The Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines may start bundling air and train tickets on domestic routes in response to stiff competition from the newly opened high-speed railway line between Guangzhou and Wuhan, South China Morning Post reported. The carrier initially responded by cutting prices and increasing the number of flights between Guangzhou and Changsha and Wuhan. However, Xie Bin, company secretary at China Southern, conceded many passengers had switched over to the high-speed train service that started last month.

Air China and China Eastern Airlines are also likely to come under pressure from the high-speed Beijing-Shanghai line, which could be completed by as early as 2011.