Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

China's first budget airline, Spring Airlines Company Limited, is set for take off next Monday with its maiden flight slated to be from its base in Shanghai to Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province, today's National Business Daily reported.
Citing a senior Spring Airlines official, the report said that in return for budget prices, passengers will not recieve free in-flight meals but a 300ml bottle of mineral water will be provided. The inclusive luggage allowance will be set at 15 kilograms.
To introduce this new concept of budget air services to China, Spring Airlines held a public hearing at the end of June to publicise its intentions and to lobby for lower airport-landing fees.  Officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of China attended the hearing. 
Though the outcome has yet to be announced, the unnamed official said his company will commence with its various services regardless of CAAC's review, because the authority imposes no compulsory regulations but only issues guidelines on the sector.  The landing fees, however, are decided by CAAC.
"We will inform the passengers about our various services when they book our flights," he said.
While operating a regular air service, Spring Airlines will also provide services on its parent Shanghai Spring International Travel Service's tourist routes, the official said. 
All the tourist routes will be 100 yuan (US$12) to 600 yuan cheaper than its regular air services, he added, and they in turn will be about 20 percent cheaper than those of other carriers.  But, in accordance with CAAC guidelines, its discounts can be no more than 45 percent of normal market prices.
If rival airlines offer prices at that level, Spring Airlines may use gift packages as an attraction.
As allocated by the CAAC, Spring Airlines will operate four scheduled services from Shanghai to Yantai, Nanchang, Mianyang and Guilin respectively.