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Q: Why are domestic flights in China so expensive?
Trying to see a friend in Beijing this summer, though flights are like 1500-1700 kuai! I can fly to the Philippines or Malaysia for cheaper than that. Is it because not a lot of people fly domestically in China so therefore the prices are high?
10 years 43 weeks ago in Transport & Travel - China
I have a theory that travel in China is designed to be expensive and cumbersome. The gubbermint want people to stay put and do their jobs so there is more tax-kuia to steal.
It's not just flights. Transport within a city is cheap, as soon as you go between cities, the price is something that people in the low paid jobs will have to plan ahead for, be it bus, train or boat.
Zootown:
I think buses and trains are pretty cheap actually. I mean for less than 100 kuai you can get to a city a good few hours away by bus or train. Just flights are sky high. Interesting theory though.
Scandinavian:
You need to rethink you view on money. If you work at Starbucks you will be earning 15-2000 per month. Of course you will work 7 days per week so you have no free time to spend your hard earned money.
GuilinRaf:
It is the reason for the pathetically obsolete "Hu Kou" which ties people to a town, even when they no longer have any connection to it.
My fiance has lived in Beijing for the last 6 years, but we will have to go to her town in order to marry.
Stupid.....
It is like the old Soviet Express Card: "Dont Leave Home!"
Scandinavian:
The Hukou is evil. The Chinese are not meant to travel.
I did not think they are to bad compared to what I pay at home. I can fly from Mudanjaing to Harbin and also the same the other way for 30 Yuan but it is a once a day flight then it gets expensive Try different searches you might find a deal
Zootown:
That's the thing - I've looked everywhere: qunar, ctrip, taobao. All the same price.
Everything in China is much cheaper than the west. It says so in all the teacher recruitment ads, to justify the extremely low salaries...
No doubt the time that you wish to travel has some bearing on it. We will be right in the middle of a peak period right now and the airlines will not offer heavily discounted fares on popular flights. You may have to look at alternative means of travel.
To put an informed post here: from 2006 onwards, the gov't decided to artificially lower air transportation costs in order to alleviate the over-taxed rail system in order to upgrade the rail system (which has happened). Now prices are more realistic. China also suffers the same plight as Canada in regards to air routes - they are fixed (courtesy of the military in China's case) which means that the aircraft cannot fly the most economical route to the destination. You can look through the CAAC archives to find all of the details. Just be thankful you can still get free drinks, snacks and even the odd meal on Chinese airlines (won't mention toilet fees, either). And, keep in mind that all airlines lose money by carrying passengers - cargo is where the money is.
government made prices...
if you can, try spring airlines, they might have some slightly cheaper deals
