Star Alliance members Lufthansa, Swiss and Air China team up to bring you cheap flights from four Spanish airports to Shanghai, China. Tickets from Bilbao, Madrid, Malaga and Valencia start just below €1,300 and typically include a layover in either Frankfurt, Munich or Zurich.
Flight at €1,280 are available from:
Lufthansa or SWISS planes will operate inner European flights. On long haul segments, you can expect a Lufthansa A380 or Boeing 747 (from Frankfurt) A340-600 (from Munich). Air China sends Boeing 777-300 aircraft to Frankfurt and their brand new A350-900 to Munich. From Zurich, a SWISS Airbus A340 operates flights to Shanghai.
Search & Book
According to fare rules, this offer will be around until October 9, 2019. It might very well run out of availability earlier. It is valid for trips at least six days long, but not exceeding four months. While no sales period is given, flights can be found all the up to July 2020.
We recommend to use Lufthansa’s easy to navigate best price search to find suiting flight dates. You can select an origin, travel duration and month and all fares are conveniently displayed.
You may find tickets a little cheaper through our flight search. However, prices are €30 cheaper at max and we usually recommend booking directly with the airlines anyway.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
Lufthansa issues tickets in booking class P. For a business class tickets, this is not a very generous booking class, grant more than 100% of your travel distance only in KrisFlyer. A roundtrip on Lufthansa metal should be credited like this:
- 25,552 CV Points on Vistara Club Vistara
- 15,970 Miles on Singapore KrisFlyer
- 12,776 Award Miles + 2,556 PQP on United MileagePlus
- 12,776 Miles on Copa ConnectMiles
- 12,776 Miles on Thai Royal Orchid Plus
- 12,776 Award Miles on LATAM Pass
- 12,508 Award Miles + 480 Points on Miles&More
- 12,508 Points on SAS EuroBonus
- 11,892 Miles on Air Canada Aeroplan
- 8,944 Miles on ANA Mileage Club
Destination Information
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 Shanghai
Shanghai is the most important financial and commercial center of China. But not only business travelers are welcome here. Also, regular tourists can get there money’s worth. And this is great because the city is connected to many major airports and therfor we’ll often present you with good deals for flights to Shanghai.
Best Time to Visit
Since Shanghai is located in a subtropical climate zone, spring and autumn are the best travel times thanks to moderate temperatures and a few rainy days. April, May, September, and October are particularly suitable for a visit to the Chinese city thanks to the low rainfall and humidity.
From the airport to the city
Shanghai Pudong Airport is located 40km east of the city center. Probably the fastest and most exciting method is the Maglev. The magnetic levitation train takes only 7 minutes, and with costs of around 5€ it is also a rather inexpensive (and of course faster!) alternative to a taxi, which would cost about 20€.
→ All Dealz for Shanghai
If you route your outbound flight via Germany and your inbound via Switzerland, you may be able to circumvent China’s visa policy. Further information can be found here: