Chinese airlines flights: tourists warned about the downside of cheap tickets

To the editorial office TourDom.ru A desperate letter has been received from a tourist stranded at the airport in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. 

“Our connecting flight of the Chinese airline was supposed to take off from Guangzhou to Bali in the early evening. It was repeatedly postponed, then scheduled for the night, and now it is not displayed at all on the online scoreboard. The hotel is not provided. What should we do?” – the traveler writes. 

We turned to the participants of the tg chat for tourism professionals “Roof of the B2B Tourist House” with an offer to share recommendations on how to act for a tourist in such a situation. Flights with transfers at Chinese airports are still gaining popularity among our tourists, for many they are new. People get lost in an unfamiliar environment in emergency situations, the language barrier also affects – not every airline employee orients a foreign passenger. Travel agents advise you to find an airline counter and try to get flight information there. Another option is to try to find out the departure status data through the online smartphone app Flightradar24. 

And one of the participants in the discussion draws attention to the peculiarity of the work of Chinese air carriers, which passengers should know about when booking air tickets: in case of cancellation of one of the flight segments, they will have to wait for the next departure along the route by the same airline, alternatives with shorter waiting times will not be offered. “Some tour operators, when booking tours with flights by Chinese carriers, warn travel agents about this, recommend taking a receipt from tourists that they are familiar with such features,” the chat participant writes. 

We have clarified the details with the top manager of one of the tour operators. He confirmed: “Chinese carriers do not provide alternatives on flights of other airlines. They only seat on their own flights, but in this case there may be a delay in the start of the tour – from 8 hours to two days, which we warn travel agents about when booking.” As the specialist explained, the problem is that if tourists do not arrive on vacation on the booked dates, hotels do not always meet halfway with refunds for missed days. 

Chinese carriers often offer cheaper tickets for connecting routes than their competitors. This attracts travelers, but it is advisable to keep in mind the obvious risks in case of schedule disruptions.

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