Chinanews Client Beijing, December 13th (Reporter Zhang Xu) After experiencing Xpress 1.0 and 2.0, in the middle of this year, as the passenger load factor of airlines has rebounded, there is a view that "there will be no new Xpress Fly Up".
However, in the last quarter of 2021, Xpress Fei made a comeback and entered the 3.0 era.
On August 26, Nanjing Lukou Airport resumed domestic flights.
The picture shows the staff in the airport killing.
Photo by Yang Bo
Fly as you wish, back again
This year's civil aviation industry failed to get out of the haze of losses.
The third-quarter financial reports of the three state-owned airlines show that the overall situation is still at a loss. Its China Airlines lost 3.536 billion yuan, China Eastern Airlines lost 2.954 billion yuan, and China Southern Airlines lost 1.431 billion yuan.
Under heavy pressure, airlines had to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Starting from November 5th, some airlines resumed levying fuel surcharges.
After a lapse of 34 months, fuel surcharges have "returned to the world".
On the other hand, the XFLY product that shined last year has also entered the 3.0 era.
On October 7, China Southern Airlines took the lead in launching "Happy Flying 3.0". At the beginning, it adopted a directional invitation system. Only users who received the invitation text message were eligible to purchase.
Four days later, "Happy Flying 3.0" began to be sold to the public.
On October 20th, Shandong Airlines launched the "Magic Carpet 3.0", priced at 3299 yuan per set.
On October 27, Spring Airlines launched the "Flying 3.0" with a validity period of 5 months.
Hainan Airlines, China United Airlines, and Shenzhen Airlines also launched "Fly with Heart" on November 5th, among which Hainan Airlines "Fly with Heart" has a minimum price of 1999 yuan, which can only fly until mid-January 2022; China United Airlines "Fly with Heart" The price is 2698 yuan, and it is valid until May 31 next year; Shenzhen Airlines' "Fly with Heart" Youth Travel Card is priced at 3333 yuan, and you can only go to the same place once.
In this regard, civil aviation expert Qi Qi told Chinanews.com, “The current environment is more similar to that of last year when Xpressfly was born. Affected by the epidemic, travel restrictions in various places have severely reduced travel demand. Therefore, Xpressfly is back."
The flight attendants provide the passengers with hot meals.
Photos courtesy of China Eastern Airlines
Time is short, rules are finer
In the first quarter of this year, China Southern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines launched the dual-city travel card and the city leisure card, and Air China issued the senior citizen rights card.
What these products have in common is shorter deadlines and a more refined customer base.
After flying into the 3.0 era, the applicable time is generally shortened.
At the same time, the applicable area of some products has also shrunk.
Spring Airlines can only redeem flights in and out of ports in specific cities for “flying if you want”; HNA’s “Huanju Free Trade Port” product covers the domestic routes in and out of Hainan operated by its 12 airlines last year. Now it only supports Hainan Airlines and Grand China Airlines. Domestic self-operated routes actually operated by domestic airlines.
In this regard, Qi Qi believes that compared with the 1.0 and 2.0 eras, Free Flying 3.0 differs in that the rules are more detailed and the applicable groups are more specific.
"If the rules for equity products are more general, there will be many disputes when the rights are enforced. The new product rules are clearer and the customer base is more detailed, which will help reduce disputes. As for the value
, consumers depend on whether they are really satisfied. Own needs.
"
China Southern Airlines Happy Flight 3.0 can only be used until January 15, 2022.
In terms of rule design, airlines have also made different adjustments based on their own experience.
Spring Airlines has experienced the suspension of flights at Shijiazhuang and Yangzhou bases, and accordingly added corresponding regulations: If any airport in the area is suspended for more than one month due to the epidemic or force majeure, it can apply for a refund of the remaining package amount.
China Southern Airlines "Happy Flight 3.0" stipulates that the adjustment of route scheduling is within the normal business scope of civil aviation. If some of the routes covered by the package are cancelled, grounded or changed at any time due to such circumstances, the airline will not provide additional compensation.
But these rules have also raised questions from consumers.
Some users said: "Is there a reasonable basis for the adjustment of route scheduling? If it is due to insufficient occupancy, it should be borne by the airline. Why should the risk be passed on to passengers?"
From the perspective of industry insiders, "Flying Free" can usually be redeemed for flights with "badly sold tickets." Such flights are highly likely to be cancelled. This is also an area where complaints and contradictions are high.
Secondary card, can be refunded at any time without
"I bought three round-trip passes for Chengdu Feihaikou, and the single fare is only 600 yuan. It costs more than 1,000 yuan to buy a ticket directly, which saves more than 400, which is really worth it. The latest issue will be on sale on December 10th. It only costs 450 yuan to fly to Sanya." Lin Yun, who works in Chengdu, has now become a fan of HNA’s "Free Flight".
A screenshot of the one-way price of "Free Flight" economy class on the Hainan Airlines Sanya outbound route.
"Secondary card" is a new form of flying as you wish.
In July this year, Hainan Airlines jointly launched the Qunar platform.
Consumers pre-purchase air tickets for specific routes at a fixed price, and in the next month, they can redeem air tickets at any time among the airlines' open flights.
Except for the fuel cost of RMB 50, there is no need to pay any additional fees.
If you don’t redeem it next month, you will get a full refund automatically.
Air China has launched a winter ski-themed flight card with the popularity of the Winter Olympics.
From the lowest level of 289 yuan to the highest level of 489 yuan, for example, Beijing Daxing flies to Shenyang for 289 yuan, and Harbin flies to Beijing for 389 yuan.
Qunar platform data shows that the average price of air tickets is around 300 yuan, and the average discount is around 20%.
Last year, most major airlines launched "Fly with Heart" products at prices around 3,000 yuan. Although the period was relatively long and the discounts were not small, many netizens reported that they were too busy with work and repeated epidemics. Sometimes a set of "fly as you want" may not be able to pay back.
Many people in the Xpress fly travel group consulted about purchasing flight pass products.
In the flying travel group, the reporter saw that many people have switched from flying to a "flight time card".
The person who bought it said, “When redeeming a secondary card ticket, almost all seats are open for redemption on the same day’s flight, and there are more options for time slots.” “I didn’t fly as many times as I wanted last year, so I don’t worry about going to waste when I buy this.”
It is worth noting that the current epidemic situation is repeated, and the annual air ticket card will reduce the number of trips due to flight cancellations, which will increase the cost of a single trip in disguise.
However, "sub-card" products are refunded when they are not used, which also increases consumers' willingness to buy.
Qi Qi said: “XiXiFly products have a positive effect on the performance of airlines, but it is not obvious. This year’s occasional epidemics have fluctuated and regional epidemics have continued to appear. Passengers’ original travel plans may be frequently broken, which brings aviation Demand cannot be released. The real recovery of the civil aviation industry lies in the trend of the epidemic." (End)