Quotable

"China's aviation market will see an upsurge of budget airlines, and the transformation of China United Airlines is in line with this trend. All we need to do is to follow this ride to embrace a more public-oriented market."

Liu Shaoyong, general manager of China Eastern Airlines, CUA's parent company, said as the budget airliner announced it will remove all first-class seats by the end of the month. The frugality measures ordered by the central government have greatly dampened demand for first-class seats of Chinese airlines.