With airlines still flying with far fewer passengers than pre-Covid, so the industry is taking drastic steps to persuade people back to the skies. Under a new type of ticket just launched, passengers buy one ticket and then fly as often as desired.
Beginning tomorrow, and by invitation only, passengers holding the new type of ticket may travel as often as they please on China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines’ flights departing before 8 am or after 8 pm. Flights to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are exempt from the promotion. The new ticket is priced at ¥3,456, with the applicable flight dates being from 8 August, 2020 to 30 June, 2021.
Referred to as “Fly Morning & Evening as Desired” (早晚随心飞), the “season” ticket is initially being made available to enterprises and institutions through targeted invitations from China Eastern Airlines marketing staff and partner agencies. Corporate customers are limited to a single purchase of a 100 ticket set.
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Targeted institutions include cooperative commercial banks, investment banks and asset management firms. China Eastern Airlines have also stated that part of the ticket quota shall be reserved for selective sale to the public, reported The Paper.
As soon as the product went online, the market responded enthusiastically. Following China Eastern’s lead, airlines such as Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines and China Southern Airlines successively launched their own unlimited flight promotions.
Yet, it is not the first time for such creative ticketing. Back on 18 June, China Eastern launched the “Fly at Weekend” ticket type, priced at ¥3,322. Passengers holding the ticket can enjoy unlimited travel in economy class on China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines’ weekend flights, again excepting Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
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More than 65,000 tickets were redeemed during the first weekend of the promotion. China Eastern expects that 2.5 million such trips shall be taken in the second half of 2020.
In addition, the very fact that more seats on aircraft are occupied with have the knock-on effect of inspiring confidence among other people, prompting increased spending on traditional ticket types. Airlines abroad shall also be keeping a close eye on the effectiveness of the promotion, in hopes that they making similar moves may save them from bankruptcy.