Australian flag carrier Qantas has linked up with e-commerce giant Alibaba hoping to woo more big spending Chinese travellers.
Qantas will be the first Aussie airline to open a branded web store on Alibaba’s travel platform Fliggy.
As part of a memorandum of understanding signed between the two parties, there will be ‘joint marketing campaigns to Alibaba Group’s 507 million active mobile users.’
"Qantas’s partnership with Fliggy forms another part of our growth strategy for China and the broader Asian region," Qantas International CEO Gareth Evans said.
"With travel between China and Australia booming, a Qantas booking page on Fliggy is an exciting opportunity for us to have a connection with younger Chinese travellers, who increasingly turn to mobile applications like Fliggy and online sites to research and purchase travel."
Qantas operates daily flights from Sydney to Shanghai and Beijing and has codeshare agreements with China Eastern and China Southern Airlines.
"With the popularity of mobile internet and its impact on commerce, Fliggy can provide brands with a large customer base, as well as facilitate direct communication with their customers. Fliggy can also provide consumer insights to help brands improve their marketing, membership system, services levels, and continuously optimise the consumer travel experience," said Fliggy vice president Jerry Hu.
Fliggy, which was previously named Alitrip, lists a full range of travel products including tour packages and hotel accommodation.
Fliggy also signed a similar deal with the world’s largest hotel group Marriott International last week.
