(Yicai Global) Aug. 14 -- Reports have swirled online since the weekend that if one buys a ticket on the international website of Ctrip.Com International,  pays in Turkish lira, then goes to China Southern Airlines app to refund the ticket, this generates a profit of about 17 percent. 

In other words, a CNY100 (USD14.50) payment for a plane ticket in Turkish lira nets a refund of about CNY117 (USD17). 

Turkey's currency plunged as much as 17 percent against the dollar Aug. 10 after US President Donald Trump threatened to double the tax on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.

Ctrip, which leads the pace in going global and accepts the most forms of payment, is thus the natural venue of choice to ply this artful dodge.The company not only has an international website and app that serve tourists from all over the world in more than 10 languages, but also takes payment in more than 20 currencies, previously including the beleaguered Turkish currency.

When the lira slumped, if the exchange rate on the Ctrip's website was not updated in real time, passengers paid the yuan price per the exchange rate before the slump.  A ticket refunded on Ctrip's website would thus yield the exact amount back in the same currency paid, but a refund from an airline presented an opportunity for profit.

Traditional practice in the sector was to cancel or change a ticket at its point of purchase, but starting in June, China Southern Airlines announced a new ticket refund function, per which irrespective of whether a ticket is bought from an agency outlet or third-party platform, it can be returned for money back or rescheduled at China Southern Airlines app or via its account on Tencent Group Holding's universal WeChat messaging and third-party payment app.

China Southern Airline has strict risk controls in place over large ticket refunds, it told Yicai Global. For example, if the same person cancels many times in the above way, and if the sum of refunds reaches a certain amount, an internal alarm mechanism triggers, freezes orders, and even blacklists the offender. However, it is difficult for the airline to discover this dodge if several players seasoned in the ticket agency business buy tickets under different guises.

Yicai Global checked Ctrip's website yesterday and found payment in lira was no longer available. 

Fool me once, shame on you. 

Editor: Ben Armour