China's sole budget carrier scraps plan to slash baggage limit
4/9/2008 17:34
China's only budget airline Spring Airlines has abandoned a plan to charge
passengers for check-in or carry-on baggage exceeding 5 kg, an airline spokesman
said today.
Zhang Lei, spokesman for the Shanghai-based airline, said the
company had abandoned its plan to slash its baggage limit from 15 kg to five kg
because most passengers would not accept such a limit.
"We had such a plan to
charge passengers for check-in or carry-on baggage exceeding 5 kg, and we
contacted officials with the air transport authority. But now we have decided to
give up the plan since most passengers will not accept it," Zhang
said.
Earlier in the day, the English language newspaper China Daily reported
Spring Airlines had applied to the air transport authority to start charging
passengers for check-in or carry-on baggage exceeding 5 kg.
The airline said
such a plan was aimed to help the airline to save fuel, which accounted for
about 50 percent of its operating costs, according to the daily.
Major
Chinese airlines allow a standard 20-kg baggage allowance in accordance with
Civil Aviation Administration of China regulations. Spring Airlines had already
cut baggage allowance from 20 kg to 15 kg.
China's private and state-owned
airlines are feeling the pinch amid weakening demand and rising costs. Carriers
are trying to find ways to keep costs down as they brace for an expected
downturn in the aviation industry.
Xinhua
|
