BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- China's first private airline is to make its debut in 2004, based in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, aiming to offer low-cost air travel.

    A senior manager with the Yinglian (Eagle United) Airlines Co. Ltd, which is now making preparations for full-scale services, was quoted by Thursday's China Business Times as saying that the company would begin its service within this year, linking west China with east China's Shanghai, the country's biggest city.

    Meanwhile, the paper said, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China in the third quarter of 2003 approved "in principle" Eagle United's written application for founding a private airline.

    The new company's name was approved by the State Administrationfor Industry and Commerce at the end of last year.

    The paper said that the upcoming birth of Eagle United indicates that China is speeding up the opening-up of its civil aviation sector.

    A official of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China was cited by Thursday's Beijing Daily as saying that when Eagle United could start operation would depend on how long it would take for the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China to go through the procedures of examining and approving the new company's aircraft purchases, pilot qualifications and flight courses.

    According to the Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao, Eagle United, funded by a private IT company in south China's Guangdong Province,is a feeder airline based in China's west.

    Eagle United will have a fleet of three to five aircraft in itsinitial period, and a registered capital of 100 million yuan (about 12.09 million US dollars), but it would actually invest 300-500 million yuan, the senior manager of Eagle United said. In addition, the new company has found another private enterprise to be its partner, whose name the senior manager declined to give as the final contract has not been signed yet.

    As for air ticket prices, the Beijing Daily said that Eagle United might offer prices 20 percent or more lower than those of the major Chinese airlines.

    Statistics show that an air ticket price on average is equal toabout 10-15 percent of the annual per capita income in China, compared to 0.5 percent in the US. Enditem