ATLANTA and SHANGHAI, April 1,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is
partnering with Ant Financial Services Group ("Ant Financial") and
UATP to make it easier for Chinese consumers to purchase airline
tickets via delta.com. The move, which sees Delta become the first
United States carrier to add Ant
Financial's Alipay payment platform to its website, is part of the
airline's ongoing effort to serve Chinese travelers. UATP's
alternative form of payment processing initiative connects
airlines with online payment brands such as Alipay.
With the Alipay payment option on delta.com, Chinese travelers
will now be able to use China's
most trusted payment method when they book Delta flights. Alipay is
China's leading online payment
provider and the primary means of online and mobile payment for
Chinese consumers.
China has emerged as the
world's top-spending and fastest-growing tourism source market over
the past decade due to rapid urbanization and the astonishing
growth of its middle class. With an enthusiasm for exploring new
destinations and different lifestyles, this new generation of
Chinese consumers has made the United
States its most desired travel destination. In 2013, 1.8
million Chinese travelers visited the
United States, contributing $21.1
billion to the U.S. economy*. Following the recent easing of
reciprocal visa policies between the U.S. and China, a further increase in Chinese travelers
is now expected.
"We are thrilled to help Delta Air Lines make purchasing travel
from China easier and more
accessible than ever," said Jingming
Li, President, Ant Financial Services Group, Americas.
"Giving Chinese customers access to the payment method they most
trust signals the great service that they can expect when they
travel with Delta – from the ease of online booking to the
airline's Chinese-speaking flight attendants and airport
support."
The partnership with Ant Financial will help Delta connect with
the more than 300 million registered Alipay users in China. These savvy online consumers will be
able to fund their Alipay purchase on delta.com through bank
accounts or credit or debit cards with over 200 Alipay financial
institution partners around the world.
"This exciting new partnership is one of many Delta initiatives
to build the most Chinese-friendly U.S. airline," said Vinay Dube, Delta's senior vice president –
Asia Pacific. "As the U.S. and
China have agreed to issue
multiple-entry visas for up to ten years for short-term business
and tourist travel, our partnership with Alipay will give more
Chinese consumers the chance to experience traveling in the U.S.
with our industry-leading product and service in flight and on the
ground."
Delta operates nonstop flights from Beijing and Shanghai-Pudong to two U.S.
gateways, Detroit and Seattle, where passengers can connect to more
than 250 U.S. cities. Delta also operates daily nonstop flights
from Shanghai-Pudong to Tokyo-Narita,
where passengers have additional connection options to Delta's
global network. Delta recently announced a new service between
Shanghai and Los Angeles starting July 9, 2015.
Delta has been increasing nonstop flights from China to the U.S. since 2009 to address the
growing travel demand in the market. Delta continues to make
significant investments to build the most Chinese-friendly U.S.
airline. Chinese travelers are well served with local language
options on the delta.com website, at airport self-service kiosks
and among inflight entertainment selections. The airline is also
proud to have Chinese-speaking flight attendants and to offer
Chinese cuisine among its inflight meal options.
*
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/10/fact-sheet-supporting-american-job-growth-and-strengthening-ties-extendi
About Ant Financial Services Group
Ant
Financial Services Group is focused on serving small and micro
enterprises as well as consumers. With the vision "to turn trust
into wealth," Ant Financial is dedicated to building an open
ecosystem of Internet thinking and technologies while working with
other financial institutions to support the future financial needs
of society. Businesses operated by Ant Financial Services Group
include Alipay, Alipay Wallet, Yu'e Bao, Zhao Cai Bao, Ant Micro Loan and Sesame
Credit.
About UATP
UATP is the low cost payment network
privately owned by the world's airlines. UATP is the preferred form
of payment for corporate travel in large international companies
and small local companies worldwide. UATP's value model provides a
true low-cost alternative to expensive credit card and merchant
service fees while still allowing airlines to keep and build their
customers' loyalty. This value helped UATP surpass
USD 13 billion in sales worldwide for
2011 in the corporate travel space and produce millions of dollars
in both savings and revenue for its shareholders. UATP now offers
corporate information tools to provide important, detailed
data through easy-to-use programs. UATP
DataStream is a tool that provides important information
for centralized billing, and allows for complete organization of
the content. UATP DataMine is used for extensive data tracking
of all corporate transactions. Customize reports to view
summaries of the transactions used by each UATP card in the
system.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves
more than 170 million customers each year. Delta was named to
FORTUNE magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in
addition to being named the most admired airline for the fourth
time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the
Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive
years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global
network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to
321 destinations in 58 countries on six continents. Headquartered
in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly
80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more
than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam
global alliance and participates in the industry's leading
trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as
well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic.
Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers
more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including
Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St.
Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle,
Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested
billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products,
services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the
air and on the ground. Additional information is available on
delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta
and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.
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SOURCE Delta Air Lines