As the “Eleven” holiday in Mainland China approaches, the topic of “plummeting air ticket prices” has become a hot search trend. Airline ticket prices have been drastically slashed, with some even dropping to as low as a tenth of the original price. Some travelers have reported losses of up to 1500 yuan (RMB) before they even departed.
One traveler from Qingdao took to social media to vent their frustration: They had planned a family trip to Guangzhou for the holiday, booked tickets in advance, but before setting off, the most shocking news they saw was the significant drop in ticket prices, resulting in a loss of over a thousand yuan, leaving them furious.
Similarly, a netizen from Huai’an, Jiangsu, shared a similar experience. They had purchased three tickets for the “Huai’an to Guiyang” route on September 23 for a total of 3172 yuan. To their surprise, starting from September 27, the prices for the same route began dropping, eventually reaching just over six hundred yuan per ticket. Two days later, the prices halved, causing a direct loss of 1500 yuan.
According to reports by Hai Bao News, some airline tickets have seen price drops exceeding 50%, with some even being sold at a tenth of their original price.
Many travelers have requested refunds for the price difference but have been denied. One Huai’an netizen stated, “My demand was for a refund of the price difference, but the airline said that price fluctuations are normal and refunds cannot be given.” They further expressed their frustration, mentioning that when they made the purchase, the platform showed only nine tickets remaining, claiming it was the lowest price on the entire network. However, even now, the same route still shows only nine tickets left, albeit at a price that has plummeted by half.
Upon the news of air ticket price drops during the “Eleven” holiday period, many travelers called airlines to request refunds for the price difference, only to be met with refusals.
A netizen from Chengdu, who had purchased tickets through a well-known travel app in Mainland China, shared their experience. In early September, they had been monitoring flight tickets from Chengdu to Shenyang for the holiday but were taken aback when the platform suddenly advertised the “lowest price on the entire network and the lowest in the past few months.” Consequently, they bought five tickets for October 2 at a unit price of 900 yuan, excluding airport construction and fuel surcharges.
On September 27, the netizen discovered that tickets for the same flight by Southern Airlines and at the same time slot had decreased by 250 yuan compared to their purchase. They faced a collective loss of 1250 yuan for the five tickets and, despite making multiple calls to the platform’s customer service, there was no resolution provided. Their request for a refund for overpaid tickets and repurchasing cheaper ones was refused by the platform, citing normal price fluctuations as the reason.
“Why should passengers bear all the risks? Online shopping allows for refunds of price differences, so why can’t air tickets offer the same?” voiced another traveler from Dongguan, criticizing the perceived unfairness of the existing system.
Ms. Li, a resident of Jinan, expressed confusion over why flight tickets had suddenly become so cheap during the holiday season.
In response to passengers’ inquiries, industry insiders in civil aviation, during interviews with multiple media outlets, explained that the price drops for holiday tickets were influenced by several factors. Overall, passengers have been booking flights later this year. Additionally, an important reason was the recent increase in air capacity by airlines, leading to oversupply. As the holiday period approaches, many seats remain unsold, prompting airlines to continuously adjust prices for promotional purposes.
This phenomenon of plummeting air ticket prices during holiday periods is not unprecedented. Similar situations have occurred during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the May Day holiday, and last year’s “Eleven” holiday. For instance, during this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, flight tickets from Nanchang to Xi’an dropped to as low as 130 yuan, with some tickets even cheaper than high-speed rail fares.
According to data from FlightAI, a market insight platform under Ctrip, the average one-way domestic flight ticket price inclusive of taxes during the 2024 Mid-Autumn Festival holiday was around 770 yuan, reflecting a decrease of approximately 25% compared to last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival holiday ticket prices.