Islamabad, Feb 19 (IANS): Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will give a 27 per cent discount to students travelling to China to pursue academic degrees, an official with the PIA has said.

The PIA first announced 22 per cent fare reductions for students in December last year to facilitate students flying to China, Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to a customer care official at the PIA's official helpline, the price of a regular ticket from Islamabad to Beijing is 272,000 Pakistani rupees (about 1,044 US dollars), and the students can avail discount on it.

The official said that the PIA currently flies to two destinations in China, including Beijing Capital International Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.

In conversation with Xinhua, Pakistani students who will be flying to China in the coming days termed the PIA's discount a great help for them as the airlines' fares skyrocketed due to the devaluation of the Pakistani currency.