Paulo59

Has anyone booked on Shanghai Airlines?
I want to use them to book a flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong as they are a Star Alliance partner so I will earn miles. It looks like the only way to book is to call a phone number in Shanghai.
Is there another way?
Has anyone called the number?
Do they speak English?
Did it all work out?
Looks like you might be able to also book this online through Vayama, has anyone successfully done that?
Any concerns?

Thanks everyone.

Shanghainese

On the upper left corner of their website, click English. We haven't used them but considering them for our internal flights in November for the same FF Mileage reason, I've been told to give them your mileage plus no. when you check in just to confirm your status.

Paulo59

Thanks, I found the english site but to find the flight to Hong Kong you have to click on the international flights menu and it only gives you the flights scheduled for that date, no opportunity to book online as far as I can see. Am I missing something?

colduphere

We used Shanghai Airlines to fly Beijing-Shanghai and then Shanghai-Xi'an. Both planes looked new, were on time and service was good. But our tickets were purchased in China by our hotels.

Paulo59

So does anyone know if the only option outside of using a travel agent is to call Shanghai Air direct?

Fabio2008

They do speak English. It si convenient to book a air ticket with them.

Paulo59

BTW.. I ended up booking a flight on Shanghai airlines that is code-shared with Cathay Pacific so I used the CP website to book the tickets online. If you have any problems booking these flights on CP you look for the option at the top of the web page that asks what country you are located in then change the location to Hong Kong (instead of USA or wherever you are from) and then it is very easy to book the flights.

rkkwan

Are you flying PVG-HKG?

When I tried that, I only come up with all the CX68xx DragonAir flights and the one CX flight, CX367.

And this is by choosing the site to Hong Kong (either in English or traditional Chinese).

I also don't think CX code-share with FM on PVG-HKG. Are you flying a different route?

Paulo59

I was there in November. So sorry for the confusion, I think you are right. I flew CX6867 a DragonAir flight from PVG to HKG leaving PVG at 9:45 am. I had planned to fly the Shanghai Air as it is a United partner but United could not book the flight and I think the DragonAir flight was cheaper. BTW I was told I would get credit on my American Frequent Flyer program but did not get the credit as they later said that most of Cathay's discounted flights do not get credit. Strange...
BTW just posted a trip report on Shanghai. Thanks for all your posts over the years, I have used many of your insights.

DonTopaz

Shanghai Airlines is now part of Star Alliance, so those looking to book FM flights might have a better chance using one of the *A partner web sites (United, Lufthansa, AirNZ, Air Canada, etc)

rkkwan

There are a lot of strange alliances in the Chinese/HK market. For example, even though CA is *A, it is corporate partner with CX. And FM also codeshares with MU on PVG-HKG, even though the two belong to different alliances.

Anyways, most cheap fares on CX don't earn miles anyways. That is absolutely true. If FF miles are important, you need to check the fare class carefully. For short-hauls, it's often better to just look at price and forget about FF.

andreak

You can book Shanghai airlines on Ctrip.com
They list all the airlines and are good if you need to cancel or rebook. They offer discounts.