Chinese airlines are offering steep discounts on air fares, in some cases 70 percent off, now that the "Golden Vacation Week" from Oct. 1 through 7 is over.

China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and China Southern Airlines are all offering Beijing-Shanghai tickets at 340 yuan (US$42.5), only 30 percent of the normal ticket price.

Hainan Airlines is even offering tickets at 280 yuan (US$35), which is lower than the 327 yuan (US$41) cost of a sleeper train ticket.

Flights from Beijing to other cities, including Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, are also being discounted as much as 70 percent on National Day holiday prices. A similar situation is reported on other air routes.

According to China's General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC), Chinese people made 2.76 million air trips during this year's National Day holidays, an increase of 2 percent over the same period last year.

On September 29 and 30, passengers could not find discounted tickets because too many people had planned to travel early. Air fares dropped later, but rebounded on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7 when tourists were anxious to go back to work.

Wang Yili, assistant general manager of Yoee.com, an air travel service website, said air travel had entered the off-season. Low air fares, regarded as an effective means to attract customers as competition between airlines intensifies, will be widely available till the end of the year.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)