Recently, Australia's return season, but also a lot of friends have returned to the country.
Just after the New year, in 2019, when everyone was looking forward to the future, the editor received a message from a good friend, the flight from Shanghai to Australia was cancelled! Now there is the option of buying a new ticket.
It was only after verification that it turned out. In the past two days, China International Airlines (Air China), one of China's four largest airlines, announced a great deal of news:
It will suspend the nearest route to Australia!
Let's take a look at the main points of the announcement:
Air China has decided to suspend the following two routes to Australia with effect from March 31, 2019:
- Shanghai-Sydney-Shanghai
- Shanghai-Melbourne-Shanghai
March 28, 2019 will be the last flight from Pudong, Shanghai to Sydney; March 29, 2019 will be the last flight from Pudong to Sydney.
March 29, 2019 will be the last flight from Pudong, Shanghai to Melbourne; March 30, 2019 will be the last flight from Melbourne to Shanghai Pudong.
In the face of such a sudden shutdown, Air China also said it would provide free ticket rescheduling or refund services for passengers flying to Melbourne / Sydney after March 31, 2019.
Therefore, if you book a small flight after this, please contact Air China 95583 or contact the travel agent purchased at the time to deal with the change of ticket.
In addition, Chinese airlines are also preparing to switch their routes to Brisbane to seasonal routes, which are scheduled to resume each year at a certain season, according to the news network.
Air China officials said the change is not for commercial reasons, but because of network layout / capacity arrangement, etc., and the structure of the route has also been adjusted accordingly.
Netizens comment seems to be crooked?
Having been informed of the news, Australian Tourism Director John O/ Sullivan said he was sorry that he believed it was a unilateral decision made by China Airlines on the basis of economic's operational performance.
And, perhaps, is not some kind of course change or so on the reason.
After this reform, there will be fewer choices for international students / immigrants and Chinese groups travelling between China and Australia for a long time. At present, only China Southern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and so on are the main choice.
It is not a precedent for Air China to stop shipping routes to Australia.
In 2013, for example, Australian media reported that China Eastern's suspension of its flight from Shanghai to Queensland Keynes, Australia, was likely to hit local tourism hard.
The airline reportedly operated three flights a week to Keynes, but it will be closed for more than two months from August 13 of that year, and will not resume until at least October 30.
China Eastern is still considering when to reopen its flights, said Zhang Casey (Kathy Zhang, managing director of China Eastern in Australia. The route has attracted small and medium-sized tour groups, making too little profit compared to China Eastern's large business passenger group, which has been operating in Melbourne and Sydney for years.
China Eastern has been working hard with (Tourism Australia) and (Tourism Queensland) to promote Keynesian routes, and has worked closely with major travel agencies in China, the report said.
According to the report, China is Keynes' second-largest source of tourists, and as of June this year, Keynes received six hundred and eighty five thousand four hundred Chinese tourists a year. It's up 17.5% from the same period last year. Keynesian business leaders were disappointed by China Eastern's outage, saying average hotel room receipts in Keynes rose 12.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. Asier (Fred Ariel), a Keynesian travel operator, said China Eastern's decision was "very disappointing".
At present, China Eastern still maintains the Shanghai flight to Keynes, only seasonal flights.
It is believed that the shutdown of Air China will hurt Australia's tourism industry a little, but it is not clear whether it will cause economic losses or how much economic will be lost.
However, if you book a reservation for Australia after March, please check yourself if the ticket you bought is Air China, and those who have purchased Air China air ticket please check if the travel time is two months later.