Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

Travelers from Shanghai to Beijing, Chongqing and Xia'men can still get 50 percent discounts on air tickets for the upcoming weeklong National Day holiday, thanks to a price war triggered by some domestic airlines, Shanghai Morning Post reported today.
Travelers usually have to pay the full price of air tickets on September 30 and October 1 every year. "Competition is very fierce, so cheap air tickets are still available, with airfares to Beijing cut by 50 percent on September 30 and October 1, and those to Chongqing are half price on October 2," said a spokesman with a local airline ticket outlet.
Continuously-surging fuel prices have caused domestic airliners a loss during the first half of this year, with China Southern Airlines reporting a deficit of 800 million yuan (US$100 million) from January to June, and China Eastern Airlines in the red by 1.4 billion yuan.   
Domestic air-carriers have to join in the price war to attract more travel agencies, tourists and capture more of the market share, said an industry analyst.