2016年CRI Ctrip Involved in a Row over Fake Flight Tickets

 

Two recent cases of "fake" tickets issued by Ctrip.com have aroused a storm of criticism among Chinese netizens. 

A passenger, named Fu Jingnan, was denied a boarding pass by an airline at Tokyo airport on Thursday, because his ticket from Tokyo to Beijing, which he'd bought on Ctrip.com, was invalid¹. 

Fu contacted Ctrip.com, but the travel service provider told him to get in touch with the agent who sold him the ticket. 

The Ctrip-approved agent issued him with a new ticket on another Japanese carrier, but Fu was again denied a boarding pass for the same reason. 

A similar case involving a Chinese couple reportedly occurred on Saturday. 

Li Miao had booked two tickets for himself and his wife one month in advance on Ctrip.com, but the couple were denied boarding passes and were forced to buy two new tickets in order to get on the plane. 

"We had to buy two new return tickets at the airport, which cost us 10,000 yuan. This price is even lower than the price we paid on Ctrip.com. Ctrip.com called me, asking me to buy two new tickets and saying they would reimburse² me."

In response, the Public Relations Director of Ctrip.com Chen Caiyin apologized for the trouble the company has caused to all the passengers whose trips have been affected³ by the "fake" tickets.

"On behalf of Ctrip.com, I would like to express my deep sorrow for the inconvenience it has brought to all the passengers involved. We will offer triple compensation and full refund⁴ to customers who encounter similar situations. The refund and compensation will be sent to those passengers' accounts whose trips have been affected in the incidents. We will take every measure to make sure the rights of passengers would be protected." 

Ctrip.com, apart from a travel service provider, is also an open platform for more than 5,000 independent travel agents. 

According to the latest statistics more than 60 percent of plane tickets provided by Ctrip.com in 2015 were supplied by 3rd party travel agents. 

Many airlines lure⁵ passengers with "frequent flyer" loyalty⁶ deals, offering points that can be exchanged for gifts and even flight tickets, but these schemes have sometimes been misused⁷ by disreputable travel agents. 

Chen Caiyin says Ctrip.com will step up supervision⁸ of its platform. 

"Ctrip.com has been very strict with the travel agents on its platform. After this incident, Ctrip.com will strengthen its supervision, and harsher punishments will be imposed on those agents who violate relevant regulations." 

China's second largest online travel agency, Qunar.com also recently got into trouble -- nine Chinese airlines have ended their partnership⁹ with the travel service provider, following complaints about extra charges, refund problems and other ticketing issues. 

For CRI, this is Li Jianhua.

1 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

2 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 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。

5 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

6 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

7 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。