Chinese airlines have been forced to cut flight fares to Tibet
by up to 55 percent following the opening of the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway.
Since Wednesday, nine flights operated by Air China, Sichuan
Airline and China Southern Airline have been offering hefty
discounts.
Flight fare from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality was
reduced by 55 percent from its original 1,630 yuan (US$203.75) and
the fare from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, was down 45
percent from 1,500 yuan (US$187.50).
"This is the first time that airlines flying to Tibet have
offered any discounts at all," said a senior official with the
Sichuan Airline on condition of anonymity.
China's first air route to Tibet was started from Chengdu in
1965. Each year over one million passengers fly the route.
There are three airports in Tibet and fourteen air routes to the
"Roof of The World".
Before the Qinghai-Tibet Railway went into operation on July 1
this year, passengers who wanted a flight ticket to Tibet had to
make the purchase two weeks before the departure date, said Xiao
Lin, a passenger in Sichuan.
But he noted that in July when he flew back from Tibet in an
aircraft that could accommodate over 200 passengers, many seats
were not occupied.
A train ticket from Chengdu to Lhasa is about 331 yuan (US$41.4)
and a sleeper ticket is about 712 yuan (US$89). The discounted
price of a plane ticket from Chengdu to Lhasa could be as low as
975 yuan.
The official with the Sichuan airline also attributes the
discounts to cut-throat competition between airlines. "The quiet
period of tourism for Tibet is drawing near and discounts are a
natural choice for airlines," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)