PR84753

SHANGHAI, July 13, 2020 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Over 150,000 people had enjoyed their flights under the "fly at will" air

ticket discount package rolled out by China Eastern Airlines (also known as

China Eastern) during the past two weekends.

As the first-ever air ticket discount package launched in China that allows

passengers to enjoy unlimited weekend flights till December 31, the "fly at

will" released on June 18 was priced at 3,322 yuan (about $473.72). The product

has been especially welcomed by backpackers and migrant workers. Some netizens

even call it "a godsend for long-distance relationship".

As the COVID-19 pandemic has been effectively brought under control in the

China, 150,000 passengers flew to enjoy holidays or visit their family by using

the ticket package, which has become a hot topic and a phenomenal economic

activity in China.

The average passenger load factor of the China Eastern flights from Shanghai to

more than ten destinations rose by nearly 20 percent, with the figure of some

flights even surpassing 90 percent. Some popular flights have seen the

proportion of "fly at will" passengers exceed 90 percent. Although the company

has dispatched wide-body aircrafts like B777 and A350 to the hot flights, it

still cannot fully meet passengers' growing travel demands.

The ground-breaking move has also caused social discussion. Jeff Yu, a partner

in the Beijing office of consultancy Roland Berger, said that the most

noteworthy part of the "fly at will" is not only the pricing or business model,

but the actual test data, for which will help provide valuable insights into

and support for the full recovery of the aviation field.

With the "fly at will" filling a market void and driving travel demands, China

Eastern is called a "pathfinder" and "wind vane" by industry insiders and

media. There are by far over 20,000 pieces of news reports on the product

published by more than 1,000 media outlets. Putting aside the profits and

losses, "fly at will" is already a very successful product for its topicality

and the publicity, pointed out Xiong Wei, a PhD candidate majoring in aviation

law at McGill University.

Other airlines in China have launched similar products following "fly at will".

On June 21, China Express launched a similar air ticket packages. On July 1,

Hainan Airlines announced that its 12 airline companies will jointly launch an

air ticket package with limited destinations.

China Eastern hopes that its "fly at will" can help boost businesses in tourism

and hospitality, so that relevant industries can tide over the tough time

together, said an executive of the service department of China Eastern. As the

COVID-19 pandemic causes a marked impact on economy, a popular ticket package

may lead to more positive results in consumption in relevant fields, said

Xiong, noting that the social benefits of "fly at will" is already far beyond

the profits it can get for the company.

Source: China Eastern Airlines

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   Caption: The passengers landing in Chongqing hold high the slogan "The world is so big.

Let's take a look!"