DESTINATION: CNY
全球目的地：農曆新年Why Chinese New Year travel is evolving – and how Cathay Pacific and its airports are responding
受多種因原 影響，農曆新年出門旅行的方式不斷演變國，泰航空及其航點的機場為應付這些變化作出各種措施
In 2018, 380 million people travelled by train within mainland China during Chinese New Year. Pictures of the extraordinary crowds thronging the ticketing halls and platforms have become a familiar feature of news feeds and websites at this time of year.
But more and more CNY travellers within mainland China and in the thousands of Chinese communities around the world are choosing another means of transport: flying.
Many of the estimated 44 million Chinese people living beyond China’s borders will travel to see family for the festival, which officially falls between 5-7 February in 2019, though most celebrations – and travel plans – tend to last for a few weeks. Within China, 67 million people travelled by air during the festive period in 2018.
There’s a similar pattern to Christmas and New Year travel in the West: family members travel to be together. But travel industry experts have spotted that there’s another kind of traveller, often younger and more affluent, who takes the opportunity to fly overseas. In 2018, 6.5 million people travelled abroad from China for the holidays.
CNY is one of the reasons China is the fastest- growing aviation market in the world. It is currently second only to the US, but will become the largest player in terms of passenger numbers in the next 10 years, according to industry trade association IATA.
It’s not only Cathay Pacific’s flight and operations teams that work at full throttle during and running up to chunyun, or the ‘spring migration’, which takes place for six weeks around Chinese New Year. Increasingly, customers are taking advantage of the deals the airline puts together with partners in the travel industry – especially hotels.
‘It’s a busy time for people who opt to travel overseas,’ says Cindy Lee, Managing Director Cathay Pacific Holidays. ‘Chinese New Year is an important time for our customers, whether they are visiting family or taking the opportunity to travel abroad. ‘At Cathay Pacific Holidays, we see
在2018年農曆新年前後，中國內地有3.8億人乘坐火車出門旅行。每年到了這段時間報， 章及新聞網站上均出會 現車站大堂售票處及月台上人群擠得水洩不通的照片為，成 大眾司空見慣的場面。
然而現在無論中國內地還是居於海外的，華人 愈來愈多人喜歡在農曆新年旅行時選擇另一種交通工具：。飛機
據估計，居於中國境外的華人約有4,400萬，當中不少會於農曆新年期間出門探親，與家人團聚。雖然今年農曆大年初一至初三是257月 至 日，但是各種慶祝活動及出門旅行的，安排 都會持續數星期。2018年農曆新年期間，在中國國內就有6,700萬人次乘搭飛機出門旅行。
在西方的聖誕及新年期間出，亦 現類似的模式：散居各地的家人都會踏上旅程，趕在佳節期間一起團聚。旅遊業者還發現了另一種旅客，他們往往較年輕及富裕，會少著假期飛往外地度假。2018年，便有650萬人從出中國 發，外前往 地度新歲。
中國能成為全球增長最迅速的航空市場農， 曆新年是其中一個原因，目前它的市場規模僅次於美；國 但是根據業界組織國際空航 運輸協會（ IATA）的預測，若以乘客數目計算的，話 中國在未來十年內將會成為最大的市場參與者。
農曆新年前後的六個星期，中國內地稱為運「春 」，是舉國出門度歲或回鄉探親的高峰期。這段間單泰期 不 國 航空的航班及營運隊團 全力以赴投入工作，顧客亦愈來愈懂得把握機會，選擇由航空司公 與其 that customers prefer the convenience of a package – our five-star hotel packages are particularly popular.’
A higher-than-usual proportion of travellers also opted for five-star hotels. It’s clearly a time to treat yourself, your partner or your family – especially when the package might include an upgrade to a suite or special offers on spas or dining.
Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon’s overseas offices – or outports as they’re called – see chunyun at its peak of activity.
That requires careful management and planning – and not just in the departures and arrivals halls.
‘Customers travelling at this time are usually taking higher than normal baggage loads,’ says Erik Saywack, Operations Manager at Los Angeles. ‘We plan our aircraft loading to ensure we have enough space for our customers and their baggage during this festive season.’ 他遊旅 業夥伴，尤其是酒店聯合提的供 優惠。套票
國泰假期董事總經理Cindy Lee表示：「這是大家紛紛忙著前往外地度假的。時候我顧常農們的 客非 重視 曆新年，他們會利用這段時間探親，或者少著假期去旅行。我們發現，國泰假期的顧客喜歡選購方便的套票；的我們 五星級酒店套票特歡別受 迎。」
選購五星級酒店套票的旅客比較例平時為高，這現象說明了很多人都認為，這是讓自己和伴侶及家人好好享受一番的時候，對括免費套房升級，提或 供水餐療或膳優惠的等 套票反應特別踴躍。
But for the customer service teams, exceptional times require an exceptional effort.
‘We see a spike in “meet and assist” requests during this period,’ says Stuart Taylor, Airport Operations Manager, Sydney. ‘We also notice more elderly passengers seem to travel during this period as they are visiting friends and relatives.’
Every outport has its individual requirements. In Los Angeles, for example, there’s also an increase in traffic to and from Vietnam.
‘ We do our best to roster additional Vietnamese-speaking ground employees to ensure a seamless service delivery,’ says Saywack.
And in the cities with significant Chinese populations, Chinese New Year events have become a draw for people from every background. See over the page for the major ones.
國泰航空和國泰龍海港 的外辦事處，又稱為「外站」，視春運為營運高峰期。
春期運間的工作需要精心管理和籌劃，而且工作不只涉離及 境及入境大堂。
洛杉營磯 運經理Eric Saywack表示：「春運間期 乘客攜帶的李行 一般比常平的日子多，我們要確保在佳節期間飛機的運載量預算得以宜， 便有足夠的空間運載我們的乘客和他們的行李。」
另一方面，客戶服務團隊亦需加倍努力，應付佳節帶來的。挑戰
悉尼營機場運經理Stuart Taylor表示：「我們看到這段間期 乘客需要特別協助的 要求，急升 同時亦留意到有更多年長乘客出探國 望。親友 」
每個外站的需求各異，例如在洛杉磯，往來越南的乘客在春運間期 亦有所增加。
Eric說我：「 們盡可能增加能操越南語的勤地 職員當值，以確保我們的服流務暢無阻。」
而在華僑眾多的城市，農曆新年期間會舉辦賀歲活動，吸引來自不同背景的人前來觀賞，大型活動詳情請參閱。下頁