China's leading travel service provider, the Shanghai-based Spring International, has been authorized to operate an airline company to provide air passenger and cargo services on domestic routes.

The proposed Spring Airline, a private company, would mainly provide chartered passenger aircraft services to domestic tour groups as well as passenger and cargo services on regional aircraft, said Wang Zhenghua, president of Spring International.

The new airline company will offer tailored "air ticket plus hotel room" packages, a mode that is still not popular in China, and will help travelers book tickets for major tourist destinations, according to Wang.

Spring Airline will target the low-end aviation market featuring holidaymakers and low-income earners who have to travel frequently on business, says Wang. "This market enjoys rosy prospects in China because in a fast-paced society, the absolute majority of the population would need to travel by air, but at low cost."

To develop the low-end aviation market was also in line with the international trend, Wang added.

By authorizing a travel service to run an airline company for the first time, China's Civil Aviation Administration also aims to open the traditionally monopolistic sector, say sources with the Shanghai-based east China administration of CAAC, the industrial watchdog.

Established in 1981, Spring International reports an annual business revenue of nearly 2 billion yuan (US$241 million)and handles an average 1.6 million tourists a year. It has been awarded by the National Tourism Administration as the No. 1 domestic travel service provider in China for nine years in a row.

The company is also a forerunner in introducing low-cost air traffic services by offering chartered flights to tour groups.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2004)