In the past, as the New Year approached, airline ticket prices tended to increase. However, this year, netizens have discovered that the prices of tickets have drastically dropped before the New Year.
According to reports from mainland China, on January 21st, a netizen named Ms. Liu posted on social media, expressing her surprise that the prices of tickets dropped significantly even though she had purchased tickets one month in advance for flights from Harbin to Haikou and Beijing to Haikou. “The prices have almost been slashed in half. The flight that I booked for 2500 yuan is now being offered for only 1600 yuan.”
Ms. Liu calculated that her family of five ended up spending over four thousand yuan more on tickets. She then called the airlines and ticket platforms to request a refund of the price difference but was refused. Eventually, she followed the refund process, despite paying over 800 yuan for the cancellation fee, the cost of rebooking was still lower than the original expense.
Ms. Liu stated: “Price increases or decreases within a reasonable range are acceptable to everyone, but the current drop in prices is too significant and unreasonable.”
Another traveler also mentioned that they recently rebooked a flight for a family of three from Beijing to Zhuhai and saved over 600 yuan per person compared to booking half a month ago.
Data from various travel apps in mainland China show that as the New Year approaches, the prices of tickets for many popular routes have seen significant drops. For example, the prices for flights from Wuhan to Ningbo have decreased by 56%, Tianjin to Hangzhou by 50%.
Similarly, flights from Beijing to Haikou dropped by 62%, to Sanya by 61%, and to Shanghai by 60%. Some ticket prices have decreased by over a thousand yuan, with flights from Beijing to Dalian costing only 194 yuan, to Shanghai only 250 yuan, and flights to Xi’an at a discounted rate!
In addition, flights from other cities have also experienced varying degrees of price reductions. For instance, prices include Shanghai to Wuhan for 177 yuan, Shanghai to Zhengzhou for 178 yuan, Shanghai to Haikou for 179 yuan; Chongqing to Shanghai for 160 yuan, Chongqing to Shenzhen for 173 yuan, and flights from Chongqing to Fuzhou, Hangzhou, and Zhuhai, among others, all costing less than 200 yuan.
Many netizens expressed frustration, with comments like: “I just bought my ticket, and the prices have dropped by half.” “Oh, I’m afraid of the expensive tickets I purchased a month in advance for 1300 yuan, now I see them for 500 yuan.” “I bought a Yunnan ticket for a thousand yuan half a month ago, today it’s only over four hundred yuan; consumers’ money is hard-earned and easily spent.”
However, some netizens also mentioned, “The ticket prices have dropped, but accommodation and food costs are still unaffordable.”
Others pointed out, “Don’t just consider the cost of going, think about the return journey.” “The return tickets are incredibly expensive.”
Comments like “Traveling to Harbin from all over the country is a few hundred yuan cheaper, but returning to the south costs two to three thousand yuan, feeling like a victim of manipulation.”