Air tickets cheaper over New Year

Overall, demand is still down for travel by plane over the New Year. And that has brought down prices for tickets this year, in strong contrast to high prices in years past.

New Year and Spring Festival used to be peak seasons for the airline industry. But according to the head of a ticket office for Air China, prices this year are unchanged. One reason is many people choosing to travel and fly over the Spring Festival in February rather than over the New Year. Meanwhile fierce competition with the rail industry is driving down prices for plane tickets.

Sales person of Air China Ticket Office, said, "Passengers can enjoy a 30 to 60 percent discount over the New Year. This figure is based on market demand."

A ticket buyer said, "I got my ticket at a 60 percent discount."

A ticket buyer said, "Mine is 90 percent off."

Fan Runjun, head of PR, North China, CTRIP.com, said, "Generally speaking, air ticket during the New Year is not high. Meanwhile, with competition from the newly opened Wuhan-Guangzhou rail, air tickets to Guangzhou are cheaper than usual."

According to one travel website, airline companies are providing cheap tickets for most routes to attract passengers. Tickets from Beijing to Shanghai, Harbin and Guangzhou are now going at a 60 to 70 percent discount.