Price war slashes air tickets to Europe
2/4/2004 17:31
From May 17 to June 27, Chinese tourists leaving from Beijing or Shanghai
will pay only 6,888 yuan (US$830) for an economy class round trip air ticket to
Europe via Amsterdam. Previously prices had reached highs of more than 8,200
yuan, said Liu Jiahong, a spokesman with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines' Beijing
office yesterday.
"The prices apply to all scheduled flights with the KLM
Royal Dutch Airlines and all flights on partner airlines with the same code
designation, but passengers will have to change planes at Amsterdam," Liu
said.
This special offer does not apply, Liu pointed out, to scheduled
flights operated by the China Southern Airlines.
Tourists can take direct
flights from Beijing or Shanghai to Amsterdam and then transfer to other
European cities, and the 6,888-yuan package includes round-trip tickets for at
most four air routes, she added.
On March 11, Austrian Airlines introduced
air-tickets of 7,088 yuan for Chinese tourists traveling to Europe; they were
followed by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines which offered much lower prices, said an
industry analyst with the North China administration of Civil Aviation
Administration of China.
With foreign airlines wanting to expand their
business by adding new passengers in China, prices are falling as the
competition escalates.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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