ExceptionalNonstop · 1.5h
SFO to LASUnited States
Las Vegas
$61
usually $155
−61%
Most monthly lows $130–$295. Cheaper than every other month on record (5).
Flights · SFO → SHA
San Francisco to Shanghai
Best fare, round trip
$481
−46%
below its usual $890
you keep $409
RareFound
- Depart
- Sun 8 Nov
- Return
- Sun 20 Dec
- Stay
- 42 nights
- Flight
- 2 stops · 18.5h
- Airline
American
Most of this route’s monthly lows fall between $840 and $890. The drop beats 93% of measured fares on the board, over 4 observed months.
Cached fare — the booking search re-prices live before you pay.
ChinaShanghaiThe Bund on one bank, a science-fiction skyline on the other — and a visa-free transit window worth checking.Best windowMar–May · Sep–NovAirportsPudong (PVG) · Hongqiao (SHA)Every route into ShanghaiFare seasonality
When this route gets cheap.
Fares bottom out in November around $481 and peak in October near $967, 101% dearer, across the 4 months we track. The cheapest itinerary we are tracking makes 2 stops and takes about 18.5 hours outbound, on a 42-night trip — ticketed under American, which on a connecting fare need not operate every leg. At $481 for 9,879 km each way, that works out to about $24 per 1,000 km flown. That is well under the $44 per 1,000 km that long-haul fares on this board typically run. Across the 30 departure cities we track at a similar distance from Shanghai, this fare ranks 2nd — 8% above the $444 from Istanbul. It is also the 3rd cheapest of the 45 routes of similar length we watch out of San Francisco. The best time to be in Shanghai: Mar–May · Sep–Nov.
Day-level prices for the next 4 months
Press a day to compare its fares
The median cached fare across this calendar is 30% higher than when tracking began on 8 Aug — $744 then versus $966 now, across 17 recorded snapshots. This is a calendar-level trend, so an individual deal above can be lower. The lowest single day we have seen here is $410, on 7 Sep.
Cached day-level data for this route is sparse — 20 of 111 days priced, from 61 tracked fares. The days below are shown as found, with no cheapest-day or below-median call.
October 2026
November 2026
December 2026
123456Monday 7 December: $1k. Compare fares from this day.891011Saturday 12 December: $899. Compare fares from this day.Sunday 13 December: $732. Compare fares from this day.Monday 14 December: $574. Compare fares from this day.Tuesday 15 December: $1.1k. Compare fares from this day.16Thursday 17 December: $1.2k. Compare fares from this day.181920212223Thursday 24 December: $1.6k. Compare fares from this day.25Saturday 26 December: $1.1k. Compare fares from this day.Sunday 27 December: $1.1k. Compare fares from this day.28293031
January 2027
12345678910Monday 11 January: $889. Compare fares from this day.1213141516171819202122232425262728293031
Cached fares · checked 13 Oct 2026
Cheapest in Nov, around $481
46% below the $890 typical fare
$967Oct, above the usual price. Compare October fares.$481Nov, the cheapest month. Compare November fares.$574Dec, below the usual price. Compare December fares.$889Jan ’27, around the usual price. Compare January fares.
CheapestBelow usualUsualAbove usualPress a month to compare its fares
Cheapest round-trip fare found each month, San Francisco to Shanghai, from cached prices.
Route facts
- Airports
- SFO · Oakland (OAK) · San José (SJC) ↔ Pudong (PVG) · Hongqiao (SHA)
- Flight time
- ≈18.5 hours outbound
- Distance
- ≈9,879 km each way
- Typical price
- $890 round-trip (seasonal median)
- Airlines on the board
- American
- Itineraries
- Connections on current fares
- Best months to visit
- Mar–May · Sep–Nov
Good to know
SF → SHA, answered.
Is $481 a good price for San Francisco to Shanghai?
Yes — the seasonal median for this route is around $890 round-trip. At $481 you're 46% below that, which we rate rare for this route.
What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to Shanghai?
Across 4 months of cached-fare history, Nov comes out cheapest on this route. The best months to actually be in Shanghai are Mar–May · Sep–Nov — when those overlap, that's your window.
How far in advance should I book SF → Shanghai?
We do not publish a number for this, because we cannot measure it yet. Answering it honestly means watching the same departure date on this route over many weeks as it approaches, and that archive is still filling up — so any "book N days ahead" figure here would be borrowed from somewhere else rather than measured. What we can measure is which month is cheap: across 4 months of cached fares, Nov comes out lowest on this route. Our guide Why flight prices change covers what does move a fare.
Are there nonstop flights from San Francisco to Shanghai?
The current cheapest fares involve a connection, ticketed under American. We hold no nonstop fare on this route right now, which does not mean none flies — search your exact dates to see what does.
Are these prices guaranteed?
No — these are cached fares found on real searches (this one on 17 October). Airlines reprice constantly, so the booking search re-checks the live price before you pay. Fresher finds are far more likely to still be available.
Next step
Sleeping in Shanghai?
Lock the flight first — then compare stays for 8 Nov – 20 Dec · 42 nights.
Browse hotelsMissed it?
Cached fares expire. This route has a feed of its own — follow it and the next SF → SHA drop reaches you as soon as we find it.
Follow this route’s feedKeep browsing
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