Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - inner China Air travel

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inner China Air travel

I have puchased round trip tickets to Beijing but need to be in Shanghai the day after I arrive in Beijing. What airline should I call to ticket that portion of my trip?United said they were unable to ticket that portion.

You can either take a direct flight on one of the PRC's domestic airlines (Air China, China Eastern, etc) or take a connecting flight via Hong Kong on Dragon Air. The direct flight takes 2 hours, the Dragon Air flight would take like 7 hours. There is a website for domestic travel in China, I don’t' know how accurate it is: http://www.flychina.com This site interestingly enough, lists an American Airlines flight between Beijing and Shanghai (AA7951) departing every day but Sunday at 11:50 am and arriving in Shanghai at 1:45 pm. However, this flight does not show up on American's own website. You might want to call American Airlines (the flight may be a leg of an international flight). There are two airports in Shanghai (as well as Beijing). As you will be on a domestic flight, you can look at flights into and out of both airports. You may want to get a travel agent to help you with flights and ticketing. Your hotel in Beijing may have a travel agent who can help you.

There's no need to buy your ticket until you arrive in Beijing, and it will be much cheaper to do so there. Buy from an agent (preferably one away from your hotel, who will give you a better deal), rather than from the airline directly, and certainly not from an on-line Web site which will dramatically overcharge you. But if you need to you can buy from the airline before leaving the airport on arrival. The ticketing desks are on departures level, well signposted from the arrivals lounge. There are typically 24 flights a day to Shanghai Hongqiao, and eight to Shanghai Pudong, and your choice of Chinese airlines, which include some on global airline systems (if you absolutely must book ahead), is Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai, and China Xinhua (only one flight a day). Peter N-H http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Nancy aand Peter, Thank you so much for your helpful responses.The people on this web sight are great. Wendy

The AA flight that Nancy mentioned is a code share flight on China Eastern (flight MU 583). From Shanghai PVG it then continues on to LAX. In order to book through American, I think you would have to book the entire international route, not just the domestic leg.

contact this local Beijing travel agency at [email protected] , you can get China domestic air tickets at the best price!

Don't book in advance with agents inChina over the Internet, especially those who spam this site. You'll do much better to shop around agents on arrival, as described. Peter N-H http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Have purchased my international ticket and will need inter China flights, HK to Nanchang, Nanchang to Shanghai, Shanghai to Beijing. I know from reading these boards that I should by my domestic flights over there, but my question is; should I purchase them all in HK or one at a time in each city. Thanks in advance for all your advice, especially Peter, your wealth of information that you contribute to this board is wonderful. Being my first time to China I have found your information to be extremely helpful!

One at a time in each city. You can buy them in advance, but the best prices are available in the city you depart from. Note, too, that Hong Kong is a very different situation from mainland China, flights from there to the mainland are still treated as international flights, and prices are considerably higher. Note that there are not flights every day from Hong Kong to Nanchang (this must be a business trip--dull city with not much to do), but there are two to three flights daily from Shenzhen, with three competing airlines. Many people cross the border from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and fly from there because tickets are significantly cheaper. There's a frequent jetfoil service to a dock close to Shenzhen airport with a connecting shuttle bus. It all depends on your own opinion of fuss vs. discount. Tickets for flights from Shenzhen, already cheaper, can be sometimes be bought in HK for a reasonable further discount--shop around. This site gives details of jetfoil services: http://www.turbocat.com/turbojet_sailing_rev.htm Buy the Nanchang to Shanghai ticket in Nanchang. There's a decent air ticket agent just to the left of the main long distance bus station as you face it, for instance. Three to five flights daily. Buy the Shanghai ticket in Shanghai. Make sure you fly from the more easily accessible Hong Qiao airport (about 25 flights a day) rather than from the distant Pudong airport (6 flights). This route has so many excess seats that flights were discounted even during Chinese New Year! Peter N-H http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

I have to meet up with a tour in Guillin on April 24 and I arive In Shanghai the evening of April 23. Two questions . . . where is the closest hotel to the airport in Shanghai and do I really wait until departure day to book a flight? That makes me nervous.

Strictly speaking you can book the day before you fly--immediately after arriving in fact. There are four flights to Guilin from 7am in the morning the next day, so you'd have to be unlucky not to get on one of those. It's up to you whether you want the extra expense of booking from overseas, but the peace of mind to go with it. Personally, I wouldn't book ahead, but I would understand if you would. Problem is that there isn't 'an airport' in Shanghai. There are two. You'll almost certainly arrive at Shanghai Pudong, which handles international flights. There are no flights to Guilin from there on the 24th. You can go to ticketing counters in Pudong on arrival. It's difficult to get the best price at airports, but it will still be cheaper. Paying cash sometimes earns you 10% off. Shop around between the China Southwest, China Eastern, and China Shanghai airlines counters. Then hop on the shuttle bus to Hongqiao airport and stay round there. I don't know much about airport hotels in Shanghai, except that I remember there's a Westin (should be on www.starwood.com--but ignore those rates). There are also booking counters for many hotels at the Hongqiao, and while you certainly won't get the best rate there, you will get a free pick-up to whoever you book with. Peter N-H http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Many thanks, Peter, for the head's up about the two airports in Shanghai. I will investigate further.

There's a Marriott hotel near Hongqiao airport (about 3-4 km east). On their website, it shows free airport shuttle service available to/from Hongqiao airport. Another 3-4 km further east from the Marriott, there's a cluster of hotels consisting of a Sheraton and Renaissance, among others. The one that Peter's referred to is probably the Sheraton which used to be the Westin Tai Ping Yang but was rebranded sometime ago.