This afternoon my secretary booked two tickets from Shanghai to Hong Kong, one for me (a foreigner) and one for a Chinese national. When I looked at the prices I noticed that they were different: I pay more for the same ticket on Dragon Air than a Chinese! I could not believe it, this reminds me of China in the 1990′s when foreigners could officially be overcharged. But this law changed years ago, and now there should be one price no matter where you are from. Is Dragon Air breaking this law in China?
Marc van der Chijs'
Shanghaied Weblog
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About me
I am a Dutch entrepreneur in Shanghai who has lived and worked over 12 years in China. Co-founder of among others Tudou.com and unitedstyles.com, advisor to Spil Games for which I set up and led the Asian operation (2006-2011), and angel investor in Chinese Internet and tech start-ups. Married to Grace, with whom I have a son (Scott) and a daughter (Elaine). These are my personal views and do not necessarily represent the companies I am involved with. You can reach me at marcvanderchijs (at) gmail (dot) com
No Responses to “Dragon Air price discrimination?”
You could be right, Marc, but it could also be a different airline executing the flight. When you fly a Chinese airline, the price is always lower, and for the short haul that is still doable.
Interesting indeed….if she flies on different on a different time then you do…that might make a difference as well.
We fly together on the same flight, still I have to pay more because I am a foreigner! I cannot figure out a reason for this other than the fact that foreigners are likely less price sensitive.
And are you in the same booking class as well? As this might make a difference.
If that is the same as well…. I would give them a call and see the response
The travel agent told us today that foreigners can only get the full-price tickets. Chinese can get a discount, but Dragon Air does not allow them to give foreigners this discount. I don’t mind paying a bit more, but it is of course pure discrimination.
Maybe it’s time to adopt a chinese name. I suggest Lee Wang.
Good luck!
There is even a text on the ticket saying “valid only for PRC nationals”. I have never seen this before.