Airlines slash prices to beat trains

BEIJING - Airlines linking Beijing, Shanghai and cities between the two cities have been searching for ways to prevent passengers from flowing onto the new high-speed line that will start operation on June 30.

Those measures include more discounts, as well as free train rides and shuttle buses to and from airports.

Statistics by travel search engine Qunar.com at noon on Friday show the lowest fare for an air ticket from Beijing to Shanghai is 368 yuan ($72) next Thursday, when the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed bullet trains start to run. That price is 42 percent less compared with Friday, or 67 percent off the full price ticket.