ChinaTravelNews – China Southern Airlines announced through its WeChat account “CS95539” (or “中国南方航空”) on February 19 that the sale of air tickets discounted for 60% or more will be restricted to its own website, App or official WeChat account. This means that ticketing agents will only have access to the rest of the carrier’s tickets on TravelSky, China’s GDS system. 

Airline companies in China have been pushing their policies of selling more through their own channels than through travel agents, squeezing travel agencies’ room for survival. The best-rate policy for carriers’ official websites has also been a huge blow to ticketing agents. 

ChinaTravelNews learned that some ticket agents had recently initiated a proposal to boycott China Southern. The proposal stated that the carrier has repeatedly breached the agreements between the carrier and agents.  

However, Jiangyun Ning, special commentator of ChinaTravelNews said: “Airline companies in China have been slowly raising their proportion of direct selling while driving down commission rates for agencies since 2014. As suppliers in the aviation sector, carriers have the final say in the game. ”

“Travel agents had better face the situation and explore new ways of making profits, such as repackaging products, as the good old days are long gone.”  (Translation by Jerry)