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Download Unlike other Chinese airlines that are slashing flights to Japan amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the Diaoyu Islands, Shanghai-based Spring Airlines decided to offer reduced fares for flights between Shanghai and the Japanese prefectures of Saga and Kagawa. Saga relies heavily on Chinese tourists to boost the local economy, but the rocky relationship between Japan and China has led to a sharp decrease in the number of passengers on the airline's Japanese flights. Saga's local government said at a recent news conference that travelers between Shanghai and Saga can board the flights with confidence. The prefecture's government decided to jointly support the initiative with the airline, which is offering up to 50 reduced tickets for each flight between Shanghai and Saga starting on Monday. Each flight can carry 180 passengers. The tickets will cost 1 yen ($0.01) if bought in Japan. The campaign by China's only budget airline will last until Dec 20, with a total of 12 flights per week operated by the airline between Shanghai and the two Japanese prefectures. The tickets from Shanghai to Saga or Kagawa will cost 560 yuan ($90), and from Saga or Kagawa to Shanghai will cost 470 yuan, after airport fees and fuel surcharges. The reduced tickets were launched at 2 pm on Monday, and 263 promotional tickets had been reserved as of midnight on Tuesday. Those figures are in stark contrast with the roughly 50 percent seat-occupancy rate seen before the promotional activity, said Zhang Wu'an, a spokesman for the carrier. | 
