A China United Airlines plane at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing, Southwest China Photo: IC

Chinese budget airline China United Airlines (CUA) will remove all first-class seats on their planes by the end of the month, the company announced on Monday. 

The move aims to reduce the carrier's costs to a competitive level within three to five years, said Wu Gang, deputy manager of CUA, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines (CEA).

All first-class cabin space will be restructured to business-class seats. Passengers who have already booked CUA first-class seats can return their tickets for a refund, he said.

The airlines' announcement came in the wake of an austerity drive by China's leadership to crack down on luxury lifestyles among government officials.

Prior to the CUA's removal of first-class seats, China Southern Airlines, the country's largest civic aviation carrier by fleet, said it would also cut the first-class seats on its single-aisle planes next month.

Qi Qi, a member of the China Air Transport Association, said the frugality measures ordered by the central authority have greatly dampened demand for first-class seats among officials of government departments, public institutions and senior managers of State-owned enterprises.

"Now, the consumption of first-class seats is considered hedonism," Qi said, adding airlines should leave behind their obsession with high-end products and focus on serving regular people.

As the Chinese economy slows and the government steps up its anti-graft crackdown, first-class seats and other opulent buys are increasingly viewed as luxuries that must be disposed of.

China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, the Chinese telecommunication giants, were required in July by the country's State asset supervisor to close their VIP lounges in airports and railway stations before October this year to cut marketing expenses.

"China's aviation market will see an upsurge of budget airlines and the transformation of CUA is in line with this trend," said Liu Shaoyong, general manager of CEA, "All we need to do is to follow this ride to embrace a more public-oriented market."

The CUA's removal of first-class seats is also in line with similar moves by international airline companies.

American Airlines Inc announced on August 20 that it will increase the size of its 47 Boeing 777-200s by removing the first-class cabins and upgrading the business-class cabins, Bloomberg reported on August 27.