Tongcheng-Elong and Kiwi.com form new partnership

We’ve established a new strategic partnership with a leading Chinese OTA, Tongcheng-Elong, to boost flight availability across global markets

Kiwi.com and Chinese travel company Tongcheng-Elong have reached an agreement of cooperation. Oliver Dlouhý, CEO of Kiwi.com, and Dong Gaozhi, General Manager of the Air Business Unit at Tongcheng-Elong, signed the deal in Shanghai last month.

Tongcheng-Elong is an innovative, leading Chinese OTA. It was formed through a merger of Tongcheng Network and Elong — completed in March 2018 — and provides a one-stop reservation service for a range of travel products.

In 2017, Tongcheng and Elong secured the third-highest volume of transactions in Chinese online travel between them.

Here at Kiwi.com, we’ve been disrupting the course of the travel industry since 2012. Now we work with over 500 air carriers to provide a deep inventory, which allows travellers to customise their itineraries.

“Tongcheng-Elong, as an internet enterprise driven by technology, has tremendous advantages in technology and service. The massive search capability and data processing power of Kiwi.com complement our extensive travel offerings, and I’m sure that this will further accelerate the growth of our business,” Dong said.

“China and the wider APAC market has fully embraced low-cost carrier offerings, and more people are travelling than ever before. This partnership with Kiwi.com will enable us to offer better value, faster, and deliver on our mission of making travel simpler and more enjoyable for travellers worldwide.”

Xu Jianzhong, Senior Vice President of Tongcheng-Elong, said that he was pleased to establish in-depth cooperation with Kiwi.com, and open a new chapter of collaboration between low-cost aviation Virtually Interlined products and OTAs.

Users of both products will be able to experience the cheaper prices that Tongcheng-Elong offers and enjoy their one-stop service, as well as their personalised and unique air travel experiences which are tailored to individual customers’ personal preferences.

Dlouhý said: “Our global footprint is expanding and we are thrilled to be partnering with Tongcheng-Elong, a market leader in China. Tongcheng-Elong has a significant customer base and there are obvious natural synergies.

“http://partners.kiwi.com/kiwi-com-partners-aerocrs/ already has a good presence in China but this will boost it massively. To support this, we have recently started building a local team and will soon open a dedicated office in China to support our growing initiatives.

“China is a key market for us. I see huge potential here for our Virtually Interlined flights and other capabilities — such as connecting Chinese high-speed rail with flights, which is made possible through our unique technology.”

Tongcheng-Elong already provides users with personalised travel solutions with virtual personal assistants and hopes to transform the concept of an OTA, which has been a prominent market feature for ten years, into the new concept of an ITA — an Interlined Travel Agent.

“This deal with Tongcheng-Elong is yet another milestone for Kiwi.com in China, coming so soon after our Spring Airlines cooperation. We look forward to working very closely with our partners,” Dlouhý said.

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