£300 Find Cheap Flights from London to Shanghai – Compare and Save

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 13/9. 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.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest return fare
£586
Typical prices: £748-£1,056
Multiple Airlines
Tue 28/7Sun 2/8
LGW - PVG • 2 stops
Cheapest direct flights
£586
Typical prices: £496-£595
Air China
Sun 8/11Wed 18/11
LGW - PVG • Direct
Top airlines
Cheapest • from £586 (return)
Best reviews • 7.5 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Direct flights
You can fly direct with Air China, British Airways, and China Eastern. Average duration is 11h 35m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Top routes
Cheapest • 2% average savings
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Avoid delays
Most punctual • 94% on-time
Best time • Fewest delays
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to book
in advance
Our data shows that travellers who book at least 5 weeks in advance save around 4% compared to booking last minute.
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We hope you love your trip to Shanghai!
Flight Deals
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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 Jul - Sun, 2 Aug
Multiple Airlines Logo
16:45 - 05:20
LGW
-
PVG
29h 35m
2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:00 - 06:45
PVG
-
LGW
30h 45m
2 stops
£586Multiple Airlines
Thu, 3 Sep - Mon, 14 Sep
Multiple Airlines Logo
22:40 - 20:55
LHR
-
SHA
15h 15m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
09:05 - 19:50
SHA
-
LHR
17h 45m
1 stop
£586Multiple Airlines
Fri, 28 Aug - Mon, 7 Sep
Air China Logo
22:40 - 15:20
LHR
-
PVG
33h 40m
1 stop
Air China Logo
21:10 - 20:25
PVG
-
LHR
30h 15m
1 stop
£586Air China
Fri, 18 Sep - Mon, 5 Oct
Multiple Airlines Logo
11:00 - 10:20
LGW
-
SHA
16h 20m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
16:50 - 18:50
SHA
-
LGW
33h 00m
2 stops
£586Multiple Airlines
Fri, 30 Oct - Sun, 15 Nov
Air China Logo
11:35 - 09:45
LGW
-
PVG
14h 10m
1 stop
Air China Logo
02:25 - 06:55
PVG
-
LGW
12h 30mdirect
£587Air China
Sun, 30 Aug - Thu, 10 Sep
China Southern Logo
22:10 - 13:00
LGW
-
PVG
31h 50m
1 stop
China Southern Logo
18:20 - 19:40
PVG
-
LGW
32h 20m
1 stop
£589China Southern
Tue, 1 Sep - Thu, 10 Sep
China Southern Logo
21:00 - 22:10
LHR
-
SHA
18h 10m
1 stop
China Southern Logo
08:50 - 19:20
SHA
-
LHR
17h 30m
1 stop
£589China Southern
Fri, 2 Oct - Thu, 8 Oct
China Eastern Logo
11:35 - 05:55
LGW
-
PVG
11h 20mdirect
China Eastern Logo
13:40 - 19:10
PVG
-
LGW
12h 30mdirect
£590China Eastern
Thu, 5 Nov - Sun, 22 Nov
Gulf Air Logo
09:30 - 11:55
LHR
-
PVG
18h 25m
1 stop
Gulf Air Logo
19:00 - 06:35
PVG
-
LHR
19h 35m
1 stop
£590Gulf Air
Thu, 1 Oct - Mon, 12 Oct
China Eastern Logo
11:35 - 05:45
LGW
-
PVG
11h 10mdirect
China Eastern Logo
09:45 - 15:00
PVG
-
LGW
12h 15mdirect
£592China Eastern
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 July.

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 £388 on the route between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Shanghai Pu Dong Airport (PVG). Over the past month, this route was, on average, 2% 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 £159 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and February, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is £1,274 and £924 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 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 4% compared to booking last minute. 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£300
Flight from London Luton 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 5 days, the lowest price for a flight from London to Shanghai was £300 for a one-way ticket and £586 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.
7.5
China SouthernOverall score based on 158 reviews
7.2Entertainment
7.2Food
8.1Crew
7.7Comfort
7.8Boarding
Airline reviews

Seats not comfortable. We had requested vegan meal and it wasn’t given.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, Jul 2026
LGW - CAN
Read more China Southern reviews

Seats not comfortable. We had requested vegan meal and it wasn’t given.

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

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!

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 flight was delayed hours and most flights from CS are always delayed. Plane was efficient and got us home but not the best food and no entertainment system at all.

The back of the chair - premium economy could not move back - not worth the price

The flight was okay it was the kayak customer service that was poor, I have been trying to change my name on my flight ticket 3 days before my flight and nothing got done about it even tho I messaged so many times and phoned, all I got in return was that is was being processed and still to this day nothing has been done about it, I think it’s disgusting and un needed stress to the trip.

Weren’t even given earphones to use the entertainment system

Overall, excellent: check-in, boarding, service, and food. The Business Class seating is a little less private and spacious than the world's premier airlines, but still very good for a long haul flight.

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.

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

Food & service very good next I will pick up again

Everything was not satisfactory - the flight was delayed, staffs were ok but they didn't speak English well. I am from east Asia (not Chinese) and they didn't care enough to remember that I wasn't Chinese but persistently spoke chinese to me. The flight announcement in english wasn't clear to understand.

I wish I had been able to choose a vegetarian meal. Crew friendly and helpful. Seat was ok. All quite efficient and pleasant. Would recommend for inner China travel for sure.

The flight is not bad, but the Business Lounge is not big enough for the quantity of people they accept and there is a limited options for food and beverages.

It was simply bad and on top of that my luggage hasn't been delivered until now. They can't even localize it which is just unacceptable when they are supposed to scan the bar code they put when we check in

We bought premium Economy, thinking it would be more comfortable, but the seat is so narrow ,that my legs and feet are swollen , I can't wear shoes !

It was just fine. The sirlines did live up fully to my expectation.

While boarding at PVG, there was a ticket checking by the gate, then there was another ticket checking right at the bottom of the escalator, which created quite a dangerous congestion. Don't understand why the duplication?

I was traveling alone with an infant, so the crew was incredibly helpful. Both the international and subsequent domestic flights were impeccable.

The flight was delayed by 2 hours, although to their credit they delayed my connecting flight so people could reach it. Also their site is a nightmare to navigate on a phone. Everything else was good.

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!!

Better good than most, if not all European airlines. If you’re stuck in an economy seat anyways, China Eastern is a good choice because of shorter flight time, being able to overfly Russia

Great staff and food. Seats pretty uncomfortable but plenty of legroom. Entertainment system outdated.

Flight was fine, however we were not able to check in online, this adds to travel stress. Luckily check-in at Heathrow was quick, but we did not get the seats we paid extra for. We paid for a window and 2 aisle seats from Shanghai to Tokyo leg, but they changed us to middle seats. Not good :(

I have paid extra money for my special meal service but I received the the local food. Which is not acceptable.

More entertainment channels and better food, whatever food requirement you select.

The flight from NY to Bangalore was very good but the return flight from Bahrain to NY was mediocre

Pretty much what you'd expect for an economy flight. The crew were excellent as usual. The food was ok, but nothing special.

The Senior Flight attendant was just amazing on our Flight GF 284 on 30/11/25. She was so attentive, helpful and caring not just to us but to all in our cabin.

Loading was on time and quick Not very many people

Did not have to leave plane. However found the wait tiring with nearly a full plane boarding at Male and being unable to get out of seat due to cleaners security and a full plane boarding with hand luggage. Staff were excellent despite a long and tiring flight due to stopover.

The drinks should come before food. Unable to have any fluid unless after food. Thanks

Gulfair were on top form and everything went as planned

The boarding at Heathrow is chaotic. That's partly due to the lack of space and seating at gate 8, and a Qatar flight from gate 9 at the same time. That's down to Heathrow rather than Gulf Air. I've had a similar experience here before. Another problem which isn't specific to Gulf Air or Heathrow is announcements, and those for boarding in particular. They are difficult to hear with all the other noise and for me with hearing problems it's even worse. A simple tv screen would help, so long as it's updated of course.

Crew members were thorough in checking seatbelts and whatnot which makes me feel cared for because passenger safety is a main concern.

I was sent an email that said my card payment was not verified. When I spoke to an agent , he said my card was not verified and the flight I thought I had to booked was no longer available so I booked another flight on another airline(United). Later I got flight updates , etc., concerning my supposed first flight. So if I was charged for this flight on British Airways/American airlines, I need a refund.

The crew made it a great flight. They were friendly and attentive. They made me want to fly British Airways again.

BA has not been handling priority luggage with any special priority. This time our luggage was distinctly very slow to arrive, well after the first half of items to arrive. Business class flights cost a lot and it would be nice to have that reflected in the speed of baggage handling! (I note that this has worsened in our long experience of BA.) On a different note, we spent 2.5 hours on the plane after landing because of an airport mishap at Boston Logan. The pilot provided reasonably frequent update but more could have been done to ensure passenger comfort, such as more beverage and maybe snack services.

I purchased premier economy seats but I was seated one row off and was sitting in economy my bottle of water and cookie did not compare to the menus handed OP it in premier.

I understand and don't want food on a short trip, but tea and coffe (at least 1 cup) should be free. Nevertheless there was water available and the crew was nice.

Food is horrible. Flight was good and the staff were mostly men.

Delayed suitcase - terrible service to get my suitcase next day, I was informed it would arrive today in the afternoon (Jun/28). Now, I was informed I may or may not receive it until 3 am (Jun/29).

Seats were comfortable, but boarding was the worst I've ever seen. Way too much walking to get onboard as we had to go up & down steps several & then bus took us halfway around the airport for boarding & had to board outside after a very long bus rood.

I will never want to book with these people. They are arrogant and rude. Food was really really bad, crew was even worst

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.