Photo/Shetuwang

May 1 (NBD) -- Aviation service app Umetrip, announced Friday that it has stopped offering online check-in services for China Southern Airlines upon the airline's request. Check-in and seat reservation services for the airline have also be cancelled on flight information platforms including Ctrip, Fliggy and VariFlight now.  

China Southern Airlines announced the company has not authorized any third-party online platform to provide check-in and seat-selection services for the airline. It encouraged customers to go straight to the check-in counter or its official website, APP and WeChat mini-programs to seek for such services.

According to the same announcement, the airline believed that such unauthorized services could lead to leaks of private information, safety issues and uncomfortable traveling experience for customers. Seats allocation should conform to certain rules. For example, seats near emergency exits are not suitable for children, the elderly and the pregnant. 

It's noticed check-in services for other airlines are still available on third-party platforms, reported CCTV.

Experts held it was undesirable to simply ban third-party platforms from providing such services, and cooperation should be deepened instead. Airlines and platforms should come to an agreement which have binding force on all of them, commented Zou Jianjun, professor at a college under the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

It's noteworthy that third-party online platforms take up a very large slice of online flight booking market. According to data released by the market research firm Analysys, Qunaer, Ctrip and Fliggy took an aggregated market share of 74.1 percent in the second quarter of 2017. The flight ticket sales of Ctrip stood at 53.12 billion yuan (8.4 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for a market share of 38.6 percent.  

An industry expert Li Xiaojin introduced that third-party platforms in European countries can offer booking and check-in services for wide arrange of airlines and charge commissions in return, saving time for customers and costs for airlines at the same time.

But China Southern Airlines would be better positioned to compete with its rivals via self-developed APP and online operating model, said another civilian airline expert Li Xiaoqun.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn