Rampant cuts offered by the air ticket sales agencies have sent the ticket prices to their record low.

For example,a ticket for an air trip from east China's Nanjing to Beijing was sold for 370 yuan (US$45) last Wednesday,while,a day before,the price was 440 yuan,today's Beijing Morning Post reported.

The ticket with no discounts should be 920 yuan.The current price is even lower than the train trip between the two cities,which costs 420 yuan,the report said.

In addition,a 1,150 yuan ticket for a trip from the city to south China's Kunming is obtainable for 850 yuan at sales agencies,while it's sold for 1,020 yuan at the airport at the official discount.

However,the deeper discounts are illegal and banned by the aviation industry authority.

Under the principles of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC),sales agencies should abide by CAAC's rules on whether and how much the discounts should be offered on a certain route.

Discounts got from the air companies have enabled the sales agencies to offer such low prices,according to insiders.Especially in winter,the slack season for the aviation market,many carriers promise greater discounts to attract more travelers.

The agencies,buying tickets as group buyers at lower costs than the individual passengers,generate the profits from the higher prices they sold to their individual customers.

( eastday.com December 17, 2001)