As the National Day holiday came to an end, the travel peak receded and airfares took a sharp dive.

Departing from major source cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, base fares on many routes have fallen to just 200 to 300 yuan.

According to online travel platforms, domestic airfares dropped significantly after the holiday.

Data monitoring shows that from October 9 to 31, the average paid price of domestic air tickets was more than 30% lower than during the National Day holiday.

On specific routes departing from major source cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, base fares on many popular routes have fallen into the 200-300 yuan range: Beijing to Lanzhou in Gansu is as low as 200 yuan, Shanghai to Lijiang is also as low as 200 yuan, Beijing to Urumqi in Xinjiang is at least 300 yuan, and Guangzhou to Chengdu in Sichuan is at least 309 yuan.

Even after adding the airport construction fee and fuel surcharge, such prices still offer good value for money.

One traveler told reporters that during the National Day holiday, they had checked round-trip tickets from Beijing to Urumqi, when the price was as high as more than 4,000 yuan.

Considering the ticket price, they moved their travel plan to after the holiday and eventually bought tickets departing on October 13 and returning on October 20. Even including the airport construction fee and fuel surcharge, the total round-trip price was only around 1,000 yuan.

Fuel surcharge to rise starting from the 10th

Recently, several airlines notified that starting from October 10, the domestic route fuel surcharge will be raised: 90 yuan per passenger for segments over 800 kilometers, and 50 yuan for segments of 800 kilometers (inclusive) or less, an increase of 20 yuan and 10 yuan respectively.

For tickets issued on or before October 9, the original standard still applies.

In other words, passengers who buy tickets on October 9 can still save another 10 to 20 yuan per ticket.

Autumn break takes over, family travel bookings rise

In November, primary and secondary school students in many parts of the country will have their autumn break, making family travel popular again, and many travelers have already begun to lock in low-priced post-holiday tickets in advance.

Data shows that bookings for forward-dated tickets departing from cities such as Chengdu in Sichuan, Nanjing in Jiangsu, Beijing and Shanghai from October 15 to November 15 increased by 40% month-on-month.