Sichuan Airlines is a Chinese carrier based in Chengdu. Its first long haul route was Chengdu – Vancouver four years ago. It added Chengdu – Melbourne a year later.
Launched in 1986, it is now part-owned by China Southern, Shandong Airlines, and Shanghai Airlines, with a plurality of shares held by the government. They aren’t a member of an airline alliance.
They announced Los Angeles service from Hangzhou, China last week and it starts on Monday. So they haven’t been selling tickets to fill up planes for long. Hangzhou is an odd choice for them, except that Los Angeles – Chengdu (where they’re based) is 15% longer than Vancouver – Chengdu, and a Chengdu flight form Los Angeles would stretch the range of their Airbus A330s.
Sichuan Airlines Airbus A330-200, Copyright boarding1now / 123RF Stock Photo
They’ve got amazing fares now for this new flight.
One Mile at a Time highlighted business class fares (it’s an angled business class seat):
- Los Angeles to Hangzhou of $1,582 roundtrip
- Los Angeles to Chengdu of $1,582 roundtrip
- Los Angeles – Beijing of $1,478 roundtrip
Airfare Spot highlighted economy fares starting at $358.
These fares can be booked online, though the airline’s website is clunky, I found them using airfare metasearch site Momondo.
In terms of routings, Lucky points out the cheapest fares are to Beijing and Shanghai but those require overnights in Chengdu so are less than ideal (except for those wanting to overnight in Chengdu!).
Good luck making your connection if you fly into Hangzhou. It’s one of the worst airports in China for on time departures. For those of us who fly frequently in, out and around China we have to deal with the constant problem of airspace closure thanks to the military. They control all of the airspace and it’s very common to have airspace closed to commercial traffic for hours at a time. Trying to make a connection at an airport with these types of closures can be a nightmare especially if you’re connecting to an international flight. Hopefully their low fares will bring all the fares down across the region but think twice before flying this particular airline and this particular route.
And why wouldn’t you want the overnight in Chengdu?
Great food and the airport is pretty easy access from the city centre. If you don’t have a lot of time their I recommend the Shui Jing Fang distillery tour for an interesting education on Baijiu followed by hotpot just about anywhere.
what Ed said.
Seriously, I’d pick Chengdu over Hangzhou any day. for $350, I’d just not even bother with the connection to PVG and stay in Chengdu. Cheaper hotels and cheaper eats than SHA. And pandas. (Not the Chinese restaurant, actual pandas)
Another vote for Chengdu. Maybe my favorite city in China, and objectively among the very best gastronomic cities in the world. And hotels are ridiculously cheap.
I would only add that before booking Sichuan Airways in Business Class on the A330, consider if it is really worth the upgrade. I don’t know about their new A350s, but the A330s are really quite crappy.