Low-Cost Air Travel in China May Be About to Take Off
It takes three days for Tang Ronghua to journey by bus from the bustling coastal city of Wenzhou, where she works at a shoe factory, to the green farmlands of her hometown, Nanchong. She describes a nightmarish trek: the constant search for "toilets" by roadside bushes, the sweaty aroma of hundreds of bodies packed in close proximity, the fares that take a 40% bite out of her monthly salary, which amounts to about $120.
But this year, for the first time, the 23-year-old migrant worker took to the skies for the Chinese New Year holiday, which starts tomorrow. She paid the equivalent of $94 for a comfortable, 2?-hour flight on Sichuan Airlines that took her close to home. Cleaving through the clouds was "just like science fiction," Ms. Tang recalls after arriving in Nanchong. She wonders how close she was to the moon.
Air travel in China, long a luxury enjoyed mainly by well-to-do or business travelers, is set to become more affordable for average Chinese over the next few years, industry analysts say. Recent plane-buying sprees by China's state-owned airlines have increased capacity, and competition is growing from low-cost, no-frills private airlines. At the same time, rising incomes are making it possible for more Chinese to fly.
Few expect JetBlue-style discounting to come to China's heavily regulated airline industry anytime soon. Still, foreign carriers are taking note of the popularization of air travel: Companies such as UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, Northwest Airlines Corp. and Japan's All Nippon Airways are increasing international routes from China and launching promotions for Chinese tourists. A China-U.S. aviation agreement last year will more than double the number of U.S. airlines allowed to serve China and quadruple weekly flights between the countries during the next few years.
The less expensive fares are a boon for inhabitants of the country ranked fourth in the world by area, where epic journeys by rail and road still are the norm and less than 10% of the population travels by air. Ms. Tang and thousands of other migrant workers are taking their first plane ride ever this holiday season. Many are taking advantage of deep discounts from regional airlines targeting travelers celebrating the start of the Year of the Rooster.
Private airlines also are poised to begin offering cheaper fares soon. Last year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) began allowing private companies to operate domestic flights; some may start flying early this year. Okay Airways, of Beijing, which has studied the business models of European budget carriers such as easyJet, says it will start services in March. United Eagle Airlines, based in the southwestern city of Chengdu, plans to offer cheap flights in western China; it has signed jet-lease contracts and is awaiting aircraft delivery.
China's new plane purchases by new and incumbent airlines are expected to boost seat capacity 15% during the next two years, industry analysts say. Last month, China's state-owned airlines collectively bought 60 Boeing 787s, the largest order for Boeing Co.'s new medium-haul jet.
The record for service and profitability in China's aviation industry has been "horrid," says Kevin O'Connor, head of transport research at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, Hong Kong. "But that's changing quickly." Indeed, China's aviation industry last year notched $1.04 billion in profit, equivalent to the sector's cumulative profit for the previous 10 years, according to CAAC. China's planes now fly at about 70% of capacity, compared with only 50% five years back. Aircraft usage averages about 10 hours a day, up from eight hours or less five years ago, Mr. O'Connor says.
Adding to the flying frenzy is the start of direct flights between Taiwan and China, the first nonstop commercial air traffic between the two sides in more than five decades. The services are set to run only for three weeks during the Chinese New Year holiday, but industry officials hope they could open a door to more-regular flights, at least during peak periods. China and Taiwan have had little official contact since splitting amid civil war in 1949, but business and cultural ties are flourishing.
Eager to impress, normally staid airlines on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have jazzed up in-flight meals and stitched up new flight-attendant outfits. Air China, China's international flag carrier, even is offering some unusual in-flight entertainment: saxophone-playing stewards.
Hector Yeh, the Taiwanese owner of a dumpling company, noticed the difference. On a flight from Taipei to Shanghai on Shanghai Airlines, Mr. Yeh dined on pot-stewed pork and Taiwanese-style noodles while waited on by attentive female flight attendants dressed in elaborate gold-and-red cheongsams, traditional, form-fitting Chinese dresses.
"They all took initiative," he says. "They were polite, and gentle ... It was great. Normally it's nothing like that."
China's airlines don't have as much flexibility to adjust fares as their counterparts in other parts of the world. The government to some extent still regulates how much domestic airlines can raise or cut ticket prices. In addition, a shortage of pilots and the high cost of jet fuel make it difficult for airlines to make significant cost cuts, says Michael Chan, transportation analyst at BOC International, the Bank of China's investment arm.
"There's lots of growth and volume," Mr. Chan says. But "the biggest problem is whether all these airlines can manage costs and make money."
Airfares already have fallen since CAAC eased strictures on fare-pricing in 2003. Now China's state-owned airlines can discount fares as much as 40% without applying for official approval.
With competition heating up, airlines are looking for new ways to increase market share. The Chinese New Year holiday is a good time to do so. An estimated 430 million people will be on the move during this period, more than the combined population of the European Union countries. Some smaller airlines are tapping a previously scorned market: poorly paid migrant workers, many who traditionally could afford only one hometown visit a year, by train or bus.
Sichuan Airlines is offering a 65% discount to factory, construction and other migrant workers on some routes during the holiday. It has cut airfares from Beijing to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province where many migrants originate, to a level comparable to train fares, about $70. Shenzhen Airlines is offering migrant workers discounts of 60% to 72% on 20 routes, while Xiamen Airlines is selling tickets from vans parked at train stations, hoping to attract would-be rail travelers.
With wages rising, some of China's 100 million migrant workers are getting affluent enough to be desirable customers, says Xiamen Airlines spokesman Huang Shaohui.
One such customer is Luo Yuan, a 20-year-old factory worker who paid the equivalent of $175 -- five times what she would have paid for rail fare -- for a roundtrip air ticket from Beijing to her hometown in Chongqing city in southwestern China.
Dressed in a new coat trimmed with fur, she nibbles on cookies and sips a Coke while waiting for her evening flight at Beijing's Capital Airport last weekend. She had arrived at the airport 10 hours earlier, unsure of what to expect for her first plane trip. She puts on a show of bravado as she prepares to board her three-hour flight. "If you're afraid, you shouldn't fly," she says. 空中旅行走近中国普通百姓
唐容花（ Tang Ronghua ，音译）坐公共汽车从繁华的中国沿海城市温州回到南充的乡下老家通常需要三天时间。她说，旅途苦不堪言：路上不停找“厕所”，数百人挤在一起散发著汗臭味，并且车票花去她大约一个月 120 美元工资的 40% 。
但今年农历春节，现年 23 岁在鞋厂打工的唐容花首次飞上了蓝天。她花了 94 美元，舒服的乘坐了四川航空公司 (Sichuan Airlines) 的 2 个半小时航班。在到达南充后，唐容花形容飞机穿过云层如同科幻小说一样。她寻思著当时她距离月亮很近。
在中国，空中旅客长期以来主要是富人或商人，而业内人士说，今后几年更多的普通中国人将能买得起飞机票。这要归功于中国国有航空公司大肆购买飞机扩大运力、低成本私营航空公司参与竞争以及居民收入的增加。
尽管很少有人预计中国受到严格监管的航空业短期内将会出现类似于 JetBlue 那样的折扣。但是飞机旅行的日益普及引起了外国航空运营商的关注，美国联合航空公司 (United Airlines) 、西北航空 (Northwest Airlines) 和日本全日空 (All Nippon Airways) 新开了飞往中国的航线，并展开了针对中国旅客的促销活动。此外，中美之间一份航空协议将令获准开通中国航线的美国航空公司数量增加一倍，并在今后几年将每周航班数量增加四倍。
票价走低对这个世界面积第四大国家是一个福音。在中国，铁路和公路是最普通的旅行方式，只有不到 10% 的人乘坐飞机旅行。在这次春节假期，包括唐容花在内的数千名民工经历了首次空中之旅。许多人都利用了地方航空公司在鸡年来临之际提供的大幅度折扣。
私营航空公司很快也将开始提供廉价机票。去年，中国民航总局允许私营公司经营国内航线，一些公司可能会在今年年初开通航线。按照欧洲廉价航空运营商 EasyJet 模式组建的北京澳凯航空公司表示，它将在 3 月份开始运营。计划在中国西部提供廉价航班的成都鹰联航空有限公司签订了飞机租赁合同，目前正等待飞机交付使用。
分析师表示，整体来看，中国新购飞机量在今后两年将会令运力提高 15% 。就在上月，中国国有航空公司总共购买了 60 架波音公司 (Boeing Co.) 的 787 飞机，这是该航空公司有史以来收到的最大一笔中程飞机订单。
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets 驻香港的交通行业研究主管 Kevin O'Connor 说，中国航空业的服务和盈利纪录一直不管让人恭维。但是他说这种状况正迅速发生改变。实际上，据中国民航总局表示，去年中国的航空业录得了 10.4 亿美元的利润，相当于前 10 年的利润总和。 Kevin O'Connor 说，目前飞机的上座率大约为 70% ，而 5 年前为 50% 。飞机使用率平均约为每天 10 小时，高于 5 年前的 8 小时。
中国和台湾开通直航航班更是为这股航空旅行热推波助澜，这是两岸 50 多年来首次商业通往。此次航空服务仅在新年的三周提供，但是行业官员希望它打开开通更多常规航线的大门，至少在运输高峰时期如此。中国和台湾自 1949 年在内战中分裂后官方少有接触，但是商业和文化联系日益紧密。
平时不温不火的台湾海峡两岸的航空公司增添了飞机上餐饮的花样，为机组人员缝制了新的服装。中国国际航空公司 (Air China) 的乘务员甚至为乘客吹奏萨克斯。
台湾一家饺子公司所有人 Hector Yeh 表示，毫无疑问他注意到了这种差别。在上海航空 (Shanghai Airlines) 一个从台北飞往上海的航班上享用了一顿瓦罐闷猪肉和台湾风味的面条，身著精致旗袍的空姐提供著周到的服务。
“她们全都面带微笑，”他说。“她们都很热心。她们礼貌、温柔 ... 非常好。通常不是这个样子。”
与其他国家航空公司相比，中国航空公司在调节票价方面没有很大空间，中国政府在某种程度上仍然对国内航空公司上调或下调票价的幅度进行控制。此外，中银国际 (BOC International.) 的运输业分析师 Michael Chan 说，飞行员短缺和航空燃料的高成本意味著航空公司难以大幅削减成本。
“中国民航市场庞大，发展迅速，”他说。但是最大的问题是这些航空公司是否都能控制好成本，实现盈利。”
机票价格自从中国民航总局在 2003 年放松对机票定价的限制后就一路走低。现在，中国国有航空公司无需申请官方批准，便可将机票打至 6 折。
随著竞争的加剧，航空公司开始寻找增加市场份额的新途径。对许多公司来说，农历新年是一个非常好的时机。据估计春节期间大约有 4.3 亿人流动，这一数字超过了欧盟人口的总和。一些小型的航空公司开始将目光转向以前不屑一顾的市场：薪酬很低的民工，其中有许多人每年只能负担得起一次返家的火车票或汽车票。
四川航空公司在某些航线对工人、建筑工人以及其他民工提供了 65% 的折扣。它将北京到成都的票价下调至与火车票相当的水平，即大约 70 美元。深圳航空公司也在 20 条航线为民工提供了 60% 至 72% 的折扣。而厦门航空派出汽车在火车站售票，以吸引打算乘坐火车的乘客。
厦门航空的发言人黄少辉 (Huang Shaohui ，音译 ) 说，随著工资的增长，中国一亿民工中的一部分足以成为他们争取的客户。
其中一个这样的客户是罗元（ Luo Yuan ，音译），这位 20 岁的工厂工人花了相当于 175 美元购买了北京到重庆的往返机票－－这一机票价格是火车票的 5 倍。
身穿一件新绒毛大衣的她边吃著饼干边喝著可乐，在首都国际机场等待著她的夜间航班。她提前大约 10 个小时来到了机场，不知道首次空中旅行将是什么光景。 尽管如此，在她准备登机开始 3 个小时的飞行时，她表现出自信模样。“如果害怕，你就不应该坐飞机。”她说道。
