Online travel agency Ctrip.com International said it will invest 3 billion yuan ($463 million) in the non-public A shares of China Eastern Airlines Corp, part of a cooperation agreement with the carrier, which was announced on Thursday.
According to the announcement Ctrip.com sent to the Global Times, the two parties will have strategic cooperation in terms of products, stock and capital. The cooperation may include travel products, budget fares and international ticket sales.
Industry insiders said the move is in line with Ctrip's strategy of putting more effort into offline resources. Also, it may break a stalemate that exists between online travel agents and air carriers.
In March, major Chinese airlines scaled back ties with Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd, the operator of the country's largest online airline ticket booking website, after removing their branded sales portals from the site in January.
China Southern Airlines decided to stop selling tickets through Qunar, including tickets sold through third-party agents, due to "numerous complaints from customers." The move was followed by other carriers such as Fuzhou Airlines and Air China.
Meanwhile, China Eastern is busy introducing new investors as part of the reform of State-owned enterprises.
In July 2015, China Eastern agreed to sell a stake in itself to US-based Delta Air Lines. The stake of about 3.55 percent was set to cost $450 million, with Delta buying 465.91 million H shares of the Shanghai-based carrier.
In August 2015, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission approved a move by Qantas and China Eastern to form an alliance after months of opposition, allowing them to coordinate their schedules between Australia and China.
As early as 2014, the carrier has proposed to increase its routes to North America and increase its frequencies such as from Shanghai to Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
