£256 Find Cheap Flights from London to Shanghai

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from London to Shanghai departing on 25/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Shanghai

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from London to Shanghai.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from London to Shanghai.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest return fare
£408
Overall average: £552
China Southern
Tue 28/4Thu 7/5
LGW - PVG • 1 stop
Cheapest direct flights
£408
Typical prices: £509-£621
China Eastern
Fri 1/5Sun 10/5
LHR - PVG • Direct
Our travellers' advice
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
Air China provides above-average legroom in economy.
Travelers appreciate legroom in China Eastern's Premium Economy.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Top airlines
China Southern
Cheapest • from £408 (return)
KLM
Best reviews • 7.7 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Top routes
LGW
-
PVG
Cheapest • 5% average savings
LGW
-
PVG
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Start a new search
KAYAK searches hundreds of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Shanghai!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from London to Shanghai (LON-SHA)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights from London to Shanghai that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals from London to Shanghai

Tue, 28 Apr - Thu, 7 May
China Southern Logo
21:30 - 10:25
LGW
-
PVG
29h 55m
1 stop
China Southern Logo
06:55 - 07:05
PVG
-
LGW
31h 10m
1 stop
£408China Southern
Sun, 10 May - Sun, 24 May
Shenzhen Airlines Logo
22:05 - 14:25
LHR
-
SHA
33h 20m
1 stop
Shenzhen Airlines Logo
16:40 - 19:50
SHA
-
LHR
34h 10m
1 stop
£408Shenzhen Airlines
Fri, 1 May - Sat, 9 May
Air China Logo
12:35 - 10:15
LGW
-
PVG
14h 40m
1 stop
Air China Logo
01:40 - 07:00
PVG
-
LGW
12h 20mdirect
£408Air China
Sun, 15 Mar - Mon, 30 Mar
Multiple Airlines Logo
21:10 - 13:20
LHR
-
PVG
32h 10m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:10 - 19:50
PVG
-
LHR
19h 40m
1 stop
£408Multiple Airlines
Mon, 9 Mar - Mon, 16 Mar
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:30 - 19:00
STN
-
PVG
27h 30m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
10:45 - 22:35
PVG
-
STN
19h 50m
2 stops
£410Multiple Airlines
Mon, 18 May - Mon, 25 May
Air China Logo
11:15 - 05:45
LGW
-
PVG
11h 30mdirect
Air China Logo
18:50 - 06:35
PVG
-
LGW
18h 45m
1 stop
£423Air China
Wed, 18 Feb - Sun, 22 Feb
KLM Logo
10:00 - 09:25
LCY
-
PVG
15h 25m
1 stop
KLM Logo
11:25 - 07:15
PVG
-
LCY
27h 50m
1 stop
£524KLM
Thu, 12 Mar - Thu, 19 Mar
SWISS Logo
09:15 - 08:40
LCY
-
PVG
15h 25m
1 stop
SWISS Logo
11:40 - 08:45
PVG
-
LCY
29h 05m
1 stop
£533SWISS
Thu, 12 Mar - Thu, 19 Mar
SWISS Logo
09:15 - 08:40
LCY
-
PVG
15h 25m
1 stop
SWISS Logo
11:40 - 08:45
PVG
-
LCY
29h 05m
1 stop
£557SWISS
Wed, 18 Feb - Mon, 23 Feb
KLM Logo
10:00 - 09:25
LCY
-
PVG
15h 25m
1 stop
KLM Logo
11:25 - 07:15
PVG
-
LCY
27h 50m
1 stop
£576KLM
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for London to Shanghai flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from London to Shanghai to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a return flight from London to Shanghai?

This analysis is based on the cheapest return trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from London to Shanghai departing in April.

What is the cheapest London to Shanghai flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest return flight from London to Shanghai costs £320 on the route between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Shanghai Pu Dong Airport (PVG). Over the past month, this route was, on average, 5% cheaper than other London-Shanghai routes. It is also the most popular route.

What is the cheapest month to fly from London to Shanghai?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from London to Shanghai, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from London to Shanghai is January, where tickets cost £473 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and July, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is £818 and £743 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from London to Shanghai?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from London to Shanghai, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from London to Shanghai, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 8 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from London to Shanghai

 
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Our travel experts
Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader

Expert on Air China and China Eastern

One of the web's original travel bloggers, Robert launched his first site, Leave Your Daily Hell, in 2009. Since then, he's expanded into destination niche sites (one each for Japan, Thailand and Taiwan), in addition to having written for the inflight magazines of Singapore Airlines and Korean Air. Overall, he's visited nearly 100 countries, and flies business as often as possible.

Good to know - Cheap tickets from London to Shanghai

Cheapest flight£256
Flight from London Gatwick Airport to Shanghai Pudong Airport

When to book flights from London to Shanghai

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from London to Shanghai based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or returns with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from London to Shanghai

  • What is the cheapest flight from London to Shanghai?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from London to Shanghai was £256 for a one-way ticket and £408 for a return.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from London to Shanghai?

    On your way to Shanghai, you’ll fly out from one of these London airports: London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, London Luton, London Southend, or London Stansted. You’ll be landing in one of Shanghai’s 2 airports: Shanghai Pu Dong or Shanghai Hongqiao Intl.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from London to Shanghai?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from London to Shanghai?

    Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam are the airline alliances operating flights between London and Shanghai, with Star Alliance being the most commonly used for this route.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from London to Shanghai?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from London to Shanghai.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from London to Shanghai?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Shanghai from London is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from London to Shanghai?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly to Shanghai with an airline and back to London with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from London to Shanghai?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Shanghai from London up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Prefer to fly direct from London to Shanghai?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from London to Shanghai.
Find which airlines fly direct from London to Shanghai, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

London to Shanghai

Monday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Tuesday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Wednesday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Thursday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Friday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Saturday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Sunday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Shanghai to London

Monday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Tuesday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Wednesday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Thursday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Friday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Saturday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

Sunday

Air China, British Airways, China Eastern

Air China, British Airways, +1 more

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying from London to Shanghai

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from London to Shanghai. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from London to Shanghai? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.7
KLMOverall score based on 1450 reviews
7.1Entertainment
7.6Comfort
8.4Crew
7.8Boarding
7.3Food
Airline reviews

Empty seats next to me - wish it had been for a longer flight!!

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Feb 2026
AMS - NCL
Read more KLM reviews

Empty seats next to me - wish it had been for a longer flight!!

I’m grateful for the KLM Air France shuttle bus service to Ottawa. However due to construction and other issues related to the chaotic Uber pickup system at YUL, it’s a challenge to find the Kelios bus service to Ottawa. The signs are not clear or even available. No staff to guide passengers. It’s a stressful experience.

Terrible last row seats many seats available but no offer to move to better seat

At the airport, terrible, I do not want to even remember it. It was too humiliating for a business class passenger.

They forgot to serve food and the crew was very unfriendly. Never experienced such a bad KLM flight. Usually fly from Toronto. New York was different.

The immigration hall in Amsterdam was understaffed, so passport checking was slower than it should be for a major airport. They need to get the automatic readers up and running for non EU passport holders. Waiting in line after a long flight feels a bit abusive.

Over 1 Hr delay. No APU so no AC on ground. Plane was hot during boarding and then they closed the doors over 20 minutes before engine start so interior of plane was steamy hot and stuffy. Could have been helped by opening doors until ready to depart.

First of all we couldn’t check in online, then we learn at the airport we were on stand by for KLM’s mistake of overbooking. The seats were not comfy at all. Our luggage got lost.

Ad experience - been flying many years with them but they are losing out to other carriers with their service and bagage / seating policy. My 2 12-yo kids were not placed with the parent. Absurdity.

Short flight so it was okay. Nice crew, all very pleasant and professional. We were near the back in row 27 so just as we got our drinks, we started our descent so had to drink very quickly!

did not get a notification about seat selection ahead of time. We didn't end up sitting together.

I was denied boarding at the Brisbane airport and it seems like I won’t get any refunds from the airline

In my return flight they couldn’t identify my ticket or boarding pass, I had to go to 3 different counters until I was able to get my boarding pass. The food was on, it was the bear minimum. They didn’t even recognise that I was a Muslim and can’t eat meat, chicken or pork. In one of the trays I believe they served me pork. The staff were very pleasant, but they need to be aware of their surroundings more carefully, one of them stuck her lower belly right into my face! I was shocked and very uncomfortable.

Overall I had good experience with China Southern airline. Nothing to claim. I hoped they could improve the meal quality that is.

Wow very impressed by the quality and attentiveness of service of China Southern. Lived the blankets! Will definitely fly with them again. Despite language barriers, a few attendants know enough English to understand our rudimentary Mandarin and respond to basic questions. Although they don’t explain the beverage and meal service on the website or ticketing documents, they offered regular beverage cart and snacks during the beginning hours and end hours of the long, transoceanic flight. A full meal at the beginning and end of the flight as well, and a midflight small sandwich (dinner roll sized) but we weren’t hungry and didn’t try that one. The expectation is that every sleeps during the middle of the flight. We were on a “redeye” departure from LAX with a morning arrival in China, so I don’t know if this service pattern is the same for other flights. The domestic flight we took from Guangzhou to Harbin offered conventional refreshments and meals like a US flight service. Note that they didn’t offer diet sodas. If you like to stay hydrated, I recommend bringing plenty of your own. It is served in small cups like any other drink. You can ask for a bottle but they’re tiny - about 6 ounces.

China Southern was not the problem. I booked my flight through Kayak and also received a booking reference and alert details regarding departure time and gate numbers… however Kayak NEVER actually booked my flight! We were stranded at the airport without a flight for a long awaited holiday!

The connection between LA and Atlanta was too much stress

Terrible boarding experience,,food is very poor that I I . Never going book this airline again.

The crew were kind, patient and responsive. The service was excellent, even though we travelled the cheapest economy class. We arrived at our destination 40 min early, which for a 15+ hour flight is a great bonus. The boarding seemed a bit "loose", but got us boarded on time, and the plane was off exactly @ 0:30 hrs.

The airport didn‘t give me the ticket. I called customer service to ask for a refund but they kept giving me a perfunctory response and refused to refund me.

The ticket was last minute buy so no concerns about the pricing this time, but the crew in general could have been more accommodating, helpful.

CTU-KMG-CNX with 1.5 hr connection at KMG. Doable but just barely bc immigration exit from China is at the last flight leg, here: KMG to CNX. We hauled out of the domestic terminal to reenter at the international departures (luggage checked thru to CNX thankfully). Immigration had only two agents, even though KMG gets a HUGE number of foreigners. It took forever for such a shot line. Then security also took a while, so I just just made the connection. Recommend if you exit China with domestic international transfer, plan for 2+ hrs to avoid a heart attack. Airline personnel don’t suffer if you miss the flight, you do. Plan accordingly.

China Eastern as a member of Sky Alliance airlines should have the same standards overall of their partners, Besides the seats comforts everything else is bellow the standard for a business class travelers. A BIG ISSUE FOR NON-CHINESE PASSENGERS IS THE ABILITY TO CHECK IN ONLINE, by making so difficult or almost impossible there is no chance to get a seat assignment ahead of time then go to the airport and get what is left. THIS IS NOT a SKY TEAM modality.

China Eastern as a member of Sky Alliance airlines should have the same standards overall of their partners, Besides the seats comforts everything else is bellow the standard for a business class travelers.

2 parts to the journey. First leg covered in a newer plane with decent staff + POOR FOOD QUALITY but the second half didn’t leave a positive impression at all as the plane itself was an older built and the crew didn’t serve properly. Language is an issue with China Eastern flights as always, but unmotivated crew just makes it even bad.

Small plane with only two lavatories at the back. You must have a good plan to use it before or after the meal, if you make a bad decision, you will end up with standing in front of the toilet for a while till the food carts empty. The good thing is even there’s a slightly delayed, the plane is still arriving on time which is superb!!

The only personel that smiled at all were the flights attendants. Desk agents, lounge people none of them had a smile or even a hello. They were like dealing with dead fish. Again flight attendants were good. All other personnel looked like they didn’t want to be there or help.

good flight. food is only so so. I actually did not eat the snack. it does not look too good on the passenger next to me.

Food no variations only beef of chicken no veggie meals

Super surprised with the entire experience. Business class is incredible. Flight attendants around the world could learn customer service from these people. Simply fabulous experience all the way around.

On time. Friendly and helpful flight attendants. The plane was clean. Having a wine available would have been nice.

Your staff was exceptional. Could teach the other airlines-rules on etiquette, and service. Excellent landings on flights, carried out by your pilots. Only complaint is long delay on return flight in Beijing, onto Vancouver.

Worst than I expected, crew was not attentive, meal was as disgusting , they didn’t even drink selections as they would to other passengers. I felt discriminated

cannot get seat information for LAX to IAH when check in in XI,AN

UA is ok. But check in was a very bad experience

I hate that you cannot check in online and when you are at the airport, there aren't any aisle seats left. Also, they could work a little on subtitles for their movies (not everyone is a native English speaker).

Nothing to complain of, the only reason I am not giving better marks is that I am used to flying with ANA and they are the top.

It's terrible that we can't do online check in because we didn't buy the tickets directly from Air china. It was not explained until I contacted Chatdeal and we could not sit together.

Communication between the captain/crew and the passengers needs to be improved.

Food and service are good. Bathroom was lack of lotions and cleaning. That should be improved.

No WiFi. No food. 250 ml of water only drink option. No entertainment options. Extremely bare bones flight

Economy seats were good and spacious. Much better than virgin by a mile.

It’s the old style plane with the old Ying Yang seats doesn’t compare to other airlines with newer planes.

I was unable to board this flight because of visa changes that I was not alerted about and I’ve been unable to contact Kayak to obtain a refund / credit anything.

My touch screen at my seat wasn't working, the films BA advertised on the website for this flight were not available, and the plane was a little dated, food was good and the staff were good, just let down by the aircraft facilities.

Did not like the seating configuration at all with 2+3+2 in business class. Lacking total privacy and comfort

Check-in experience, for business call please provide a premium experience

Lost my luggage, ran out of food choices in business class, ground crew was completely unapologetic.

Excellent. The crew and flight were great. Checking in was easy and everyone was very helpful.

Late. And service was very slow - passengers sat for well over an hour with dirty trays etc surrounding them

Everything you need to know for your flight from London to Shanghai

Cabin class types available on flights from London to Shanghai

Cabin classes available on flights from London to Shanghai. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability are not guaranteed.