The National Day holiday has ended, the travel peak has receded, and airfare prices have taken a sharp dive.

From major source cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, many routes now have base fares as low as two or three hundred yuan. Reporters learned from online travel platforms that after the holiday, domestic airfare prices have fallen significantly. Data monitoring shows that from October 9 to October 31, the average paid price for domestic air tickets was more than 30% lower than during the "Golden Week" holiday. Specifically, on routes departing from major source cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in Guangdong, base fares on many popular routes have dropped into the two-to-three-hundred-yuan range: Beijing to Lanzhou in Gansu is as low as just 200 yuan, Shanghai to Lijiang is also as low as 200 yuan, Beijing to Urumqi in Xinjiang is at least 300 yuan, and Guangzhou to Chengdu in Sichuan is at least 309 yuan. Even after adding the airport construction fee and fuel surcharge, such prices are still highly cost-effective.

One traveler told reporters that during the National Day holiday, they had checked tickets for a round trip from Beijing to Urumqi, and at that time the price was as high as more than 4,000 yuan. Due to fare considerations, they moved their travel plans to after the holiday and ultimately bought tickets departing on October 13 and returning on October 20. Even including the airport construction fee and fuel surcharge, the total round-trip price was only about 1,000 yuan.

The fuel surcharge will increase starting on the 10th. Recently, multiple airlines notified that starting October 10, the domestic route fuel surcharge will be raised: 90 yuan per passenger for segments over 800 kilometers, and 50 yuan for segments of 800 kilometers (inclusive) or less, increases of 20 yuan and 10 yuan respectively. For tickets issued on or before October 9, the original standard will still apply. In other words, passengers who buy tickets on October 9 can still save another 10 to 20 yuan per ticket.

The autumn break takes over, and family travel bookings rise. In November, primary and secondary school students in many parts of the country will have their autumn break, and family travel will heat up again. Many travelers have already begun locking in low-priced post-holiday tickets in advance. Data shows that for forward bookings of tickets departing from cities such as Chengdu in Sichuan, Nanjing in Jiangsu, Beijing, and Shanghai, bookings from October 15 to November 15 increased by 40% compared with the previous period.