Recently, the competition among China Flights is getting tense. The price for flying to many cities is decreasing at an unbelievable speed, especially the four first-tire cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. One main reason is the D-prefaced streamlined trainsets provide rather comfortable service as the airplanes and decent speed (about 8 hours from Beijing to Shanghai). Another reason is that more airlines are joining this competition. Travel to Shanghai has been the center of this airline competition, therefore you can always succeed to get a cheap flight. The question is which flight is the best match of lower price and good service.
The first experience is delivered indirectly from my parents. Two years ago, I booked 
two tickets for both of my parents from Shanghai to our hometown— a small city in Hunan province. The price was about $50 including everything which is only a little bit higher than the train. The airline is Shanghai Spring International Travel Service (春秋航空) which is famous for the slogan that they will let every Chinese is able to afford the airplane ticket. They managed to achieve this goal. But what else have been sacrificed? My mom phoned me after she got off this flight. “That was terrible and ridiculous!” she complained, “The plane was shaky and made me feel unusual sick. The food and drinks were not free and everything on the plane needs money! I have never had such an experience in my life!” Actually it can be expected as there is no free food in the world. These companies need profits and this is their strategy.
The second experience is directly from me this January. I booked a ticket through China Southern Airlines online from Shanghai to Beijing. It cost about $60. The airplane took off from Shanghai at 10pm and arrived at Beijing 
during the late night. This cheap flight followed the rules I mentioned in previous blogs. The very late or early flight tends to have cheap or large discounted price. You may be worried about the inconvenience and safety in the airport. But there are no worries about this, because there are several shuttle buses operating overnight in both Beijing and Shanghai Pudong airports. Shanghai Pudong International Airport is convenient, safe, and comfortable. Another airport in Shanghai is Hong Qiao Airport which is mainly for domestic or Asian flights. What is more, usually the cheap flights arrive or take off from this middle-size airport. There are frequent shuttle buses between these two airports.
The third experience is relating the international cheap flights of Shanghai. When I was trying to find cheapest flights from Toronto to China last year, I observed an interesting phenomenon: compared with other first-tier cities within China, flights to Shanghai are seemed to be the cheapest. The miles and hours are similar among these flights to China, but the price is the lowest if you travel to Shanghai. Actually I searched the cheap ticket online, I made the similar conclusion that the flights from or to Shanghai always have good deals.
The last experience was back to my years in the university. The direct flight from Beijing to Xia Men was almost two times of
the price for transferring from Shanghai. Absolutely I made the decision to stop at Shanghai and then took another flight to Xia Men. Although I needed to stay in the airport for 5 hours, I spent all the time on shopping in the airport. The duty free shops are the most attractive place for me in the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I also enjoy the cafes and wifi in the airport. You can log into the internet through your ipod touch or laptop to kill time or do your business.
Hope these stories can release some of your worries about cheap flights. If your destination is Shanghai, you will receive good deals through booking online, such as the official website of China Southern Airlines.
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