The title picture is from IC photo, and the aircraft model is not related to the airline company described in this article. This article comes from the WeChat public account: puffer text brigade (ID: hetunwenlv) , author: Mark Lee
On April 4, local time, at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, due to severe overbooking of flights, about 60 passengers failed to return to China on the Eastern Airlines flight MU208 as originally planned.
Perhaps, only they and their families know how precious this return flight ticket is. Buy tickets, cancel, change tickets … countless cycles. Because of this, a series of emotions such as helplessness, anger, frustration, and even collapse broke out at the moment I learned that I could not board the plane.
“Do ordinary people even have the right to be lucky? Is it because there are fewer 0 tickets?”
“No relationship, do n’t let you board the plane before boarding?” “It ’s true that the return plane is Noah ’s Ark, but it ’s not so ugly to eat.”
“The old man was also pulled down. An old couple had to transfer from Canada and arrived at the airport twice. Why bother with the old man like this?”
……
Why will I be notified that I cannot board the plane at the last minute? This is the same as the “Notice on Continued Reduction of International Passenger Traffic During the Epidemic Prevention and Control Period” issued by the Civil Aviation Administration on March 26. (hereinafter referred to as “Notice”) < / span> There is a direct connection.
In the “Notice”, the Civil Aviation Administration clearly requires strict prevention and control measures on flights arriving and leaving China to ensure that the passenger load factor is not higher than 75%. As a result, flights are oversold and passengers cannot board the aircraft.
Blowfish Cultural Brigade discovered through interviews with the parties that, In fact, the vast majority of stranded passengers expressed their understanding of the decisions made by the state, but they could not agree with the opaque and undisclosed way in which airlines screen passengers, and knowing them When there is oversale, there is no emergency plan and aftercare plan and I am angry.
So, how does Eastern Airlines screen passengers in this incident? How to get rid of stranded passengers?
Previously, an internal document suspected of being a certain airline company was circulating on the Internet, showing that passengers such as members and connecting passengers can take priority in boarding flights on oversold flights.
It should be noted that the last item in this screenshot shows that the right of priority boarding also applies to “passengers with high ticket purchase prices and passengers with the same ticket purchase time.”
In fact, the fermentation of the China Eastern Airlines MU208 incident has once again brought the chaotic ticket market during the epidemic to the table.
We can find through the information compiled in the rights protection group that some passengers purchase air tickets as low as more than 3,600 yuan, and the highest air ticket price is around 50,000 yuan. If the huge difference, how many ticket generations have been added ?
Probably, those who can get the ticket are still lucky. It should be known that during the epidemic, countless international students have been deceived for buying tickets.
At present, the incident continues to ferment on social media, and Eastern Airlines has not yet responded positively.
The screening criteria become a mystery, 47 passengers who failed to board the aircraft form a rights group
In the words of Ms. “N”, April 4 should have been her happiest day in 2020, because after the “Nine-nine-eighty-one Difficulties,” she can finally return to China.
According to the original plan, Ms. “N” will take Eastern Airlines flight MU208 from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
According to Ms. “N”, for this return flight, she has purchased tickets 7 times in different airlines through OTA and private ticket generation. Among them, 5 flights were cancelled and 1 flight was changed. Therefore, she joked that this ticket was as precious as the ticket to Noah’s Ark.
As we all know, due to the epidemic, the current check-in and boarding procedures at various airports have become extremely complicated. Therefore, Ms. “N” arrived at Pearson Airport before 8 am on April 4 and waited for the check-in counter to open.
Ms. “N” said: “When I arrived at the airport, the staff did not go to work, but some people were waiting in line.” This shows the urgency of the passengers to return home.
Unfortunately, all of Ms. “N” ‘s previous efforts have vanished with the opening of the check-in counter.
After the check-in counter is opened, the staff informs them and a group of passengers that the flight is currently oversold and needs to wait for the number, and the number plate will be issued at 12:50.
Ms. “N” and other passengers initially understood and cooperated with such regulations, but the results made them shocked. The ground staff of China Eastern finally informed that the flight had no seats and passengers in the waiting state could not board the aircraft. .
Ms. “N” is puzzled by this magical encounter.
I purchased tickets through official channels nearly 2 months in advance, and arrived at the airport very early that day. There seems to be no reason why she can be a member of “unable to board”, but this is how it happened Too.
It is worth mentioning that according to incomplete statistics, there were about 60 passengers who had the same encounter with Ms. “N” that day, and currently about 47 people have joined the rights protection group.
According to the on-site recordings provided by the interviewees, the ground staff of Eastern Airlines responded to the “open standards” and “open lists” of passengers in response to the “unclear”, “don’t know”, and “free complaints” in a playful tone. Wait for words.
On the other hand, combined with the previous circulating of a suspected internal document of China Eastern Airlines on the Internet, it was found that the oversoldOn flights, members, transfer passengers and other passengers can have priority boarding.
But it should be noted that the right to show priority boarding in the last article of the relevant regulations also applies to “passengers with high ticket purchase prices and passengers with the same ticket purchase time earlier.”
Although China Eastern did not answer this statement positively in the latest announcement, more and more people began to doubt whether their policy is “price” through the live recordings provided by more interviewees and the information on social media. The higher gets. ”
According to the statistics of the rights group, the ticket prices of these stranded passengers are mostly around RMB 5,000. Some passengers who bought more than 10,000 yuan, or even more than 50,000 yuan, failed to board the plane.
However, compared to the experience of being unable to board the plane, the lack of China Eastern ’s emergency plan directly produced the biggest contradiction between the airline and the passengers. The 75% passenger restriction measures were implemented as early as late March For China Eastern Airlines, it is clear that the MU208 was oversold on April 4.
On this basis, why can’t the airline company inform the passengers who are on the pending list of the oversold situation in advance? You should know that if you can inform in advance, these stranded passengers will not refund the dormitory, apartment, and do not have to spend a high price to stay in the hotel.
At present, Mr. “P” who lives in a hotel near the airport is also a member of the boarding failure. According to the screenshot provided by him, until the day before boarding, Eastern Airlines customer service still clearly stated that the ticket can be boarded normally.
In addition, according to Mr. “P”, his daily accommodation and meals cost about 250 Canadian dollars. Ironically, Mr. “P” also confirmed to China Eastern whether his ticket can be used on the day before boarding. Boarding.
In the follow-up measures, China Eastern ’s approach is relatively inadequate.
The counter staff just distributed a business card for each stranded passenger and disappeared without a trace. The contact information on this business card was the North American Customer Service Center that was closed early due to the outbreak. Answer.
For these passengers, returning home has once again become unreachable.
At present, the passengers and family members of the rights protection group have filed complaints with the Civil Aviation Administration and other departments to request China Eastern to implement the follow-up solution as soon as possible, and seriously handle the staff on duty at the counter.
The chain of interests involved in a return flight ticket
Why does the airline company still publicly declare that it can issue tickets when the flight is known to be oversold? Is this a violation? Does the agent really have a ticket? A series of questions arise.
This is indeed the case. Behind such chaos is a black and gray chain of benefits about airline tickets.
In the recent period of time, almost everyone in the circle of friends will have moreSeveral “ticket agents”.
As we all know, current inbound flight tickets have become a scarce resource, but the ticket agents in the circle of friends seem to have control of the cabin of an aircraft, “invoice immediately”, “discount special”, “deposit lock” … … It seems that this group can help Chinese people stranded overseas to return home in a matter of minutes.
Of course, if you are rich enough. The economy class with the original price of 10,000 to 20,000 was fired to 50,000 to 60,000; the business class with the original price of 60,000 to 70,000 was fired to more than one hundred thousand.
But in fact, at present, in the official website channels of major airlines, at least before June, they are in a state of unavailability. So, where does the ticket come from?
Regarding this, the senior ticket representative “HH” revealed that in the circle of ticket agents, there are not many people who have tickets in hand, most of them are “revoting” just like the “reverse mask” before. .
“Firstly (verbal bid) a price for passengers. Take this price to find a home ticket, and earn a little if you can issue a ticket. There is no loss if you ca n’t open it. Some people actually go for money. Money When you get it, you run straight away. “” HH “said.
During the epidemic, large ticket agents first locked a large number of direct flights and transit tickets back to China through the cabin cut method, and then passed through countless subordinate agents and eventually touched the passengers.
Therefore, for passengers, buying a ticket may already be a fare increase of 5 or 6 times, but for ticket agents, the profit after multiple fare increases may have a premium of 3, 4 times or more.
According to “HH”, several “downlords” in the circle made 1.3 million yuan in 3 days.
In response to such chaos, on April 7, the Civil Aviation Administration issued the “Notice on Further Strengthening International Air Transport Price Management during the Epidemic Situation” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”), requesting further regulation of the order of the international air transport market during the epidemic. Ensure internationalAir transportation prices (hereinafter referred to as “international freight rates”) are stable and orderly, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of passengers and cargo owners.
The notice requires airlines to earnestly fulfill their main responsibilities, further expand direct sales channels, strictly implement international tariff policies, strictly implement relevant regulations such as clearly marked prices, and promptly, accurately and comprehensively publish international tariff levels and applicable conditions. At the same time, we must strengthen the management of sales channels, urge OTA platforms and sales agency companies to strictly implement relevant policies, and strictly handle OTA platforms and sales agency companies that violate regulations.
However, considering the current situation of the industry, it seems that a series of policy suppressions have not worked.
Due to the interest, as of today, there are still countless ticket agents posting price-increasing advertisements in the circle of friends. The words “down payment of 10,000 + passport retention” are still emerging, and even more so in the circle of friends. The tender site, “New York-Beijing, 50,000 yuan in economy class” and so on.
In this regard, civil aviation expert Lin Zhijie believes: “Some black agents’ arbitrary price increases not only damage the airline ’s profits, but also the interests of consumers. Letting passengers buy more tickets costs more money. Therefore companies should encourage consumers Verify the true price of the ticket. Once a black ticket is found to be illegally increased, you can complain to the airline company. The airline company can be severely punished, and the fine can be used to partially reward passengers, which can form a strong deterrent to the ticket agency. “
However, compared to the chaos of “black ticket generation” and “high-priced tickets”, more worrying things have begun to spread around the world.
At present, more and more passengers are experiencing the same as MU208 in the world. Paris, London and other places are experiencing a 75% passenger limit, and a large number of ticket holders cannot board the aircraft. The way back to the country is also becoming more difficult.
For this reason, some parents of international students said: “Now compensation is not the first for us. I only hope that the airline company or the country can allow the children to charter a plane back home.”
This article comes from the WeChat public account: puffer text brigade (ID: hetunwenlv) , author: Mark Lee