Why Are Flights To China So Expensive Right Now (2023 Update)

Flights to China and all around the world have become super expensive in 2023.

There are a variety of reasons why flight prices have increased, especially to China.

Below I will explain the sky-high prices you are seeing and we can see whether they are ever going to come down.

I just did a search on United Airlines for San Fran to Shanghai and it was $3700 for an economy seat! What is going on!

So, why are flights to China so expensive right now?

• Supply & demand – there are fewer flights available
• COVID scares can stop flights
• Fuel prices are higher than normal
• Labor shortages are still causing price rises

Demand and Supply

If there’s a high demand for flights to China and limited supply, prices will naturally rise. But you already knew that.

What is unique to China is that Chinese tourists have not been traveling much before 2023. But, after their COVID lockdowns finally eased, and new visas were being allowed, the Chinese tourists jumped on the planes!

Chinese tourist numbers are expected to hit 90% of pre-COVID levels this year. That is one of the biggest drivers of prices for flights to China. All the seats are taken by Chinese tourists.

Fewer Flights To China

According to the Robb Report, there are currently far fewer flights traveling between China and the USA. This of course affects the supply and demand issue I mentioned above. The Chinese government has just not opened up as much as before the pandemic, even if the people wanting to travel has come back to pre-pandemic levels.

COVID Scares

China may still have some remnants of COVID in their rules and policies and the same Robb Report article above mentions that some flights are canceled if someone tests positive for COVID. Therefore, there are less flights on average on top of the existing scarcity.

Aviation Fuel is Expensive

Fuel Costs

The price of aviation fuel has significantly increased in the last few years, and it plays a big role in the price of a flight ticket. According to McKinsey, Airlines have such a large fuel cost that it is 25% of their overall costs. So, you can imagine, if fuel prices rise, the ticket prices quickly follow.

Closure of airspace

The closure of Russian airspace has changed the routes that airlines need to take since 2022. This means that some flights are longer and prices increase accordingly. In this case, there are few such flights that are directly affected by the war. However, in some cases, it can certainly play a role, especially if you normally fly over Russian airspace

Distance To China

Another factor in the price of a ticket to China is the sheer distance it takes to get there. The longer a flight, the more it costs to run the plan, staff the plan and fill it with fuel. So, the long distance between the USA and China makes the flights quite expensive even from the get-go.

For example:

• San Fransisco to Shanghai is 13.5 hours
• New York to Shanghai is 15 hours

Compare that to a long cross-country flight from San Fransisco to New York which is only 5 hours, and that is one of the longest in the country!

Labor Shortages

The final reason why a lot of things including flights to China are so expensive right now is labor shortages. Since COVID ended the so-called “great resignation” is still having an effect on a lot of service industries. Although it is gradually easing according to the New York Times, it is still an issue in many industries.

And as a result of this, salaries are higher, more flights are canceled and a whole range of other things become expensive as a result. Many of them are used by airlines too – catering, cleaning, repairs and so on.

In the end, flight prices go up and come down again and I expect in the next year or two that prices will normalise a bit more and it will not be as expensive to fly to China.