Carriers eye paid add-on services to lift revenue

Cabin upgrades, pre-booked in-flight meals, paid priority security checks and boarding, and other additional services will soon become more commonplace for most passengers in China, according to industry experts.

Due to the more relaxed policies and regulations on paid ancillary services, carriers are expected to earn more revenues from such services, they said.

In China, smaller and budget airlines, such as Tianjin Airlines, Spring Airlines and Lucky Air, have been actively trying to operate more ancillary services, such as the prebooking of paid food and paid luggage check-in services. State-owned carriers, however, have been more cautious, and they only provide options like prepaid seat selection on international flights.