China Eastern Airlines and its subsidiary, Shanghai Airlines, will increase the prices of their first class and business class domestic tickets, according to a joint announcement announced lately.

The price hike will influence flights on the Beijing to Shanghai route, which has the biggest group of business passengers and the highest occupancy rate, as well as other domestic routes operated by the carriers.

The price of first class and business class tickets on China Eastern Airlines as well as Shanghai Airlines between Beijing and Shanghai will be increased to 2.5 times and two times the full price of an economy ticket, or 3,767 yuan ($556) and 2,785 yuan ($411).


First class and business class tickets for flights leaving for other domestic destinations from Shanghai will be increased by two times and 1.8 times the full economy price respectively.Non-Shanghai domestic flights will be fixed at 1.8 times the economy price for first class and 1.5 times for business class.

On June 1, CAAC(Civil Aviation Administration of China) the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) relaxed limitations on the pricing of domestic tickets for first class and business class tickets, enabling airlines to set their own prices.

Chen Ying,director of flight attendants for China Eastern Airlines Shanghai- Beijing route stated that with the capability to set their own prices for non-economy tickets, airlines can make sufficient money to offer an enhanced service for premium passengers.Additionally,each airline will have additional freedom to specialize their services.