Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern

China Eastern Airlines saw an enthusiastic response after it launched a program to allow passengers to pay 3,322 yuan ($471) to "fly freely" across China on the weekend.

The company said on Saturday that more than 65,000 tickets were exchanged on Saturday and Sunday via China Eastern Airlines' app, the first weekend after the program was launched. 

The travel time for the first batch of tickets is mainly concentrated during the Dragon Boat Festival holidays and several weekends in July, and the purpose of the trip includes travel, family visits, returning home, and returning to school.

Flights from Shanghai to Chengdu, Shenzhen and Xi'an were the three most popular destinations on Saturday, and flights to Lhasa are very popular as well, the carrier said. 

On Saturday and Sunday, Shanghai Airlines and Shanghai Airlines are supposed to have 58 flights between Shanghai and Chengdu, with a total of 4,049 passengers buying the packages, accounting for 59 percent of the total number of passengers on the flight.

The first quarter of this year was the "darkest moment" for various airlines across the country as six listed airlines lost more than 20 billion yuan, and the industry suffered a loss of 40 billion yuan, and carriers are trying hard to save themselves from heavy losses. 

Xiamen Airlines and Sichuan Airlines, which usually have high-quality aircraft meals, tried to develop group meals and take-out business. 

Starting in February this year, Xiamen Airlines began to order group meals for companies restarting their business. Sichuan Airlines launched a 248-yuan hot pot takeout package, including six kinds of meat dishes.

Budget-airline Spring Airlines focused on online products ranging from clothing to aircraft models.

In May, Shenzhen Airlines invited star Liu Tao to a live streaming event, and 1,900 tickets with discounts were sold out quickly, with sales of nearly 300,000 yuan.