(Yicai Global) Sept. 2 -- British universities are in talks with airlines to organize charter flights to bring Chinese students to the country for the upcoming fall semester. China is the UK’s largest source of overseas students.

The two countries suspended direct commercial flights at the end of last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and they have not yet resumed.

In cooperation with 40 UK universities, China’s Hainan Airlines recently tested the waters by sending Chinese students who study in the UK a questionnaire on charter flights, saying that it intends to schedule a service to Manchester Airport from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in the second half of this month. It is waiting for approval from regulators in both countries, the carrier added.

Excluding taxes, tickets for the service are priced at CNY13,880 (USD2,150) for economy class, a CNY2,000 (USD310) increase from a year earlier, and CNY23,880 for business class, which is CNY4,000 cheaper than last September.

Qatar Airways has also signed a cooperation deal with Queen's University Belfast to operate a charter flight from Beijing to Manchester via Doha. An economy class ticket for that service costs CNY8,350.

Economy class tickets to the UK from China usually cost more than CNY20,000 for flights via Hong Kong, and up to the double that for flights that involve transfers in European countries such as Finland or Germany, Yicai Global learned.

Editor: Futura Costaglione