China backs growth of budget airlines

China will encourage the development of budget airlines to reduce flight ticket prices, the country's civil aviation regulator said, Shanghai Daily reported. Apart from low-cost carriers, other airlines should also cut prices by simplifying service processes and changing operational models, said Li Jiaxiang, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. "The administration will limit flight ticket price increases, and there will be no set minimum price as I think the lower the better," Li told a press conference in Beijing, adding that budget airlines will have good prospects in the next few years in China because they can better meet market demand, the newspaper reported.