Chongqing, July 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- At 20:15 on July 7, West Air flight PN6233 departed from Zhengzhou Xinzheng Airport and arrived at Nantong Xingdong Airport at 21:45, marking a flawless maiden voyage.On that dayAt 22:25, West Air flight PN6234 took off from Nantong Xingdong Airport and arrived smoothly at Xinzheng Airport at 00:10 the next day. Currently, the Zhengzhou=Nantong route is exclusively operated by West Air. The route operates every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
West Air’s Zhengzhou=Nantong direct flight route makes successful maiden voyage
Direct flight route opens Travel habits of passengers in both cities are changing
Zhengzhouand Nantong previously had no direct flights between them, so travelers mainly relied on trains or buses taking 10–15 hours, or flew with Shanghai as a transfer point. Travel between Zhengzhou and Nantong was rather inconvenient.Staff at a local ticket officesaid:“Passengers traveling to Zhengzhou usually depart from Shanghai — first taking a five-hour bus from Nantong to Shanghai, then flying from Shanghai to Nantong. Now, when going to Zhengzhou, we generally remind passengers that there is a direct flight from Nantong to Zhengzhou. Once passengers learn about the direct Nantong-Zhengzhou flight, they are more willing to book tickets on this route.”
11-yuan tickets open up the market Low prices during maiden voyage are an exception
This route is operated by West Air, China’s second low-cost airline. After transitioning to a low-cost model, West Air has adjusted its fare structure and has long offered a large number of super-low-price tickets. Using 1-yuan tickets to break into new markets has become a regular strategy for West Air. However, launching a large number of ultra-low-price tickets on the same route is an exception for the Zhengzhou=Nantong route.
Many passengers on themaiden flight purchased 1-yuan tickets. Ms. Su, who bought a 1-yuan ticket,said:“I was about to buy a ticket when a friend told me that West Air had 1-yuan tickets. I immediately went to West Air’s official website and sure enough, there were 1-yuan tickets, so I bought one without hesitation.It’s now possible to fly directly from Nantong to Zhengzhou, which is very convenient. And the 1-yuan ticket is really cheap.”
In addition to1-yuan tickets, many passengers also bought special fare tickets priced at 38 yuan, 88 yuan, 100 yuan, and so on.Special offertickets. Regarding this, West Air staff explained that to open up the market in both cities, a special limited-time promotion for the Zhengzhou=Nantong route was previously conducted, with a large number of 1-yuan, 38-yuan, and 88-yuan pocket-money tickets offered. The 100-yuan fare was a standard promotional price for the first five flights on this route. Based on market feedback, the spillover effect from these large-scale low-price promotions has been quite good so far.
Development of the low-cost model forms a trend of expanding from key points to broader areas
As an emerging low-cost airline, West Air, with its single aircraft type and point-to-point route development model, is particularly adept at developing routes in small and medium-sized cities. Leveraging Zhengzhou, an important base city for West Air, and its recent planning for route expansion in coastal economic belt cities, the opening of the Zhengzhou=Nantong route is naturally a smooth...amatter of course. Since the launch of this route, not only has the radiation capacity of Zhengzhou base's eastbound routes been enhanced, but with the development of routes in Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and Jinan, West Air's route expansion in eastern regions is taking on a momentum of developing from key points to a broader network.