(Yicai Global) July 1 -- Hainan Airlines Holding’s shares jumped after the operator of the island getaway’s flagship carrier said it will roll out sizable discounts to drum up passenger traffic amid the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the travel industry.

The carrier’s shares [SHA:600221] rose 2.7 percent to close at CNY1.54 (USD0.22) apiece, after gaining as much as 3.3 percent earlier in the day. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained almost 1.4 percent.

For a limited period from July 6, the airline will offer passengers unlimited domestic round trips to the southern island province of Hainan for less than CNY3,000 (USD425), the Haikou-based company said on its Weibo account today. The discounts will be valid across all 12 airlines run by parent company HNA Group.

Travelers will also be entitled to a CNY2,800 cash coupon redeemable at certain duty-free stores in the province.

HNA Group, which also runs carriers such as Grand China, Tianjin Airlines, Lucky Air, China West Air, Urumqi Air, Capital Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Air Guilin, has been savaged by the epidemic. Its first-quarter loss widened more than seven-fold to CNY6.3 billion (USD891.3 million) from a year earlier.

As part of steps to transform Hainan into a free-trade port, China has just lifted the annual duty-free quota for travelers there to CNY100,000 (USD14,163) from CNY30,000.

Hainan Airlines also offered promotions on June 18, China’s mid-year e-commerce discount day.

Editor: Kim Taylor