Cathay Pacific targets mainland Chinese travelers with Alibaba deal

cathay pacific
Image credit: Cuson / Shutterstock.com

Alibaba Group, Ant Financial Services and Cathay Pacific have announced a strategic cooperation to explore ways to cash in on outbound travel among Chinese consumers by leveraging Alibaba’s travel services, cloud computing and payments services.

Under the framework, Alibaba’s travel services platform Fliggy will allow Cathay Pacific’s passengers an enhanced level of customization when planning their journeys. The two parties plan to seek other collaboration opportunities to promote global travel among Chinese consumers, building on the success of Cathay Pacific’s flagship store on the platform.

Alibaba Cloud will support Cathay with its cloud computing services, as both parties explore opportunities for joint development to drive innovation and boost operational efficiency.

Meanwhile, Ant Financial’s Alipay will work with Cathay Pacific to explore payment service options at different touch points along the passenger journey. The two parties also intend to work towards deeper collaboration on marketing initiatives.

“This is an important milestone for Cathay Pacific and Alibaba Group,” said Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo. “We believe this strategic cooperation will offer more choices and better user experiences for travelers in the future.”

Jerry Hu, Vice President of Alibaba Group, said the collaboration “will make significant inroads to demonstrate how airlines can enhance their approach to operations, marketing and customer management by leveraging on advanced technologies.”

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