During the Spring Festival, the traffic volume of civil aviation also increased rapidly. According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China**, civil aviation passenger traffic will reach 80 million during the Spring Festival this year, with an average of 2 million passengers per day, which is expected to hit a record high. The strong demand for travel has also made some illegal "black ticket generations" ready to move. Recently, ultra-low discount tickets have begun to appear frequently on the Internet, so where do these tickets come from? Is it reliable?
Are ultra-discounted tickets reliable? Where did it come from?
The reporter searched for "** air tickets" on the second-hand trading platform and found that some *** ticket sellers advertised that the air tickets were "free of infrastructure fuel", and even said that they were sold at a discount of 2%. So are these ultra-discounted tickets really "pie"?
*Liu Ting, staff member of the travel booking platform: The so-called no machine fuel cost, this kind of ** air ticket is actually essentially adding the machine fuel cost to these ticket prices. In fact, there are many such air tickets, the more common methods are like low-cost tail orders, as well as mileage redemption tickets and even fraudulent credit cards, etc., such tickets will have problems such as slow ticket issuance, cabin difference, etc., it will not only be more stringent in the rules of refund and change, and even some tickets will not be able to be issued, so that passengers will cause losses.
In China, air ticket providers include booking platforms and air tickets at all levels, and they can get a part of the tickets from airlines for distribution. Generally speaking, the tickets sold by regular air tickets are similar to those sold on booking platforms, and the price difference is not too large. Tickets far below the market price may be those ticket agents who do not have the qualifications to sell air tickets, also known as "black ticket agents".
Some "black ticket agents" steal other people's miles and purchase miles from third parties to obtain mileage redemption tickets and sell them to other passengers at a higher price. The airline's attitude towards the purchase and sale of mileage points is also very clear, that is, "any mileage purchase and sale is prohibited". As a result, consumers who purchase such tickets are likely to be unable to board their flights. The other way is through fraudulent credit card swiping. Criminals steal other people's credit cards to buy air tickets, and resell the tickets to consumers at a price significantly lower than the market price**. Once the credit card holder finds out, the cardholder will apply to the bank or airline for a refund of the stolen amount. Consumers who purchase this ticket may not be able to board the plane eventually.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Research Association of the China Law Society: After the rights and interests of consumers are damaged, it is often difficult to protect their rights. On the other hand, it will also disrupt the normal sales market order of air tickets, and at the same time affect the healthy development of the industry.
How to identify "black ticket generation"?
"Black ticket agent" refers to an organization or individual that does not have the qualification to sell air tickets, or a ** merchant who uses illegal means to sell air tickets. Buying tickets from "black ticket agents" not only faces financial losses, delayed trips, but also the risk of leaking personal information. So, how to identify the "black ticket generation"?
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Research Association of the China Law Society: Be sure to buy air tickets through formal channels. For example, to buy tickets through the official website of the airline, for example, to purchase the corresponding ticket products through the regular merchants of the regular platform.
In addition, experts suggest that consumers can compare whether the ticket price is reasonable through multiple channels when purchasing tickets, and the ticket adopts the method of dynamic pricing, which is affected by various factors such as operating costs, supply and demand, and market competition, and has a high degree of marketization and large fluctuations. However, if you buy a ticket for the same flight at the same time, the difference between different channels will not be too large, and there may be risks behind too low fare reminders.
If you purchase tickets on a second-hand trading platform, you should postpone the confirmation of receipt. Generally, regular tickets can be issued within a few minutes after purchase, while low-cost tickets may be issued slowly and tickets may be cancelled. If the receipt of the ticket is confirmed immediately after the ticket is issued, the platform will send the payment to the merchant, and once the ticket is cancelled later, it will be very difficult for the consumer to apply for a refund. The safer way is to wait for the plane to land before confirming the receipt, during which the platform will keep the money, and in the event of a dispute, it will be relatively easy for consumers to return the money.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Research Association of the China Law Society: If a problem is indeed encountered, consumers should collect relevant evidence in a timely manner and protect their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law. For example, you can complain to the consumer association, you can complain to the administrative department of civil aviation, and ask them to mediate to solve this problem. If the problem cannot be resolved through this mediation, consumers can also protect their legitimate rights and interests by applying for arbitration or going to the court to sue for litigation.
Experts: We should intensify the crackdown on "black ticket generation".
In response to the emergence of "black ticket generation", in addition to consumers to keep their eyes open, experts also suggest that airlines, trading platforms and regulatory units should pay attention to it, take corresponding measures, and increase the crackdown.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Research Association of the China Law Society: I think first of all, airlines and platforms cannot provide corresponding illegal sales or illegal channels for this kind of "black ticket agency" institutions. Once he sells this air ticket product illegally through your channel, resulting in damage to the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, the airline may also bear the corresponding responsibility.
In addition, experts also suggest that the first trading platform should also pay enough attention to the products sold in violation of laws and regulations, and take measures such as removal and blocking in a timely manner, and report to the relevant departments to jointly combat and govern this behavior.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Consumer Rights Protection Research Association of the China Law Society: The regulatory authorities should also intensify the crackdown on this kind of behavior, investigate and deal with him accordingly in accordance with the law, and put him on the credit blacklist, so that he can no longer enter this industry to carry out corresponding business in the future, and at the same time let him bear the corresponding legal responsibility in accordance with the law.