Taking to the skies will become a little easier on the wallets, as Chinese airlines are set to lower fuel surcharges on domestic routes from Tuesday.

On routes within China longer than 800 kilometers, the fuel surcharge will be cut to 140 yuan per passenger from the previous 150 yuan. The surcharge on shorter routes will remain at 80 yuan.

On September 1st, China's top economic planner - the National Development and Reform Commission - cut the price of ex-factory jet fuel to 7,610 yuan a ton from 7,725 yuan. That has enabled airlines to lower their fuel costs. It's the first fuel surcharge discount so far this year, following four times price hikes since February.

The NDRC began adjusting the ex-factory price for jet fuel on a monthly basis from August 1st this year. The adjustment is seen as a prelude to reforming the pricing mechanism of retail gasoline.