SHANGHAI, July 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 150,000 people
had enjoyed their flights under the "fly at will" air ticket
discount package rolled out by China Eastern Airlines (also known
as China Eastern) during the past two weekends.
As the first-ever air ticket discount package launched in
China that allows passengers to
enjoy unlimited weekend flights till December 31, the "fly at will" released on
June 18 was priced at 3,322 yuan (about $473.72). The product has been especially
welcomed by backpackers and migrant workers. Some netizens even
call it "a godsend for long-distance relationship".
As the COVID-19 pandemic has been effectively brought under
control in the China, 150,000
passengers flew to enjoy holidays or visit their family by using
the ticket package, which has become a hot topic and a phenomenal
economic activity in China.
The average passenger load factor of the China Eastern flights
from Shanghai to more than ten
destinations rose by nearly 20 percent, with the figure of some
flights even surpassing 90 percent. Some popular flights have seen
the proportion of "fly at will" passengers exceed 90 percent.
Although the company has dispatched wide-body aircrafts like B777
and A350 to the hot flights, it still cannot fully meet passengers'
growing travel demands.
The ground-breaking move has also caused social discussion.
Jeff Yu, a partner in the
Beijing office of consultancy
Roland Berger, said that the most
noteworthy part of the "fly at will" is not only the pricing or
business model, but the actual test data, for which will help
provide valuable insights into and support for the full recovery of
the aviation field.
With the "fly at will" filling a market void and driving travel
demands, China Eastern is called a "pathfinder" and "wind vane" by
industry insiders and media. There are by far over 20,000 pieces of
news reports on the product published by more than 1,000 media
outlets. Putting aside the profits and losses, "fly at will" is
already a very successful product for its topicality and the
publicity, pointed out Xiong Wei, a
PhD candidate majoring in aviation law at McGill University.
Other airlines in China have
launched similar products following "fly at will". On June 21, China Express launched a similar air
ticket packages. On July 1, Hainan
Airlines announced that its 12 airline companies will jointly
launch an air ticket package with limited destinations.
China Eastern hopes that its "fly at will" can help boost
businesses in tourism and hospitality, so that relevant industries
can tide over the tough time together, said an executive of the
service department of China Eastern. As the COVID-19 pandemic
causes a marked impact on economy, a popular ticket package may
lead to more positive results in consumption in relevant fields,
said Xiong, noting that the social benefits of "fly at will" is
already far beyond the profits it can get for the company.
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Caption: The passengers landing in Chongqing hold high the slogan "The world is
so big. Let's take a look!"
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SOURCE China Eastern Airlines