Former SkyTeam member China Southern Airlines offers discounted business class roundtrips from Manchester to its hub Beijing. Prices start at €1,243 / £1,151 for flights between November 2019 and April 2020. All itineraries consist of a connection flight with KLM to Amsterdam and China Southern’s business class enroute to China.
KLM or KLM Cityhopper operates flights between Manchester and Amsterdam. Onward, a China Southern Airbus A330 will carry you onward to Beijing. This plane features a 1-2-1 seating pattern in its premium cabin. Sadly, only on a few retrofitted planes seats are fully reclinable to a lie flat position. On older planes, a 160-degree-angle is the best you can get.
Search & Book
According to fare rules, this fare applies to trips lasting longer than three days and shorter than a year. It has a rather generous expiration date on December 31, 2019. However, it may run out of availability earlier. Further, this offer is valid for flights leaving Great Britain between November 2019 and April 2020.
The best way to search this fare is Google Flights, it displays all available connections at the lowest price in its calender. We recommend to gather suitable flight dates there (instructions) and use them to book the cheapest ticket through our flight search. Sometimes, the price on Google will increase by €800 or more after selceting a specific return date, even it was marked with a lower price. Even in these cases, you should be able to find flights for €1,200 with an OTA of your choice in our flight search at the exact same dates.
Mileage
China Southern issues tickets for all flight segments in booking class I. This is a solid, but unspectacular booking class. It’ll yield 100% of your travel distance in award miles on most frequent flyer programs affiliated with China Southern:
- 14,146 Miles on CSA OK Plus
- 10,728 Award Miles on Flying Blue
- 10,332 Award Miles on American AAdvantage
- 10,332 Miles on MEA Cedar Miles
- 10,332 Award Miles on Saudia Alfursan
- 10,332 Award Miles on Vietnam Airlines Lotusmiles
- 10,332 RDM + 2,066 MQD on Delta SkyMiles
- 10,332 Avios on British Airways Executive Club
Information & Tips for China
China is the most populous and the third largest country in the world, so naturally, there is a lot to see. The most touristically important cities are the capital of China, Beijing and the financial and trade center Shanghai.
Best Time to Travel
Since the country is vast and extends over several climate zones, there is no best travel time for China. China is connected to Europe through numerous direct flights and the travel time is about 11-13 hours. Flights to China can be found for less than 400€ throughout the year, and there are also often excellent Business Class fares.
A general advice is that travel should be avoided during the Chinese national holidays, which span over the first two weeks of October. During these time tourist destinations are overcrowded with Chinese tourists on their domestic vacation.
Visa for China
Most European citizens will need a visa to enter China.
You can apply for a tourist visa at a Visa Application Service Center (CVASC) in your country. There you’ll hand in your visa application personally and can pick it up again after a few days. There is no faster and cheaper way.
Alternatively, you can apply for a visa by mail. The processing time will be up to two weeks, and you’ll have to pay for extra for shipping.
There are also so-called Visa services available that sometimes offer a faster (and maybe even cheaper) way to get your Visa. Check local sites to find out more.
→ All Dealz for China
Information & Tips for Beijing
China’s capital Beijing is full of historically and contemporary important buildings. Most of them concentrate arround Tian’anmen square – which is sorrounded by government buildings and the entrance to the Forbidden City, the palace that hosted China’s emperors for more than 500 years. Beijing itself is full of attraction that take weeks to discover, but the fun doesn’t end there. Just a 90-minute bus ride away is The Great Wall at Badaling, the best known section of the Great Wall of China.
The Best Time to Visit
Beijing is located in a continental climate zone and is known for its hot, humid summers and its harsh, cold winters. Therefore, the best times to visit are from late March through May and late August through November.
Please be aware that during the Chinese National holidays, usually two weeks after October 1st, the city is overcrowded with Chinese tourists and should be avoided.
From the airport to the city
Beijing Capital Airport, the second busiest worldwide, is very well-connected by public transport. It is served by a regular subway line and an express rail way to the edge of the city centre, which takes 20 Minutes and costs about €3 one way. Further, there are 18 bus lines to different parts of the city (costing €3-5). Of course, taxis are an option as well. A trip to the city centre costs around €12-15, but often take over an hour.
It is not possible to rent a car in China without a Chinese drivers licence.
→ All Dealz for Beijing
Cover Picture: © chungking - fotolia.com