THE year 2004 was an eventful one for the domestic airline industry.

Whether due to issues about increasing flight delays, which led to a series of protests by angry passengers who refused to disembark from planes (see the story "Waiting to fly" in July 15 issue), or the recent Baotou air crash in which 55 people perished in seconds (see the story "Deadly incident in air" in November 25's issue), airlines have been under unprecedented media scrutiny over the past year.

However, clear results from this concentrated media attention seems to have been limited so far.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued a directive in June ordering all domestic airlines to draw up and publicize to their passengers a clear standard for flight delay compensation. The deadline given by the CAAC was the end of this year, but most Chinese airlines have yet to comply with this instruction.

It has been reported that only Shenzhen Airlines has publicized its compensation details.

This is because "an attractive compensation scheme might lure some passengers, but over-generous compensation could also lead to higher costs and ticket prices," business insiders said. Thus, many companies would rather wait to see their competitors' response instead of making prompt moves themselves.

Another reason for the slow introduction of such standards is the complexity involved in disentangling the causes of flight delays. Statistics show that there are over 20 common reasons for abnormal flights, including bad weather, flight control difficulties, commercial dislocation, technical aircraft problems and late passenger arrivals. Several of these factors might easily combine to affect a single flight's schedule, which greatly complicates the task of compiling a detailed compensation standard.

Despite all these difficulties raised by the domestic airlines, a telling fact is that all large airlines around the world have managed to draw up compensation standards of some kind. Some overseas airlines upgrade seats or provide hotel rooms for delayed customers.

However, Chinese passengers may get nothing from domestic airlines in return for hours of waiting at the airport except a can of drink and perhaps a meal box. Even explanations for delays or apologies are often lacking.

While heated debate about flight delays was still continuing, an even bigger problem seized the attention of the country at the year's end - flight safety.

A Bombardier CRJ-200 belonging to China Eastern Airlines (CEA) crashed into a lake near Baotou, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, seconds after it took off for Shanghai on the morning of November 21, killing all 53 people aboard as well as two others on the ground. It was China's deadliest air crash in more than two years. So far the reason for the crash remains under investigation.

For safety's sake, all domestic airlines were ordered to ground their Bombardier CRJ-200 jetliners for inspection after the accident. The ban on flying CRJ planes still remains in place.

It was reported that each family of passengers killed in the air crash would be entitled to receive some 211,000 yuan (US$25,422) in compensation. Many families complained that the sum was too small when compared to the rapidly rising prices of the past decade. Some even said they would take the airline to court over the compensation issue. Yet it was reported that the sum offered by the airline was already far higher than the nationally stipulated figure, set in 1993, which amounts to a maximum of 70,000 yuan (US$8,750) for air flight injuries or deaths.

"The regulations are outdated and should be amended," some experts suggested. So far, no specific measures have been taken.