Delta Air Lines is to become the first US carrier to adopt Alipay, China’s leading online payment provider.
The Alipay payment option is coming to delta.com via a partnership with Ant Financial Services Group and global airline payment provider UATP.
It will enable travelers from the world’s fastest-growing tourism source market to book tickets direct with Delta through a registered bank account or credit or debit cards.
Alipay has an estimated 300 million registered users in China.
"We are thrilled to help Delta Air Lines make purchasing travel from China easier and more accessible than ever," said Jingming Li, President, Ant Financial Services Group, Americas.
"Giving Chinese customers access to the payment method they most trust signals the great service that they can expect when they travel with Delta."
"As the U.S. and China have agreed to issue multiple-entry visas for up to ten years for short-term business and tourist travel, our partnership with Alipay will give more Chinese consumers the chance to experience traveling in the U.S. with our industry-leading product," said Vinay Dube, Delta senior vice president, Asia Pacific.
Delta recently announced the launch of new flights between Shanghai and Los Angeles due to start on July 9, 2015.
