China-Singapore Jingwei Client, April 24th (Zhang Yanzheng) On April 20th, Fliggy launched a blind ticket box for 66 yuan; on the 21st, the travel blind box for 88 yuan went online; on the 22nd, Ctrip's 99 yuan "hidden" ticket Blind boxes are also on sale...The May Day holiday is approaching, and major online travel platforms have launched "ticket blind boxes" one after another.
The Sino-Singapore Jingwei client noticed that within the specified time of the above platform products, users can purchase a domestic air ticket with a designated departure place, random destination, and random date for less than 100 yuan.
Photo by Zhang Yanzheng, China-Singapore Jingwei, an online travel platform
"Second Light" goes online on the blind ticket box
On the 22nd, when the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client experienced activities on a number of travel online platforms, it was found that almost all of the new blind box products for air tickets that had just been on the market were lost.
Sources of sales of blind ticket boxes on online travel platforms: Fliggy, Tongcheng, Qunar, Ctrip APP screenshots
After experiencing it on the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client, I found that on the above-mentioned online travel platforms, Ctrip, Fliggy, and Qunar need to invite 3 friends to help them to be eligible to participate in the ticket blind box draw activity.
In addition, users can specify the departure place on all major platforms, and the platform will randomly push the destination air tickets, and the travel date is 3-30 days in the future after the successful purchase.
If the user is not satisfied with the drawn destination air ticket, he can apply for a full refund.
In fact, as early as last year, the online travel platform and airlines launched products such as "Blind Box for Spring Festival Transport" and "Blind Box for Student Tickets".
The real start of the "blind box" craze is on the eve of Qingming Festival this year.
On April 3, the "Blind Box for Air Ticket Destinations" campaign launched by Tongcheng Travel attracted more than tens of millions of users to participate in panic buying and became a hot topic on the Ching Ming Festival.
After seeing such a huge amount of traffic attention, other online travel platforms have also launched similar ticket blind box products.
Civil aviation expert Li Xiaojin said in an interview with the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that some airlines have launched a ticket blind box event through cooperation with online travel platforms. It can be said that this marketing method has attracted a lot of attention.
"In the past, some airlines, especially small and medium-sized airlines, no matter how they advertise, they still choose well-known airlines, and the low-fare blind box can effectively increase the attendance of small and medium-sized airlines."
"Those who want to go can't get it, those who get get don't want to go"
As a travel enthusiast, Ms. Huang from Beijing can't help but eager to see the blind ticket box activities launched on various platforms recently.
"I ordered five alarm clocks on the 22nd and grabbed blind boxes of air tickets on different platforms. However, I don't want to go where I get, and I can't get where I want to go."
Ms. Huang told the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that she had grabbed three blind ticket boxes on four online travel platforms.
"When I got the ticket to Xilinhot, I was still stunned. Is this going to Inner Mongolia? The second ticket is to Yinchuan, but I have been to Ningxia in 2018. The third destination is Anqing. I haven't heard of it. Baidu found out that it was a city in southwest Anhui after checking it."
"I was operating like a tiger. Looking back, it's nothing!" Ms. Huang said with a smile. After checking the destination of the blind box of the ticket, she refunded the money.
“Originally, I wanted to go to tourist cities like Sanya and Hangzhou, just follow the online travel guide. Now if I go directly to an unfamiliar city, I might need to make a new plan.” Ms. Huang said.
Can I travel smoothly if I win a popular tourist city?
"I won a ticket to Sanya on April 26. However, there was still work on that day. There was really no holiday to travel, so I had to refund." Ms. Jin from Beijing sighed, as a "workman", although Fortunately, the blind ticket box was opened, but due to time constraints, the opportunity to fly to Sanya for 98 yuan could only be missed.
Source of the blind box of the ticket to Sanya: Photo courtesy of the respondent
In addition, many netizens posted the results of the blind box of air tickets on social media. Netizens who were drawn to Chengdu, Xiamen, Xi’an and other popular tourist cities said that they “take leave of absence from the leaders”, and were drawn to Tongliao, Jining, and Jining. Netizens in Huai'an and other places said "refund! Change to another APP and try again."
@药力量呀: Other blind boxes can be considered, and the ticket blind box is fine.
@ 打乱呢吧: This is equivalent to clearing unpopular flights + earning your return ticket.
@QiLucifer: You don't need to grab this kind of cheap night ticket, it's already very cheap to buy it directly.
@鱼小渔的鱼: I saw the blind box of the ticket I smoked, but it's okay to go to Shandong Province...
@井井有条-: Where are the ten lines of the blind ticket box better, Yinchuan, Ordos or Yiwu, ask for advice.
In Li Xiaojin's view, the scope of application of blind ticket boxes is relatively limited.
For example, for office workers or college students, it is difficult to arrange time to travel even after grabbing a ticket.
For retirees or freelancers, the ticket blind box is a good travel option.
"At present, airlines and agency platforms are actively promoting blind ticket boxes. However, it
should be
noted that
all parties should learn from the previous'fly as you wish' incident. One is to control the number of blind boxes for tickets, and the other is
to follow the
principle of good faith. , To help passengers travel smoothly or refund tickets in accordance with the relevant rules published by themselves, without adding other operations not mentioned in the rules
."
It is worth mentioning that some netizens have also won the "hidden money" in the blind box of the ticket.
A screenshot of the blind box of the ticket posted by the netizen "-Udon Little Noodle" on Weibo shows that she spent 98 yuan to win the Shenzhen Airlines flight ZH9685 from Guangzhou to Dalian on May 3rd. What is more enviable is that this The seats are business class.
The Sino-Singapore Jingwei client inquired on the official website of Shenzhen Airlines on the 23rd and found that on May 3rd, the Shenzhen Airlines business class ticket from Guangzhou to Dalian was priced at 5480 yuan.
In other words, if the netizen can go to Dalian smoothly this time, it may save more than 5,000 yuan.
Refund more and exchange less?
Whether users of blind ticket boxes are willing to redeem tickets and whether they can actually travel is the core issue.
The relevant person in charge of the same journey said in an interview with the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client, "The main operating mode behind the ticket blind box is that when the user locks the ticket, the platform buys the ticket for the user at the market price, and the fare is 98 yuan higher. The part of the trip is all borne by the same journey.
From the data of the first phase, the travel rate of users who locked the ticket is still very high, reaching more than 98%
."
Guo Lechun, deputy dean of the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, said that since 2020, Qunar has launched a total of 6 ticket blind box products, and all blind boxes have been sold well. The one with the highest exchange rate has a ticketing rate of more than 50%.
On the first day of sales of the "May Day" travel blind box on April 21, the fastest redemption of the blind box took only 1 minute from purchase to ticket issuance. The product redeemed was from Shanghai to Dalian on May 3 Air tickets.
Guo Lechun analyzed that on the first day of the May 1 blind box activity, more than 70% of users were "post-95s."
From the previous sales of blind boxes, blind box products have attracted many people who have never registered on the platform or even purchased air tickets.
"
This year, air ticket prices have generally returned to before the epidemic, and blind box products are more suitable for airlines and platforms to pull new ones
." Guo Lechun said.
Young people are keen on blind box products, and it is understandable that online travel platforms take advantage of the market.
But the question is, how long can this marketing method of relying on subsidies and purchasing airline tail orders last?
Wu Liyun, an associate professor at the Institute of Chinese Culture and Tourism Industry of Beijing International Studies University, analyzed the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client terminal. From the perspective of ticket purchase methods, some third-party platforms purchase air tickets from airlines, while some platforms implement subsidies to purchase air tickets. .
Overall, all parties are actively promoting the recovery of the entire domestic tourism market.
“In most people’s impressions, air tickets are more expensive than train tickets.” Wu Liyun pointed out that in fact, there are many low-cost airlines abroad, such as Southwest Airlines and British EasyJet. Although the operating costs are relatively high, they must pass appropriate The marketing method can guarantee a higher profit margin.
Domestically, Spring Airlines and China Airlines are relatively good low-cost airlines, but they may not be very competitive when competing with large airlines for popular routes and flight time.
If these airlines cooperate with platforms to conduct misaligned competition in the form of blind ticket boxes and increase the marketing dimension, it can stimulate the potential consumer market, popularize mass tourism, and allow more people in third- and fourth-tier cities to take a look around.
.
"
However, in Wu Liyun's view, the currently newly launched ticket blind box still has the following problems:
First, some platforms avoid the redemption time on holidays, and "workers" cannot travel during the holidays, or this "blind box" will be lost. The second is that the air tickets are mostly "unpopular" flights, and the destination is not necessarily the place consumers prefer; the third is that some young people blindly follow the trend and may not consume them in the end, resulting in a waste of resources
.
In the future, will the ticket blind box product become a normalized product?
Zhou Mingqi, the founder of Jingjian Think Tank, said in an interview with the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that this requires negotiation between the airline and a third-party platform.
However, it can be predicted that
if it becomes normal in the future, the unit price of the ticket blind box may increase
.
"At present, the main consumer force in the travel industry has been replaced by the'post-90s' and'post-95s'. This time, online travel platforms have launched blind ticket box products, which are actually seizing the market for young people in the future."
In addition, Fang Yizhi, an assistant analyst at the Legal Rights Department of the E-commerce Research Center of the Net Economics, said that the
travel blind box is a marketing method that applies the "blind box economy". Due to the lagging nature of laws and regulations, the supervision has not yet been fully in place. To ensure that the "travel blind box" is fair and just, it is necessary for the regulatory authorities to strengthen management
.
And similar to "blind box" products, after-sales service and product quality are often difficult to guarantee. Once consumer disputes occur, consumers will struggle to defend their rights.
"
On the 23rd, the China Consumers Association issued a "May 1st" consumer reminder:
Consumers should rationally treat blind ticket boxes, and "go and go" travel is not advisable. They must comprehensively consider travel time, dining and accommodation, destination conditions, and return arrangements. And after-sales return restrictions and other factors before making a decision
.
(Zhongxin Jingwei APP)
All rights reserved by Sino-Singapore Jingwei. Without written authorization, no unit or individual may reprint, extract or use it in other ways.