In order to comply with international standards and be better prepared for next summer's Olympics, eight Chinese airlines are adopting a new policy of charging for ticket returns in proportion to the airfare's discount rate rather than basing the fee on the time the ticket was returned.

The eight are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Grand Xinhua Express and Juneyao Airlines.

Under the new policy CA, CZ, Shandong and Shanghai will not charge for first and business class ticket returns and CZ will not charge for economy tickets sold at the full rate. China Eastern, Hainan and GXE will charge 5% of the value of all tickets sold at the full rate. CA and Shandong will charge 5% of the value of coach tickets sold at full rate or less than 20% off, while Hainan will charge the same for economy returns sold with a 10% discount.

Air China will charge a 10% fee for economy tickets sold at 25%-40% off and a fee worth 30% of the fare for economy tickets sold at a 50%-60% discount. No returns will be allowed for tickets sold at a greater than 60% discount. The other airlines will adopt charges similar to those of CA.

In the past, Chinese carriers levied fees equal to 5% of the fare if the ticket was returned 24 hr. before departure, 10% for cancellation 2-24 hr. in advance, 20% for under 2 hr. and 50% for ticket returns after takeoff.