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China is opening its air ticketing agency market, lowering the threshold for new players and granting the right to approve agents to industry associations, an official with the east China branch of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) said yesterday.

The move, part of a government reform to loosen its power in vetting and approving industry matters, is expected to intensify the competition in the air fare agent market but only a limited cut in air fares is seen, according to industry officials.

The CAAC will grant the right to China Air Transport Association to approve qualified air ticket agents from Saturday,'' said Li Jingao, an official with CAAC's east China branch.

"The effort is one step toward fully opening the market in the future," he said, prior to the launch of China Southern Airlines' service from GuangZhou to Shanghai to Kitakyushu yesterday.

The Beijing-based association, which was set up in September last year, represents nine major domestic carriers including China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Air China and Shanghai Airlines.

It is responsible for setting industry standards and coordinating all matters relating to the industry.

Another change is that the market threshold will be lowered later, Li said.

"For instance, the registered capital for a Chinese air ticket agent will be much lower from the current 500,000 yuan (US$62,111)," he said, adding that details have yet to be worked out.

In Shanghai, there are more than 300 air ticket agents who offer discounts and they hire migrant children or workers to distribute small card advertisements about their attractive prices.

"The new policy creates a more open market environment for the agents," said Zhao Zaikui, vice general manager of China Southern Airlines' Shanghai company, "But it will do little to reduce the prices of air tickets."