From left) Henok Million, Ethiopian Airlines' Manager, Airport Service, Shanghai; Kevin Chen, Managing Director, Megacap Aviation Service; Konjit Tedla, Ethiopian Airlines' Regional Director for China, Mongolia and North Korea; Shuan Ghaidan, UnionPay International Product Director; Yvonne Tan, WorldPay Senior Alliance Manager, Alternatives Payments; Li Zhixian, UnionPay International's Chief Representative for Africa and Middle East; Jerry Xu, Megacap Aviation Service Director and co-partner
Ethiopian Airlines and UnionPay International have signed a cooperation agreement that allows customers to pay with UnionPay cards when buying Ethiopian Airlines tickets online. The purchases can be made at both Ethiopian Airlines' Chinese website (www.ethiopianairlines.com.cn) and English website (www.ethiopianairlines.com). The transactions can be made with UnionPay cards starting with 62. The two organizations announced this service jointly at the UnionPay International headquarters in Shanghai on May 12. The ceremony was attended by senior management officials of Ethiopian Airlines, UnionPay International, Ethiopian Airlines' general sales and service agent Megacap Aviation Service and WorldPay.
Ethiopian Airlines is Africa's largest and fastest growing airline. It is the first carrier in Africa, pioneering the continent's aviation industry. It is also the fourth in the world to launch flights to China, providing uninterrupted service since the first flight to China 42 years ago. Currently, it operates 28 flights from China's mainland and Hong Kong per week, heading to 85 destinations worldwide.
China is one of the most important markets for Ethiopian Airlines. Improving customers' experiences being the focal point, the cooperation with UnionPay will provide more convenient and secure cross-border online business services. It will better meet cardholders' payment requirements and suit their paying habits.
Cardholders can purchase air tickets at Ethiopian Airlines' Chinese website in the following way. After inputting the necessary information, they have to choose "UnionPay card" as the payment option and conclude the payment via UnionPay online payment, a facility available for UnionPay cards issued both in China and abroad. Cardholders can enjoy a 10-percent discount when they book their tickets on the official website. Till May 20, they also received 1,000-km extra mileage.
At the Shanghai ceremony, Konjit Tedla, Ethiopian Airlines' Regional Director for China, Mongolia and North Korea, said: "The new partnership of UnionPay and Ethiopian Airlines represents the commitment to the Chinese market that will allow more passengers in China to fly - boosting tourism and business relations between China, Africa and beyond. We are always looking for ways to make travel more accessible to passengers and there is no better partner than UnionPay."
She added that the agreement with UnionPay is intended to increase the number of passengers from China and the rest of the world by allowing payments through the Chinese card.
She also said that in the 42 years Ethiopian Airlines has been serving the Chinese market, it has remained committed to providing high-quality service for Chinese customers. The airline has launched a Chinese website and opened a 24-hour call center for Chinese customers. Now it is also providing Chinese customers' most popular payment service. "That marks a significant improvement [in] Ethiopian Airlines' serving quality," Tedla said. |