China’s first low-cost airline, Spring Airlines, announced it will introduce fares for its Hong Kong-Shanghai route that will undercut those offered by heavyweights Cathay Pacific (0293.HK) and Dragonair, the South China Morning Post reported. The daily return flight between Shanghai’s Pudong airport and Hong Kong will be as low as RMB398 (US$59), less than a third of the current lowest air fare. The route has drawn heavy demand from business and holiday travelers, boosted further by this year’s World Expo in Shanghai, and airlines have been charging as much as US$390 for a return flight in economy class. Spring Airlines is one of the few independent mainland carriers to have survived the market downturn, as several have either collapsed or been swallowed up by state-owned airlines.
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