Officials with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, regulator of the country's aviation industry, said on Thursday that they would actively back various promotion campaigns made by the airlines.

The caac will also help domestic airlines join hands with travel agencies, and carriers will offer discount packages to tourist destinations and establish a more flexible ticketing system.

"Industry officials rarely take such an active stance to boost promotion campaigns and discount fares," said an industry analyst surnamed Li with a local securities research company. "The move won't do much to relieve carriers' financial problems. But it suggests airlines will have more leeway in carrying out discount campaigns."

Airlines have already been working with travel agencies to boost domestic air travel when the effect of SARS started to fade away.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd, one of the country's three major carriers, is working with French, Japanese and South Korean carriers to invite foreign media and travel agency officials to visit local tourist destinations.

"We're offering them free tickets in the hope of rebuilding foreigners' confidence in traveling to China," said Zhang Ming, China Eastern Airlines spokesman.

Officials of the International Civil Aviation Organization will go to airports around China to assess their anti-SARS measures, a move aimed at clearing passengers' concerns about the disease, said CAAC officials.r34

"We will keep those anti-SARS measures in the future," said Yi Jiwu, an official with Shanghai Airport Authority, operator of the city's two airports. "For example, fever scanners will continue to be used at the airports."

Officials with CAAC expect the domestic air market to return to its normal level by year's end and international routes to completely recover in the second quarter of next year.

Passenger volumes have rebounded more quickly than industry officials had expected during May.

(Shanghai Daily June 28, 2003)