Flying on airlines in China can be frustrating, and buying tickets and planning a trip can be a painful process too.
Three Chinese airlines say they have heard enough complaints from travelers to make changes to how they sell tickets on the Internet. Hainan Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Hainan Airlines's Beijing Capital Airlines announced that due to large amount of consumer complaints, the three companies decided to close their flagship stores on Qunar.com.
Qunar.com is a Chinese Internet travel website that sells airline tickets and books hotel rooms for tourists.
All the three airlines said that they received too many complaints, including overcharging fees for refunds or changes; adding extra prices when selling tickets; and untimely updates or irregular flight information from travelers who bought tickets via Qunar.com.
The airlines said those problems affected the travelers and even caused economic losses to them. The airlines recommended travelers buy tickets via official websites or apps.
In response to this incident, Qunar.com's representatives told local Chinese media that China Southern Airlines and Hainan Airlines recently asked Qunar.com to change its ticket listings by time instead of by price. However, Qunar.com believed that it is more suitable to users' habit to list by price, and they claim 70% of consumers will choose tickets and suppliers by price. Therefore, they did not reach an agreement about this issue.
