Advanced Search
Business | Metro | Nation | World | Sports | Features | Specials | Delta Stories
 
 
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