(Yicai Global) Feb. 9 -- The Civil Aviation Administration of China reportedly denied that it has asked some airlines to stop selling low-priced tickets.

“The CAAC has not made any such requests to airlines,” China News reported yesterday, citing a source at the regulator.

Seven carriers, including Air China and China Eastern Airlines, were recently told by the regulator to stop selling cheap air fares to reduce losses, according to market reports yesterday. The CAAC would have conducted systematic supervision to ensure full implementation, the reports said.

The average price of a domestic economy class ticket was down 13 percent to about CNY750 (USD110.50) between Feb. 1 and 5 from a week earlier, according to data from VariFlight, The Paper reported yesterday. The cost for the same airfares rose to CNY850 from Feb. 6 to Feb. 7.

Airlines hiked fares because of the Chinese New Year holiday and eased national Covid-19 measures, aviation expert Li Hanming was cited as saying by China News. Prices should fall in the wake of the holiday and weaker passenger demand, Li added.

Recent 2022 earnings forecasts for Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern said they likely lost a total of more than CNY100 billion (USD14.7 billion) last year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev