Passengers recently found it much more expensive to fly from Beijing to
Shanghai, China's two major cities, as airlines operating flights on the route
discontinued fare discounts due to growing air traffic after the SARS outbreak.
As airlines are now offering nearly full-price tickets on the route,
passengers have to pay around 1,000 yuan (US$120) for a single trip from Beijing
to Shanghai. Passengers used to buy similar tickets with a 40-to-50 percent
discount before the SARS epidemic.
Carriers once provided tickets priced as low as 200 yuan on the route when
the disease prevailed across Asia, said Zhao Hong, general manager with Shanghai
Guangfa Air-Ticket Co Ltd. "They now feel it unnecessary to continue the
low-price promotion since air traffic has picked up after the SARS outbreak,"
said Zhao.
Compared with an average load factor of around 20 percent in the domestic
aviation industry during the SARS outbreak, more than 80 percent of the seats on
planes flying between Shanghai and Beijing are sold now, with weekend flights
being fully booked.
The price rise, which has already been around for about one week, had little
impact on the passenger numbers.
"The rise has turned out to have limited influence on ticket booking. There
is strong demand for travel in the market," said Bai Ge, a marketing staff with
Shanghai branch of Air China.
Market observers say the price hike is the result of an alliance between
carriers cashing in on the current booming air market, but the airlines involved
denied such a move.
"Domestic carriers like us often discuss about air fares on some prime routes
like those from Shanghai to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and adjust
frequently according to market demand," said Shan Chuanbo with China Eastern
Airlines.
Meanwhile, ticket prices remain stable at about 40 or 50 percent off for
flights from Shanghai to Beijing. Industry insiders said it is because there was
no significant ticket discount on the sector during the SARS crisis.