2016年CRI 9 Domestic Airlines Cut Ties with China's Online Travel Agency ＂Qunar＂

 

Sichuan Airline announced on its official website on Tuesday that it is closing its flagship store on Qunar, becoming the ninth domestic airline to do so.

Yang Yang, a staffer from China's Spring Airlines, says cooperation with travel agencies is a two-edged sword for airline companies.

"Airline companies need travel agencies to help sell large numbers of tickets, while they have to pay high agency fees and sometimes extra fees."

All 9 Airlines cited a growing number of passenger complaints about extra charges and refunds² as the reason for cutting ties with Qunar.

This traveler says she encountered several problems after booking a flight using Qunar.

"Tickets sometimes are abruptly³ cancelled with no reason; or the price of the ticket increases after reservation; or extra high fees are charged after ticket cancellation⁴."

Meanwhile, refund¹ fees charged by different travel agencies are not consistent.

Jian Feng is a lawyer with Shanghai Xucan Law Firm.

"Travel agencies always use un-equal information to deprive consumers' of their rights."

Other experts believe that the airline companies are also seeking to boost their own online selling platforms.

Liu Simin is the vice⁵ president of the China Society for Future Tourism Studies.

"Although travel agencies have their service problems, more airline companies want are to increase the proportion of their direct sales and get more public attention to their websites and apps."

China's civil aviation authorities issued a request last year for domestic airlines to increase direct sales by 50%, while cutting distribution fees by 50%.

For CRI, this is Niu Honglin.

1 refund   

v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款

参考例句：

• They demand a refund on unsatisfactory goods.他们对不满意的货品要求退款。
• We'll refund your money if you aren't satisfied.你若不满意，我们愿意退款给你。

2 refunds   

n.归还，偿还额，退款( refund的名词复数 )v.归还，退还( refund的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Tomorrow he would return them to the store and claim refunds. 明天他要把它们退还给商店并要求退款。 来自辞典例句
• The new method means that taxpayers get refunds much faster. 这种新办法意味着纳税人可以较快地领到退还款。 来自辞典例句

3 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

4 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。