China News Service, February 16 (China News Business Reporter Xie Yiguan) “I couldn’t get a train ticket, and there are no economy class tickets anymore” “The price of air tickets back to Shanghai has tripled” “Only high-priced business class tickets are available back to Beijing”… …
Halfway through the Spring Festival holiday, many people picked up their mobile phones to book return tickets, only to be "stung" by the oncoming prices.
sold out! sold out! sold out!
Recently, Hainan’s shortage of outbound air tickets has attracted attention. Some netizens reported that air tickets out of Hainan are tight, and some routes only have more than 10,000 yuan of air tickets left to choose from.
A reporter from Sino-Singapore Finance inquired on the evening of the 14th and found that from February 15th to February 19th, all direct economy class air tickets from Haikou, Sanya and Qionghai to the two major destinations of Beijing and Shanghai were sold out. During the peak return period from the 15th to the 17th, the price of business class air tickets concentrated around 10,000 yuan. On the 17th, the highest price of a business class ticket from Sanya to Beijing was close to 20,000 yuan.
Screenshot taken from a travel service platform.
Previously, the Hainan Provincial Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports also stated that air tickets to major domestic destination cities before the seventh day of the Lunar New Year have been basically sold out, and the remaining few air tickets are mainly high-class air tickets.
During the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, it’s not just return air tickets to Hainan Island that are in demand. The reporter noticed that from the 16th to the 17th, direct flights to Zhanjiang, Guangdong, which is close to Hainan Island, only had business class tickets available, and the price was more than 5,000 yuan. Economy class tickets for direct flights from Nanning, Beihai and Guilin in Guangxi to Beijing and Shanghai are also sold out.
Screenshot taken from a travel service platform.
Return air tickets to some popular tourist cities also face the same situation.
This winter, "Erbin" is out of the circle, driving tourism in the Northeast. From the 16th to the 17th, only high-priced business class tickets were available for direct flights from Harbin and Shenyang to Beijing and Shanghai, and only a small number of economy class tickets were available for direct flights from Changchun to these two destinations. Among them, the price of some business class flights from Harbin to Shanghai is tens of thousands of yuan, and the price of air tickets from Harbin to other popular destinations is easily five to six thousand yuan.
Screenshot taken from a travel service platform.
In addition to the fact that some popular routes have sold out economy class, the reporter's inquiry found that the overall price of return air tickets has also increased significantly. For example, a direct flight from Chongqing to Shanghai costs more than 2,000 yuan during the peak return period from February 16 to 17, but the normal price is only four to five hundred yuan.
According to media reports, Hanglv Zongheng’s big data shows that during the Spring Festival holiday, the average price of domestic air tickets (excluding tax) exceeded 1,100 yuan, an increase of about 16% compared with the same period last year during the Spring Festival.
"Travel fever" pushes up air ticket prices
"After waiting for more than 10 days, the air ticket price became more and more expensive." "One trip back and one month's salary was gone." The high air ticket price has become a hot topic among netizens recently, and behind this is the reason for this year's Spring Festival holiday. Travel fever."
Compared with previous years, the Spring Festival holiday in 2024 will be longer, reaching 8 days. Many enterprises and institutions have responded to the call and taken a 9-day holiday. "Go home first, then go out" has become a popular way to celebrate the festival this year.
As the Spring Festival holiday enters the second half, the return passenger flow of railways has grown strongly. According to the China Railway Group, the country’s railways carried 14.245 million passengers on February 14, setting a record high for single-day passenger traffic during the Spring Festival. On February 15, the sixth day of the first lunar month, passenger flow continued to rise. Railways across the country are expected to carry 15.2 million passengers and arrange to open 1,284 additional passenger trains.
Some passengers who failed to grab train tickets also turned their attention to civil aviation. According to predictions, the number of civil aviation passengers during the Spring Festival in 2024 will reach 80 million, with an average of 2 million passengers per day, which is expected to hit a record high. Taking Hainan Island as an example, passenger flow in Hainan will increase significantly during the Spring Festival in 2024, with an overall year-on-year growth of more than 30%.
Data provided by China Eastern Airlines to Sino-Singapore Finance shows that on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year (February 14) alone, it transported 483,000 passengers in a single day, a new high since the Spring Festival this year, and the overall passenger load factor exceeded 90%.
On February 8, in Haikou, Hainan, passengers queued for check-in at Terminal 2 of Haikou Meilan International Airport. As the Spring Festival approaches, passenger flow at Haikou Meilan International Airport increases. Photo by China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei
At the same time, because many popular attractions are located in small and medium-sized cities, the number of air ticket bookings in many "small airport" cities across the country has also increased significantly. According to statistics from the Qunar Big Data Research Institute, between February 10 and February 12, air ticket bookings for “small airports” as destinations increased nearly three times year-on-year. Among them, Foshan's growth rate reached more than 7 times, Yanji's growth rate reached 4 times, Ordos' growth rate reached 3.5 times, and Pu'er's growth rate reached 3.4 times.
When the flow of tourism and family visits are superimposed at a high level during the return period, it is inevitable that air ticket prices will rise significantly and economy class seats will be sold out. A reporter's search on the morning of the 15th found that from the 16th to the 17th, only business class tickets were available for direct flights from Yanji to Beijing and Shanghai.
If you don’t want to buy expensive air tickets, try these money-saving tips
In urgent need of a return trip during the Spring Festival holiday, but not wanting to buy high-priced business class, many people began to make plans.
A reporter's inquiry on the morning of the 15th found that if you have enough time, it is a good choice to take a connecting flight or take the high-speed rail near your destination.
For example, on February 17, a direct flight from Harbin to Shanghai in business class costs at least more than 8,000 yuan, but if you transfer in Qingdao, it only costs more than 5,000 yuan. For another example, flying from Quanzhou to Tianjin on the 17th and then taking the high-speed rail from Tianjin to Beijing is nearly 5,000 yuan cheaper than flying directly from Quanzhou to Beijing.
On social platforms, some netizens also provided a "joint trip" plan. For example, the direct flight from Haikou to Beijing costs nearly 10,000 yuan on the 16th, but if you choose to fly from Haikou to Seoul and transfer from Beijing, the lowest fare is only more than 5,000 yuan.
Screenshot taken from a travel service platform.
However, it should be noted that air tickets are in short supply during the Spring Festival, so if you choose transfer options, you need to book as soon as possible. On the 15th, a reporter searched and found that there were no tickets available for some popular routes during the peak return period.
In addition, if conditions permit, staggering the return trip is also a good idea. For example, a flight from Harbin to Beijing on the 17th costs at least more than 6,000 yuan, but if you choose to return on the 19th, the air ticket price drops to about 1,500 yuan, directly saving more than 4,000 yuan. The same situation also occurs on the routes from Harbin to Shanghai and Sanya to Chongqing.
Some office workers have also taken annual leave. Some netizens said, "Take two days of annual leave and save thousands of dollars, which is much more cost-effective than working for two days." (over)