Zheng Quan Ri Bao·2025-07-29 15:48Core Viewpoint - The launch of the "official direct sales platform" by the Civil Aviation Information Group, integrating ticket resources from 37 domestic airlines, aims to enhance price transparency and reduce reliance on traditional OTA platforms [1][2]. Group 1: Direct Sales Platform - China Southern Airlines, Air China, and China Eastern Airlines have announced that the "Travel and Tourism" platform will be treated as an official direct sales channel [1]. - The platform has made six commitments, including price transparency, no bundled sales, strict adherence to airline refund and change policies, prevention of data discrimination, user data protection, and authenticity of reimbursement vouchers [1]. - The platform's effectiveness was tested with a flight from Beijing to Guangzhou, showing consistent pricing with the airlines' apps but lower prices on third-party platforms like Fliggy [1]. Group 2: Market Dynamics - The new platform is expected to divert ticket sales from traditional OTA platforms, with price-sensitive consumers favoring lower prices while service-oriented users prefer official channels to avoid common issues with third-party platforms [2]. - Experts suggest that the platform needs to provide compelling reasons for consumers to choose it over OTAs, as it is not directly comparable to the official railway ticketing platform, 12306 [2][3]. Group 3: Industry Competition - The platform may lead to more transparent market pricing amid increasing competition in the industry, although its actual impact remains to be seen [3]. - The Civil Aviation Administration of China is focusing on optimizing route networks and creating a unified market in the aviation sector, addressing issues of "involution" in competition [3]. - Airlines are expanding direct sales to regain control over ticket sales, implementing features to verify ticket information and combat issues like price gouging and excessive fees from agents [3].