The new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused huge losses to the global aviation industry, the number of international flights has shrunk sharply, and the aviation industry has fallen into an unprecedented crisis. In order to help the resumption of work and production and promote domestic consumption, since June this year, many Chinese airlines such as China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines have successively launched air ticket package services such as "Flying Weekend" and "Happy Flying". Passengers can fly multiple times within a specified time for a price of about 3,000 yuan, which has attracted widespread attention. Can similar "fly as you wish" services help the civil aviation industry recover? In the process of purchasing and using products, can passengers be truly "free" and "arbitrarily"? All media reporters from Guangzhou Daily conducted an investigation recently.

　　Text, picture/Guangzhou Daily full media reporter Li Yan

　　Correspondent Dong Xuan, Nan Xuan

　　Planning/Lu Xurui

　　As of July 17th, China Eastern Airlines' "Weekend Fly" tickets have used more than 250,000 passengers, and the travel direction involves 137 cities across the country. This year, "Weekend Fly" is expected to drive a total of 2.5 million passengers.

　　In the last weekend, China Eastern Airlines' flights from Guangzhou to Shangri-La had a passenger load factor of over 90%, and 73% of passengers exchanged air tickets through "Fly on Weekend".

　　Some research institutions believe that China's civil aviation is in a period of rapid growth and rapid popularity, with a short recovery period and a strong bottoming out. The main driving force for the recovery of global civil aviation comes from developing countries with China as the mainstay.

　　Package inventory

　　On June 18 this year, China Eastern Airlines took the lead in launching the "Fly on Weekend" product in the domestic civil aviation field, which was launched on the China Eastern Airlines APP for a limited amount of 3322 yuan. After purchasing and activating the product, passengers can take any number of Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines flights on any Saturday and Sunday in 2020, and fly to domestic destinations except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

　　China Airlines announced the launch of the "Fly Free" product with a limit of 1,000 copies at 2,999 yuan. As an airline that is positioned as a regional airline, this is also a very distinctive attempt.

　　Spring Airlines and Xiamen Airlines also launched limited-edition products similar to "Fly with Your Heart".

　　On July 6, Hainan Airlines launched the first batch of 2699 yuan "Fly with Your Heart" limited ticket package, which is only applicable to flights to and from Hainan Province.

　　On July 27th, Okay Airlines, Ruili Airlines, and Qingdao Airlines launched the "Weekly Weekly Long Holiday" package together with "Group Warming". There is no limit to the number of flights, and the three airlines can choose their flights at will.

　　On July 28, China’s largest airline, China Southern Airlines, launched a "Happy Flight" ticket package at a special price of 3699 yuan. From August 12, passengers who have successfully snapped up can redeem China Southern Airlines’ domestic flights (Hong Kong, Macau, and Hong Kong) through China Southern Airlines’ APP for any number of times, unlimited flights, and unlimited weekends or working days. (Except Taiwan) economy class ticket.

　consumer:

　　Some people praised "welfare" and some people lamented that "flying is not easy if you want to fly"

　　The launch of packages such as "Fly Free" and "Fly Any" has received widespread attention without exception. The first batch of 100,000 copies of Eastern Airlines' "Fly on Weekend" was quickly sold out; Hainan Airlines' "Fly on Weekend" package was in short supply, and the product was changed to live online sales the day after it was launched. The two live broadcasts increased by 8,000 sets, each set An increase of 300 yuan. China Southern Airlines’ "Happy Flying" package was sold out on the third day of launch.

　　How did consumers react?

　　In interviews with reporters, many passengers expressed their praise for the "Fly with Heart" service, which is called a welfare. Ms. Zhang is engaged in human resources management work in Guangzhou. She used "Fly on the Weekend" to travel from Guangzhou to Shangri-La on June 27. She said that she still has plans to travel to Hulunbuir this year, and she normally buys round-trip air tickets. The price is almost the same as that of "Flying on the Weekend", this product can give you a great discount. Ms. Fan from Guangzhou and a group of three volunteers go to schools in Tibet every year. They said that the "Flying Weekend" ticket greatly facilitates their public welfare undertakings. In the second half of this year, they plan to use the "Flying Weekend" to go to Tibet three times.

　　In addition to likes, some consumers gave different responses.

　　Mr. Wang, who works in a public institution, told reporters that the preferential product launched by the airline looks good, but the quantity is limited, and there are different restrictions in use. When he was still hesitating and entangled in buying or not, he found the preferential air ticket package. It has already been snapped up. He said frankly that for "salary workers" who have few free holidays, "flying is not easy if you want to fly."

　airline:

　　Introduced supporting products, the early flights that were "suppressed" are "sale"

　　Consumers have mixed reactions, but airlines have shown good news. On July 31, following the "Fly on the Weekend", China Eastern launched the "567 VIP Room to Enjoy". After purchasing the product for 567 yuan, passengers can enter designated Eastern Airlines domestic self-operated VIP lounges on any Friday, Saturday and Sunday from August 1 to the end of 2020, with a limit of 5 sets per person. This product can be regarded as one of the supporting products of China Eastern Airlines' early "Fly at Weekend", and it is a new exploration of China Eastern Airlines to expand service products and carry out service innovation.

　　According to the passenger seat data provided by China Eastern Airlines, "Fly on the Weekend" has a significant effect on increasing the load factor of weekend flights. June 27 and 28 were the first weekends where "Fly on Weekend" was available. China Eastern Airlines used more than 65,000 tickets for "Fly on Weekend". As of July 17, "Fly on Weekend" air tickets have been used for more than 250,000 person-times. The travel direction involves 137 cities across the country. This year, "Fly on Weekend" is expected to drive a total of 2.5 million passengers. In addition, flight packages such as "Fly Free" and "Fly Free" have obvious effects on airlines' fund withdrawal: For example, China Eastern Airlines' "Fly Free Weekend" product has the first batch of 100,000 quick sales and can generate more than 300 million yuan in cash.

　　According to the national flight data of China Eastern Airlines, on June 27, the passenger load factor from Guangzhou to Chengdu reached 84.3%, and the percentage of using "Fly on Weekend" reached 69.7%. In the last weekend, China Eastern Airlines' flights from Guangzhou to Shangri-La had a passenger load factor of over 90%, and 73% of passengers exchanged air tickets through "Fly on Weekend". According to the relevant person in charge of China Eastern Airlines, from a data analysis point of view, early flights that had been "outsided" in the past began to "sell".

　　Analysts: See the limited terms and consumption needs to be rational

　　Aviation analysts said that the various "fly as you wish" products launched by airlines actually have limited terms. Passengers need to know before buying, and they need to be rational in consumption.

　　For example, China Eastern Airlines' "Fly on Weekend" air ticket package meets the travel needs of people living in two places, working in different places, and studying in different places, but they can only be exchanged for air tickets for Saturday and Sunday travel. Five days in advance must be reserved, and refunds must be made in advance. Four-day operation, valid until the end of this year. If you "shuangfei" three times after purchasing a ticket, the discount package will be automatically scrapped. In addition, each passenger is limited to a maximum of 10 sets, but children under the age of 12 and foreigners without ID cards are not open to purchase.

　　For another example, the China Southern Airlines "Happy Flying" domestic travel package spans more than 4 months and more than 130 days. It provides no less than 20,000 seats for passengers to redeem every day. The redemption date covers Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, New Year's Day and other holidays, and supports children However, you can redeem up to 2 times from the same departure airport to the same arrival airport. Each member account can only purchase one ticket. You must register as a Sky Pearl member of China Southern Airlines before purchasing. After purchase, it can only be used by the person on the plane, and the user is not supported for the time being. Children must register as a member of China Southern Airlines Little Pearl before purchasing, and the guardian associated with the child's account must first purchase the product, and the child must redeem it with an adult when traveling. In addition, once the ticket is exchanged, it cannot be changed or endorsed. Passengers must apply for refunds 4 days (inclusive) in advance. If you do not actually take the ticket after 3 bookings and do not apply for the refund before the specified time (except for flight changes), the purchased product will be invalid.

　Authority voice

　　Civil Aviation Resource Network expert Yu Zhanfu: Airlines expect passengers to gradually strengthen their brand recognition and trust

　　Civil Aviation Resource Network expert Yu Zhanfu pointed out that from the earliest launch of similar products in China to the current one and a half months, it not only helped airlines quickly withdraw a small amount of sales revenue with very attractive and discounted fares, but also Help airlines improve their cash flow to a certain extent, and at the same time help airlines have a more accurate grasp of the source and flow of potential air travel, which is conducive to the precise improvement of the future route market and travel products. To a certain extent, airlines are not competing for short-term revenue, but for the opportunity to interact closely with passengers during the validity period of the ticket, and expect passengers to gradually strengthen their brand recognition and trust in the process.

　　Gao Jun, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Department of Civil Aviation Administration of China:

　　Domestic aviation consumption demand is huge

　　Gao Jun, deputy director of the General Affairs Department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, believes that due to the impact of the epidemic, global air transport demand has experienced an unprecedented sharp decline, but the decline in different regions is different, and the degree of impact is different, leading to changes in the global aviation market. Some research institutions believe that China's civil aviation is in a period of rapid growth and rapid popularity, with a short recovery period and a strong bottoming out. The main driving force for global civil aviation recovery comes from developing countries with China as the mainstay.

　　Gao Jun said that my country's domestic aviation consumption demand is huge, and the development of civil aviation is also sufficient. In the next step, the civil aviation industry must grasp the changes in domestic multi-level consumer demand, create new models, new formats, and new ways, improve the new ecology of consumer aviation industry development, firmly implement the strategy of expanding domestic aviation demand, and enable the civil aviation industry to rely more on the domestic aviation market Realize a virtuous circle to expand domestic demand and expand internal and external economic cycles.