HANGZHOU, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA), Ant Financial Services Group, Alibaba Group’s related companies, and Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific today announced a strategic cooperation to explore a range of initiatives to capture the enormous potential of outbound travel among Chinese consumers and to enhance the overall customer experience.
The link-up connects Cathay Pacific with three key businesses within Alibaba’s ecosystem – travel services, cloud computing and payments. By examining a number of potential solutions under the cooperative framework based on the strengths of each party, passengers of Cathay Pacific will benefit from optimised travel experiences. Alibaba’s consumer insights, developed based on its 507 million-strong mobile active users1, will also support the carrier to accurately and effectively reach a wider range of travellers.
Under the framework, Alibaba’s travel services platform Fliggy will allow Cathay Pacific’s passengers an enhanced level of customisation when planning their journeys. The two parties plan to seek other collaboration opportunities to promote global travel among Chinese consumers, building on the success of Cathay Pacific’s flagship store on the platform.
Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, will support Cathay Pacific with its best-in-class cloud computing services, powered by its data centers and global network resources in 14 regions. Both parties will explore opportunities for joint development to drive innovation and boost operational efficiency.
Alipay, an online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial, will work with Cathay Pacific to explore payment service options at different touch points along the passenger journey. The two parties also intend to work towards deeper collaboration on marketing initiatives as well.
Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Paul Loo said: “This is an important milestone for Cathay Pacific and Alibaba Group. Following our flagship store on Fliggy, we are pleased to elevate our cooperation with the largest retail commerce company of the world. Cathay Pacific and Alibaba Group have always been focusing on providing premium services to our customers. We believe this strategic cooperation will offer more choices and better user experiences for travellers in the future.”
Jerry Hu, Vice President of Alibaba Group, said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to play a role in the next chapter of the digital transformation of a respected international carrier like Cathay Pacific. This collaboration will make significant inroads to demonstrate how airlines can enhance their approach to operations, marketing and customer management by leveraging on advanced technologies. Alibaba Group and our related company, Ant Financial, continue to make progress in many sectors, showing how we can drive change through advanced technologies and insights.”
About Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon
Cathay Pacific is a Hong Kong-based airline offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to some 200 destinations worldwide, using an ultra-modern fleet of more than 140 wide-body aircraft. Cathay Pacific believes in providing its customers with award-winning products and services at every stage of their journey, in line with its philosophy of a “Life Well Travelled”. Cathay Dragon is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. The airline operates a fleet of 46 passenger aircraft serving 53 regional destinations, including 23 cities in Mainland China. Cathay Dragon is widely recognised for its product and service quality, winning numerous awards and accolades in recent years. For more information, visit www.cathaypacific.com
About Alibaba Group
Alibaba Group’s mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. The company aims to build the future infrastructure of commerce. It envisions that its customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that it will be a company that lasts at least 102 years.
About Ant Financial
Ant Financial Services Group is focused on serving small and micro enterprises, as well as consumers. With the vision “bring the world equal opportunities,” Ant Financial is dedicated to building an open ecosystem of Internet thinking and technologies while working with other financial institutions to support the future financial needs of society. Businesses operated by Ant Financial Services Group include Alipay, Ant Fortune, Zhima Credit and MYbank.
1 In March 2017, the various mobile apps that consumers use to access Alibaba Group’s China retail marketplaces had 507 million mobile MAUs.