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Yunnan airline introduces ‘occupying seat ticket’

(People's Daily Online)    16:54, August 01, 2018

For the first time, a Chinese airline has offered its customers the option to buy “occupying seat tickets”, causing heated online discussion, China News reported on July 30.

Lucky Air, which is based in Kunming, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, has launched a new option that allows customers to buy an air ticket that includes extra seats rather than the regular ticket that only includes one.

Supporters say that the new product could help to reduce vacancy rates and save costs to some extent during the off-peak season.

A netizen also noted that the service is helpful for customers on the larger side, as having the option to buy more space will make them feel more comfortable.

Objectors consider the service a waste of resources and worry that occupying seats for luggage could be a potential safety hazard.

An airline manager explained it only costs 20 percent of the economy ticket fee for an extra seat, adding that the product was launched mainly to provide passengers with a broad, quiet and private space, and as a convenient way to allow people to look after valuable belongings.

The product will not influence the availability of tickets for regular passengers, as occupying seat tickets will only become available for purchase 24 to 72 hours ahead of flight time on the premise that the load factor is below 70 percent, Chen Mingqiong, marketing director of the airline, explained.

Zou Jianjun, a professor at the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China noted that this innovative product should be welcomed, as it will not only increase income for the airline, but offer passengers more options.

Experts predict that the likelihood of more Chinese airlines launching similar products depends on how popular these tickets become, with products likely to be launched provisionally or at different stages in the future. 

(For the latest China news, Please follow People's Daily on Twitter and Facebook)(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)

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