China Eastern targets business travel with revamp of unlimited flights package as domestic competition intensifies

China Eastern Airlines, one of the country’s three largest carriers, has reconfigured its unlimited flights package to cover only weekday trips, a move that industry observers said was targeted at business travellers.

As competition heats up for China’s domestic market in the absence of overseas travel because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Shanghai-based carrier changed its “Fly at Will” package to cover only weekday trips. An initial iteration of the package, launched in June, covered only weekend flights. Early this month, the airline also invited certain companies to purchase these packages in bulk.

At least 12 other carriers and several major online travel agencies have started offering similar deals since the initial package’s launch in June.

The change to Fly at Will comes amid a rush to fill widebody jets and have them flying once again. And with international travel hit by the pandemic – it was down by about 87 per cent year on year in June according to International Air Transport Association data – the Chinese domestic market has assumed greater importance. The supply of seats in the domestic market has increased significantly, but air travel in the first half recovered only to 64.7 per cent of the level seen during the same period in 2019.

This has increased pressure on Chinese carriers, which lost more than 70 billion yuan (US$10.1 billion) in the first six months this year. And, with the change in Fly at Will, China Eastern has taken the fight to the sector’s most profitable commercial travel segment, business travel.

“China Eastern’s upgraded version of Fly at Will is competing particularly for business travellers,” said Lei Zheng, founder of Institute for Aviation Research. “Airlines seem to be preparing for the coming market consolidation and they are competing for clients.”