Recently, a man surnamed Gong from Shanghai encountered a frustrating situation. He purchased a ticket on the China Eastern Airlines booking app for a flight from Shanghai to Australia on January 10. It cost 6,338 yuan, including taxes.
However, just a minute after payment, he realized he had selected the wrong date.
He immediately canceled the booking on the app. To his surprise, within a few minutes, he received a refund of just 269 yuan, with a staggering "service fee" of 5,340 yuan, or more than 84% of the total ticket price.
Many people who faced a similar service fee when canceling flights also voiced their frustration online.
Gong promptly contacted China Eastern Airlines, who explained that if the ticket was marked as "non-refundable," only taxes other than the fuel surcharge could be refunded. He expressed his concern, noting the unreasonableness of the "non-refundable" policy and the lack of clear notification about it at the time of payment.
Eventually, the airlines reached a preliminary agreement with him: he would purchase another ticket, and the airline promised to compensate for the price difference and "change fee."
Recently, major airlines such as China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines have introduced new rules for ticket refunds and rebooking, generally lowering the change fees and expanding the range of free rebookings and cancellations.
China Southern Airlines has adjusted its rules to allow free cancellations if the ticket price drops. Customers can purchase a new, cheaper ticket and cancel the higher-priced one within 24 hours of the original purchase, though some special fare tickets may not be eligible. Customers are advised to confirm with the airline before canceling.
China Eastern Airlines also made changes to its policy. Free changes or cancellations due to ticket price fluctuations apply only if the price of the ticket purchased through the original channel has dropped. This rule is applicable only to domestic flights and does not cover group tickets or tickets redeemed through airline points. The flights for both tickets must be the same, with the same day and flight itinerary.
It's important to note that under certain conditions, tickets mistakenly purchased through China Eastern Airlines' own sales channels may also be eligible for free cancellation.
In addition, China Southern Airlines has included scenarios such as changes in aircraft type, flight stopover delays, airport changes, and force majeure in its free change and cancellation policy.
