A new Chinese budget airline that sold tickets for as little as 13 U.S. cents has been fined for violating government price controls, a news report said Monday.
A Spring Airlines subsidiary was fined 150,000 yuan (US$20,000; euro15,000) for violating rules that limit discounts on government-set ticket prices, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Spring's Jinan Spring Holiday Travel Agency sold 400 tickets on flights between Shanghai and the eastern city of Jinan for 1 yuan (13 US cents; 10 euro cents), the report said. They accounted for 10 percent of seats on Spring's flights from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10.
A regular one-way ticket on that route costs 910 yuan (US$116; euro88), including taxes.
Chinese airlines are barred from offering discounts of more than 45 percent on the government-set price, said an official of the Jinan Price Bureau, who would give only his surname, Tang.
Shanghai-based Spring is among smaller Chinese carriers fighting for market share in an industry dominated by three government-run airline groups.
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