British Airways will pioneer the online prepayment service from early next month that allows passengers to prepay excess baggage at a 20 percent discount before they arrive at the airport, reducing the queuing time for the passengers, it said.

    Meanwhile, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines has launched the "Let's Meet in Hong Kong" campaign that encourages friends, relatives or business partners in at least two Chinese cities to meet in Hong Kong.

    For instance, three travelers in Shanghai, Kunming and Taipei who intend to fly to Hong Kong on the same day and then depart the city together can book round-trip tickets at 4,800 yuan (US$600), or 1,600 yuan each, from now till September 10.

    A maximum of nine people is allowed in the promotion, and they will enjoy a combined return ticket price of 11,000 yuan, or over 1,200 yuan each. That's compared with an average market price of about 3,000 yuan.

    "We aim to enhance Hong Kong's position as a great meeting place and attract passengers like lovers, friends or relatives living in different cities, or staff who will gather for corporate meetings in Hong Kong to travel with us," said Aaron Chan, regional manager of Dragonair East China.

    Dragonair said it has also designed a new tourist product of a roundtrip ticket from any mainland city to Hong Kong and onto Sanya, a resort in Hainan Province, to attract mainland travelers who want to combine shopping, corporate and leisure travel together.

    Pricing of the product, which will be available at the end of the month, is not decided yet.

    Other than the usual campaigns that involve food, bonus points, class upgrade or linking airfares to hotels or tourist sites, airlines have to innovate to attract customers and boost load factor, said Chan.