Beijing written in Chinese characters
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When is the best time of year to find cheap flights to Beijing? An airfare to Beijing is likely to be the most inexpensive on Tues, Wed and Thurs. Mondays are most favoured by business people while weekends are the time most likely for vacationers planning the most time away that is possible - you are best advised to try travel outside these dates. In some of my research it was $240 cheaper flying on Wednesday compared to Monday. When searching for cheap flights to Beijing you will most likely need to stay on a Saturday to get the good airfares for Beijing flights. Going on a direct flight from Los Angeles is bit more expensive than going on a flight that stops along the way. In some recent searches I performed there was a huge difference. It was $1004 for a direct flight from LA to Beijing compared to $694 when stopping on the way to Beijing. The cheapest flight I saw stopped in Shanghai. The $780 Beijing airfare was with China Eastern airline.
Performing a search for a Beijing flight from Los Angeles on 23 October 2009 for flights on 31 Oct it was cheapest to fly with Air Canada via Toronto. The fare was $665 return. The drawback with that is it takes 35 hours to get to Beijing. On the same day for $749 also with Air Canada you could fly via Vancouver with a total trip time of 17 hours 40 minutes. Much more reasonable. I have actually taken this option when I lived in Beijing.
Just to show how much airfares can vary the cheapest direct flight on the same day is rediculous $2260 with Air China. Flight time 12 hours 50 minutes. I know what option I would select.
Changing the above search to leave on Wednesday 4 November saw the direct Beijing flight airfare come in at $857 with Air China. The cheapest flight of the day was with United going via Tokyo. This trip takes 18 hours 39 minutes and is $697 return. It just shows how you need to do plenty of research.
When taking a direct flight to Beijing from Los Angeles the flying time to Beijing is 12 hours 50 mins. With a cheaper airfare it involved stopping in Shanghai. Beijing flights via Shanghai take a bit over 19 hours. Other flight options to Beijing involve stopovers in either San Francisco, Seoul or Vancouver. Flight times to Beijing vary depending on scheduling. The average flight time is 15 hours.
You may want to look at flying to Seoul, South Korea or Shanghai. To get from these cities, you will be able to find a seat on a bus, train or flight or if you are adventerous a ferry across from South Korea. I have travelled by train in China and enjoyed the experience. You see more of the scenery this way. Using this method it will take more time to reach Beijing, however going by train or bus will save you some money and this will reward the additional effort involved. You also enhance your travel experience as you see other locations you may have missed.
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Something else to consider when trying to find a cheap flights to Beijing is to search for flights that go through Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bankgok. These major asian hub cities have many flights that continue to Beijing. Use this option as an alternative to flying directly to Beijing. Due to the large number of flight options this results in good competition from these cities on cheap flight airlines. The end result is that you more than likely save some money compared with flying without a stop on the way to Beijing. It is a good option to stopover in one of the hub cities. I have used Singapore as my stopover city in the past. It is a good destination as the locals speak english and there are many interesting attractions you may visit. I stayed for three nights. Another advantage of doing this is that the time zone is the same as Beijing.
Another thing to check is a flight on the less well known airlines. China Northern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and China Southern Airlines are the coutries national airlines. Several other airlines including British Airways, Qantas, LTU also can be used to go to Beijing. I have traveled on some of the Chinese national airlines for domestic flights and have felt safe in doing so. The only problem I encountered was that the airlines are not strict at enforcing carry on luggage policies and you may find the overhead lockers are overloaded.
The worst time to find cheap flights to Beijing are during the main Chinese holiday travel times, including the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). You also need to know about national events (Chineses National Day is 1 October) or festivals, which are likely to make ticket prices increase. Chinese New Year also known as Spring Festival is the peak travel time for Chinese. Millions of people are travelling either within China or from overseas to visit relatives at this time. It can be very hard to book a flight to Beijing at this time.
Tips for Finding Budget Flights into Beijing:
Times to travel to Beijing to find a cheap flight: Winter Season: Jan. 1 - Mar. 31 (Cheapest) watch for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) here Spring Season: Apr. 1 - Jun. 15 (Cheap) Summer Season: Jun. 16 - Aug. 31 (Expensive) Fall Season: Sep..1 - Oct. 31 (Cheap) watch for National Day during this time Winter Season: Nov 1 - Dec 15 (Cheapest) Christmas Season: Dec. 16 - Dec. 31 (Expensive)
Busy Season: The busy local travel periods, when the locals travel, include Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Labour Day, and Chinese National Day. The Spring Festival occurs in January / February. The Labor Day and National Day are 1 May and 1 October. Even with the heat and high humidity, summer is the high season for Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Chinese New Year in 2010 is on February 14. It will be the year of the tiger. The Chinese will have a seven day holiday at this time. A very large percentage of the Chinese population travels during the Chinese New Year. It can be almost impossible to travel by train during this time. Many Chinese that have settled overseas also travel back to China to spend time with relatives. Off Season: When Winter falls in Beijing and Shanghai it is the quite season. At this time of year hotels offer large discounts. Based on my experience of having lived in Beijing I think the most pleasant time of year for a visit is fall/autumn. This is when the weather is more appealing and there will be a lot less tourists. You can also visit nearby Beijing attractions such as Fragrant Hills and enjoy the spectacle of the changing color of the leaves in autumn or see the blossoms in full bloom if you visit in spring. Going at these times is probably your best chance to find a flight to Beijing that is reasonably priced.
Please note that the advice in this article is not conclusive. It is only to be used as a guide. I have found airfares can vary from day to day and what is traditionally the cheaper day may change. The main thing to remember when searching for a flight to Beijing is to have a good look around at different booking sites and also maybe call a travel agent. When using a travel agent make sure you ask for the lowest price. I have experience with agents who do not give you the lowest price unless you ask.
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If you are flying from the USA and really want direct Beijing flights you can fly from Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC. Delta airlines has announced that Seattle will also have direct Beijing flights.
If flying from Europe and looking for direct Beijing flights you can go from Budapest, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Istanbul, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Rome and Vienna.
The information on this page is only a guide. For actual flights at the time of your travels use the search page above.
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