During this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, coinciding with the “Golden Week” holiday, airfare prices of various airlines in mainland China have taken a nosedive, with some even dropping to as low as 10-20% off.
The period from October 1st to 10th was a long holiday in mainland China, with many people traveling. As the holiday came to an end, the number of travelers significantly decreased. In order to attract tourists, airlines in mainland China have engaged in a price war on tickets.
For example, in Guangzhou, one-way ticket prices to popular cities such as Jinan and Nanjing have dropped to around 100 Chinese yuan. According to search data provided by the Guangzhou Daily on October 13th, for flights departing on October 14th, ticket prices from Guangzhou to Jinan start from 155 yuan, to Nanjing are at 188 yuan, and to Shanghai and Qingdao are between 100 and 200 yuan. Ticket prices from Guangzhou to Tianjin and Hangzhou are also around 200 yuan.
On October 13th, a reporter from Dajiyuan checked ticket prices on the mainland booking platform Ctrip for a flight from Guangzhou to Beijing on October 14th. The economy class tickets of Air China are discounted to as low as 15% off, while those of Southern Airlines are as low as 17% off. Tickets from Guangzhou to Nanjing on Shenzhen Airlines and 9 Air are discounted to 20-24% off, and Southern Airlines’ discounts go down to 36%.
At the same time, outbound flight ticket prices from Guangzhou have also decreased. The lowest ticket prices from Guangzhou to tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, and Ho Chi Minh City are all around 400 yuan, while flights from Guangzhou to Osaka, Japan or Penang, Malaysia are around 500 yuan.
Due to the extremely low airfare prices, the news quickly became a hot topic online, with many netizens joking that now is the perfect time for “bargain hunting” for off-peak travel.