Delta Air Lines Inc. has begun accepting Alipay, the online payments platform from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, for online ticket purchases within China.
The move comes as the Atlanta-based airline is reportedly beefing up its hub in Shanghai to source more passengers from the Chinese mainland through its partnership with SkyTeam member China Eastern Airlines.
According to BloombergBusiness, Delta CEO Richard Anderson recently spoke to employees on a hotline message, emphasing China’s heightened importance as Delta prepares to begin nonstop service between Los Angeles and Shanghai later this year. That would add to existing nonstop service from China’s commercial hub and largest city to Seattle and Detroit.
“As we plan for our long-term future, it becomes more clear every day that China will be a major part of our business,” BloombergBusiness quoted Mr. Anderson as saying on the message.
Delta already has an Asia hub in Tokyo, but Shanghai is becoming increasingly important for the carrier as the market for outbound international travel in China matures. Delta is not cleared to operate flights within China, but its codeshare agreement with China Eastern allows the Chinese airline to sell tickets on flights from China’s fast-growing interior cities that connect with Delta’s global network. The airline will share space with China Eastern within the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
In 2013, 1.8 million Chinese travelers contributed $21.8 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the White House.
Alipay, which resembles Paypal, has 300 million registered users, and Delta is the first U.S. airline to begin accepting it.
