executive Traveller: Hong Kong axes arrivals cards
Executive Traveller Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
Theย Hong Kong Immigration Departmentย confirms that โall visitors are not required to complete and furnish arrival or departure cards when passing through immigration clearance points.โ The move is at odds with a steady worldwide push towards digital arrivals cards which are also mandatory for all travellers โ as recently seen inย New Zealand,ย Singaporeย andย Malaysia. At the same time, โelectronic travel authorisationsโ are becoming more in vogue. The UK will roll out itsย worldwide ETA program in January 2025ย (with a ยฃ10 application fee attached), with the EU-wide European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)ย following in the first half of 2025. Thailandsโs ETA is alsoย due to launch in January 2025, while Japan has announced plans for its ownย JETSA travel permit. As previously reported byย Executive Traveller, Australiaโs incoming passenger card overseas visitors and returning residents will soon be replaced by a digital Australia Travel Declaration. The ATD will be trialled on selected flights from New Zealand to Australia, before being introduced โto encompass all passengers to Australia,โ an Australian Border Force spokesperson told Executive Traveller. |
The Hong Kong Immigration Department has announced that “all visitors will no longer be required to complete and submit an entry card when passing through immigration”. ใ The move goes against a steady global movement towards digital entry cards being mandatory for all travellers, as seen recently in New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. ใ At the same time, “electronic travel authorizations” are also becoming popular. ใ The UK will roll out its global ETA program in January 2025 (requiring a ยฃ10 application fee), followed by the EU-wide European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) in the first half of 2025. ใ Thailand’s ETA is also due to launch in January 2025, and Japan has announced plans for its own JETSA travel authorization scheme. ใ Australia’s entry passenger cards for overseas travellers and returning residents will soon be replaced by the digital Australia Travel Declaration. ใ The ATD will be piloted on select flights from New Zealand to Australia, before being rolled out to cover all passengers to Australia. ใ The introduction of both has been postponed, but soon everything will be digitized. |
Head for Points: BA news: new Bridgerton-inspired safety video, big aircraft order incoming?
HfP Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
An interesting press release dropped into our inbox on Monday. Issued by engine manufacturer GE, it said thatย British Airways had selected the GEnx engines to power theย top-up order of six new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners announced last year. According to GE, the GEnx engine โprovides a 1.4 percent fuel burn savings for the typical 787 mission compared to its competition.โ Whilst we wouldnโt normally comment on engine choices,ย the order is interesting because the current BA Dreamliner fleet uses Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. Those engines encountered durability issues, requiring more frequent checks and initially grounding a sizeable percentage of the Dreamliner fleet globally โ one of the issues that led to the demise of Norwegian which had gambled on all โall Dreamlinerโ long haul fleet. Whilst Rolls-Royce has been rolling out fixes for these problems over the last few years, British Airways has clearly had enough. Yet however unhappy you may be with your engine supplier, does it really make sense to jump ship for an aircraft order of just six new planes? After all,ย it would require British Airways to keep spares on hand for a tiny subfleet, increasing the cost and complexity of its operation.ย Simply buying one complete spare engine would cost $20 million at list price. |
BA has announced that it will use GEnx engines for its additional order of six Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners, which it announced in 2023. The GEnx engines will reportedly save 1.4% of fuel on a typical 787 mission compared to competing aircraft. This order is interesting because as of 2024, BA Dreamliners use Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. These engines have durability issues and require more frequent inspections, which initially resulted in a significant percentage of the Dreamliner fleet around the world being grounded. Rolls-Royce has been working on fixes to these issues for the past few years, but it doesn’t seem to have satisfied BA. However, no matter how unhappy the engine supplier is, it doesn’t really seem to make sense to jump in to order just six new aircraft, and there will probably be other companies ordering them. BA will have to keep spares on hand for its small fleet, which will increase costs and operational complexity. Just buying a set of spare engines would cost $20 million at list price. |
Simple Flying: Why Doesn’t Malaysia Airlines Fly To The US?
Simple Flying Original | Voyage Avance |
Link | Link Translated into English using Google Translate |
ย In 2019, the country of Malaysia was downgraded to a Category 2 status by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and at that point, was not allowed to launch any services to the US. | In 2019, Malaysia Airlines (MH) was downgraded to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), at which point it was barred from flying to the US at all. |
Data from theย US Department of Transportation (DOT)ย shows that during the last twelve months of operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Malaysia Airlines managed to fill just over 80% of its seats. The Asian carrier used its now-retired Boeing 777-200ERs for the 5,451-mile flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles. These planes only had two cabins โ business and economy. |
According to data from the US Department of Transportation (DOT), MH was able to fill just over 80% of its seats during the past 12 months of operation at (LAX). MH used now retired Boeing 777-200ERs for the 5,451 mile flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles. |
During the same period, the “Big Three” US carriers โ United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines โ also flew the route and had much better load factors. Delta had the highest, with an average of 92.45%, United filled 88.59%, and American had the lowest load factor at 82.66%. |
During the same period, United Airlines (UA), American Airlines (AA) and Delta Airlines (DL) also served the route with much better load factors. ใ DL had the highest average load factor of 92.45%, UA at 88.59% and AA at 82.66%. |
FAA Category 2 safety status is related to a countryโs civil aviation authorityโs safety rating, not to be confused with airport safety ratings. These safety ratings are given based on criteria set forth by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). To observe whether a country is following the ICAO standards or not, the FAA created the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA). |
The FAA’s Category 2 safety status is related to the safety rating of each country’s civil aviation authority, not to be confused with the safety rating of airports. These safety ratings are given based on standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ใ To observe whether a country complies with ICAO standards, the FAA created the International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA). |
This is pretty shameless
There’s an old joke about all the blogs copying one another (in the sense that everyone’s writing about the same stories), but this is a different level altogether.
Honestly, I don’t know what was going through this guy’s mind. Does he seriously think that wholesale copying doesn’t count as plagiarism so long as you change a few minor words and translate it into a different language?ย
What’s even funnier is that Voyage Avance, with no small amount of irony, has the following copyright notice on his website:
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this siteโs author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Voyage Avance with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
It’s also low-key hilarious thatย Voyage Avance’s style of writing is to begin each article by saying “I will explain the process” / “I was a little interested, so I looked into it” / “I’ll give you the details” / “I looked into the plans” โย before he promptly rips off content from elsewhere.
It’d be one thing to copy newsy pieces, where apologists might say “well, there’s only so many ways to paraphrase a press release”. But Voyage Avance even copies features, like the one I wrote about booking tickets for infants on Singapore Airlines, or the one Simple Flying wrote about why Malaysia Airlines doesn’t fly to the USA anymore.
Conclusion
On Voyage Avance’s About Us page,ย he says:
The information I share is not just what is available on the Internet. I travel with a strong commitment to taking action and putting it into practice myself and conveying “real” information that is not conveyed on the Internet.
I don’t know about putting it into action, but the information he’s sharing is available on the internet all right. It’s the hard work of other writers, who spent time and effort reading, analysing and synthesising information for their own audiences.
Boarding Area’s page to report copyright infringement, leads to a 404, so I’ll be flagging this to Randy Petersen (the owner of Boarding Area) for action.
There are other remedies, of course, but those are generally more complicated. Besides, I’m not looking for monetary compensation. I just want Voyage Avance to admit that he enjoys my rambling paragraphs, pretentious prose and obscure pop culture references, apologise, andย remove from his website all the articles he’s ripped off, whether mine or others.ย
Sue until his Japanese pants drop
Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Bravo, Aaron! We all see more than enough of this, where an author’s original and unique work is shamelessly ripped off by a blogger for their own benefit.
Sue his pants drop
Airline bloggers are largely covering the same news. How much differently can people write when stating facts such as GHA offering breakfast and MH’s load factor?
Much ado about nothing.
Obvious troll comment, but I feel like indulging it.
If you want to stand there and pretend like both sets of articles were written completely independently, go right ahead.
As for me, I’d like to think I’m the only one who talks about “bread and water”
Did you bother to read at all ? Blatantly copying / plagiarising / paraphrasing should not be confused with merely stating facts . They were almost identical word for word . Minimal paraphrasing for sure . Any discerning mind can tell
This is because your articles are very factual and well written, and probably the best around so I am not surprised people copy your work.
I hope you succeed. I enjoy reading your posts and find it pretty tasteless that someone would do this.
Not a pleasant thing to do to you after all the hardwork you have put in. Maybe you should start a Chinese or Japanese language sites too. Not sure how good are your Japanese or Chinese though. Just a thought.
Your work is your work. It should not be ripped off by anyone else anywhere for their sole benefit.