(We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, January 23, 2022) The number of flights back to China has plummeted, and air tickets have soared. (Photo from pexels)

In retaliation for the Chinese government's recent policy of "fusing" the flight policy of American airlines to China, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced the suspension of 44 Chinese airlines' flights to and from China and the United States. According to industry insiders, among these grounded flights, Chinese airlines’ routes from Los Angeles and New York will be wiped out, resulting in a sharp drop in the number of flights and a sharp rise in air tickets back to China. For example, in March, the board the economy returning flight to China from San Francisco passengers from New York and Los Angeles will need to arrive at San Francisco seven days in advance. It is a great inconvenience.

Jay, a Chinese ticket operator, pointed out that under this circumstance, the number of air tickets back to China from New York and Los Angeles will be reduced, and many customers will choose to go to San Francisco or Seattle or Dallas to board the plane nearby. But now airfare prices are soaring, and the mid-March flight from San Francisco to China is just over $10,000 in premium economy. Dallas to China in March costs more than $4,000 for economy class, and Seattle costs nearly $4,000 at the end of March.

Jay said that some guests had their flight tickets to China cancelled in March, but because they had to go back to China to deal with urgent matters, they were willing to pay an extra $1,000 to buy an earlier flight. There is also a Chinese who plans to return to China with two children in March. Because of the inconvenience of the journey, he just wants to board a plane in San Francisco nearby. Even if he needs to pay $14,000 for business class, he thinks it is worth it.

In addition to the soaring price of air tickets back to China, Chinese in Los Angeles must go to other cities to board the plane. However, according to the current Chinese government's entry policy, these people need to go to the city where the plane takes off seven days in advance for nucleic acid testing and quarantine until the day of departure. For example, according to the news released by the Chinese embassy in the United States, passengers registered in Dallas need to take the first test at a designated institution in Dallas seven days in advance, and then start a seven-day self-health monitoring. 48 hours before the trip, conduct a second nucleic acid test at the designated institution. As a result, Chinese returning to China had to lengthen the time to return to China, and for those Chinese who had to return to China to deal with urgent matters, their air tickets were cancelled due to the “fusing” policy.

Another ticket operator, Mr. Chen, said he was not surprised by the U.S. policy of counteracting China's "circuit breaker" of U.S. flights. As early as 2020, China and the United States staged a counter-play. In March of that year, the China Aviation Administration restricted each country’s routes to only one flight per week, commonly known as “Five Ones”. At that time, the direct economy class fare between China and the United States was $9,000 to $10,000. After the U.S. government called on China to change its stance and achieve flight parity without China’s response, the Trump administration banned Chinese civil aviation companies from entering and leaving the United States in June. A day later, China said it would allow American Airlines to operate 10 weekly flights to and from China. Since then, the sky-high ticket price has dropped to around $2,000.

In this eventful season, Mr. Chen suggested that the public choose an airline that offers a full refund, and American Airlines is more generous. The second is to stagger the travel time for the Winter Olympics as much as possible. He expects that the Chinese government's circuit breaker mechanism will be loosened as soon as the US countermeasures come out this time.

(Source: World Journal)