domestic airline tickets in China
Beijing travel
domestic flight reservations
Most 4 and 5 star hotels can make a reservation for their guests.
The hotel will get a small commission for this. The cheapest air fares leave early in the morning or late in the evening.
book online
Personally i prefer to book online. You can check all available rates and times behind your own computer. Large Chinese travel providers are Ctrip and Elong with direct confirmation of the flight. You will need a passport and creditcard to book a flight with them. Air China is the largest commercial airline in China and offers a direct booking service.
A few examples of one way rates (Yuan) which were available online:
Beijing - Shanghai:
Airlines: China Air, China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines
- ¥510 Economy (refund penalty is 50% of the ticket fare, change penalty is 10%)
- ¥620 Economy (refund penalty is 5% - 50% of the ticket fare, change of ticket is free)
- ¥1130 Economy Ticket: (no refund penalty or 5% of the ticket fare, change of ticket is free)
- ¥1470 Business Ticket
- ¥1700 First Class
Beijing - Xian:
Airline: Air China, Hainan Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines
- ¥740 Economy (refund penalty is 5% - 50% of the ticket fare, change of ticket is free)
- ¥790 Economy (refund penalty is 5% - 50% of the ticket fare, change of ticket is free)
- ¥1050 Economy Ticket
- ¥1370 Business Ticket
- ¥1580 First Class
Beijing - Guilin:
Airline: Air China, Hainan Airlines, China Southern Airlines
- ¥540 Economy (nonrefundable, nonendorsable, nonchangeable)
- ¥810 Economy (refund penalty is 20-50% of the ticket fare, change penalty is 10%)
- ¥1790 Economy Ticket
- ¥2330 Business Ticket
- ¥2690 First Class
Beijing - Shenzhen:
AIRLINE: Air China, Shenzhen Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines
¥1050 Economy 40% Off
¥1750 Economy Ticket
¥2280 Business Ticket
¥2630 First Class
Beijing - Lhasa:
AIRLINE: Air China
- ¥2430 Economy Ticket
- ¥3650 First Class
Beijing Airport self check-inn service (August 2009)
The woman in the blue uniform is staff from Beijing Airport and can help with the check-in.
bad weather at Beijing airport (delay + missing flight):
Our flights were 2 times serious delayed because of the bad weather in Beijing. On our arrival there was storm and lightning and our plane had to fly to the airport of Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. (600km from Beijing). After a couple of hours we could depart and arrived in Beijing with 6 hours delay.
The return flight was even worse. Our son flew back alone with a domestic flight from Chengdu to Beijing to catch his international flight. In Chengdu the weather was fine but in Beijing the weather was bad which we didn't know. At 14.00 we said goodbye at the airport in Chengdu thinking that everything would be okay. The domestic flight would leave 16.30 from Chengdu and his international flight would be the very latest one of Beijing airport at 02.00 at night. From Chengdu to Beijing is less than 3 hours flying.
However at 01.15 at night, the telephone in our hotel room rang and our son told he was still at the airport in Chengdu! The airplane never took off to Beijing. Because he had no chinese phone and phone number of our hotel he could not phone us. The passengers had to wait hours and the staff at the airport spoke very little english. It was a complete mess with many upset passengers. After getting back his luggage we went back to the hotel where we arrived at 04.00. A few days later, we could book him in a a direct flight from Chengdu to Amsterdam. So if your return flight is from Beijing, pay attention to the weather in summertime. Return if possible at least 24 hours before your flight departs.
The airline company (Brussels Airlines/Hainan Airlines) refused first to refund the international flight: the ticket was not-fundable. A few weeks later the head office decided to pay back the departure flight. Four months later we received the money on our bank account. (The return ticket was 1050 Euro; we received in the end 370 Euro). The domestic flight was no problem: at the airport we could choose another flight with any airline.
Beijing Airport departure hall domestic flights
On the picture there are a lot of Chinese characters but in reality it is quite easy to find your counter. The television screens with the departures times (in the middle of the picture) are in English.
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