Domestic flight bookings in China rose 8% year-on-year and package tours were up 10% ahead of Labour Day, even as jet fuel prices doubled. Travelers are making more value-conscious decisions, favoring rural destinations and short-haul regional trips over premium travel, according to China Trading Desk survey.
Alibaba's Qwen app has partnered with China Eastern Airlines in its first external collaboration, enabling users to complete full flight booking processes – from search and seat selection to check-in – through a natural-language chat interface. The deal marks a significant expansion of Alibaba's agentic AI capabilities beyond its own ecosystem into real-world services, supporting the company's massive AI investment strategy. Alibaba pledged 380 billion yuan ($55.6 billion) to AI and cloud over three years in early 2025.
