THE government will give some airlines greater independence to set domestic fares, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said, as the government moves to boost airfare pricing reforms amid a broader easing of controls over aviation.

    Local airlines will be allowed to decide ticket prices on routes that are less than 800 kilometers, as well as on longer routes which compete directly with high-speed rail or train lines, the CAAC said in a document on its website. Prices are currently mostly set by the regulator.

    The government has pledged to deepen its reform of the world’s fastest growing civil aviation industry and allow market forces to play a more decisive role in order to improve service quality and efficiency.

    It relaxed airfare restrictions for the first time in nearly a decade in 2013, and in January last year begun to allow airlines including Air China and China Eastern Airlines to set ticket prices as high as they wanted to on 101 routes.

    The latest rule changes will come into effect Nov. 1, the CAAC said, adding that authorities would also continue efforts to establish a monitoring system for domestic flight fares.

    (SD-Agencies)