Juneyao Group pledges to offer pleasant one-stop travel experience

Juneyao Group, a Shanghai-based company that operates Juneyao Air and 9 Air, has rolled out a mobility strategy which aspires to offer seamless air services and road travel.

According to the strategy, called Juneyao Journey, the group will provide a "door-to-door" mobility service for travelers who are often faced with wasting time and energy as they shift between flights and road trips.

As an important piece of the mobility blueprint, Juneyao Auto was unveiled earlier this month as well.

The move has made Juneyao Group the first conglomerate in the world to build a smart ecosystem of air and road mobility, making it possible to render a one-stop mobility service for those who need to travel.

Wang Junjin, chairman of Juneyao Group, said he has come up with the strategy in response to the rise in the travel market and the pursuit of low-carbon sustainable development in China and the world.

Statistics from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism show that domestic trips numbered 2.38 billion in the first half of the year, up 63.9 percent year-on-year.

In the same period, tourists from the Chinese mainland made 40.37 million overseas trips, according to the China Tourism Academy.

However, transport is creating environmental challenges. The transport sector is responsible for approximately a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.

As a leading company in the service sector, Juneyao Group has the ambition of growing into a time-honored brand to create more value for society.

It said the rollout of the Juneyao Journey is in line with the group's goal to make travel easier, and more importantly, China's call for green mobility and its dual-carbon strategy.

Air service is one of Juneyao Group's main businesses. By the end of October 2023, Juneyao Air has 86 Airbus A320 aircraft and six Boeing 787-9 models. Each year, it flies more than 20 million passengers, covering major domestic destinations and Asian and European cities. Meanwhile, low-cost carrier 9 Air, a subsidiary of Juneyao Air, has hubs in both Guangzhou and Guiyang, offering both domestic and short-haul international services.

However, air travel is just one link and the bigger mobility scenario from door-to-door, which involves so many steps, is not yet an enjoyable one-stop experience, said Wang.

He went on to explain that is the direct reason why he has decided to create the ecosystem of both airplanes and cars and launch the Juneyao Auto brand.

Juneyao Auto, which has won the approval from both the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said it has built a team of experienced executives and engineers from traditional carmakers and leading EV startups.

Unlike traditional vehicles, its cars, the first of which will come out in 2024, are more like smart terminals. It means that a vehicle can learn, like humans, during its interaction with drivers and passengers so it will offer "efficient, smart and safe" driving experiences.

Zhang Guanghao, head of Juneyao Auto, said the first car will hit the Chinese market in the second quarter of 2024 and hit the international market in the third quarter that same year.

With Juneyao Auto in place, the group is now able to offer travelers the long-awaited worry-free one-stop travel service.

Among other things, the group will offer services such as airport drop-offs and pick-ups, valet parking, destination rentals and partner with hotels and tourist destinations to offer easier travel.

"We will build a three-in-one system of 'the cloud platform, the smart terminal and the mobility scenario'," said Wang.

"With artificial intelligence-based large models and smart analytic algorithms, a 'digital ID' will be all that is needed for the customers to enjoy a pleasant door-to-door service," he said.

An example scenario is that when one in Beijing plans for a trip to Shanghai Disney Resort for his or her family, what is needed is a package via Juneyao, said Wang.

The whole family is chauffeured in a Juneyao car from home to the airport, where they will be guided to the Juneyao Air club to enjoy food and drinks.

After a safe and smooth Juneyao flight to Shanghai, they will be picked up at the destination in a Juneyao vehicle again to Disney and be presented with FastPass tickets.

If one would like to drive around oneself, a number of smart Juneyao models will be available to choose and they will be automatically adjusted based on the person's habits and offer recommendations about restaurants, charging points, hotels and places of interest.

"The purpose of 'Juneyao Journey' is to make all the links of a trip smooth by offering a smart innovative experience onboard and connecting different mobility scenarios," said Wang.

Wang said he wants to introduce the Juneyao Journey to other markets as well. Juneyao Air flies to a growing number of countries including Japan, South Korea, Finland and Italy, with future plans to cover Greece and other international markets.

McKinsey & Company said consumers are voicing preferences for more efficient, greener and more convenient transportation options.

It estimates that within the next decade, the mobility ecosystem will most likely undergo a transformation not seen since the early days of the automobile.

"The result of all these changes? A mobility ecosystem that is more intelligent, seamless and environmentally friendly," said a team headed by Kersten Heineke, a partner in McKinsey's Frankfurt office in Germany.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn