ExceptionalNonstop · 2.5h
SHA to CANChina
Guangzhou
$120
usually $270
−56%
Most monthly lows $163–$394. Cheaper than every other month on record (10).
Flights · SHA → MEL
Shanghai to Melbourne
Best fare, round trip
$587
−15%
below its usual $690
you keep $103
Found
- Depart
- Thu 17 Dec
- Return
- Mon 11 Jan
- Stay
- 25 nights
- Flight
- 1 stop · 12.5h
- Airline
China Southern
Most of this route’s monthly lows fall between $661 and $705. The drop beats 40% of measured fares on the board, over 9 observed months.
Cached fare — the booking search re-prices live before you pay.
AustraliaMelbourneLaneway coffee, four seasons before lunch, and the Great Ocean Road starting an hour down the coast.Best windowMar–May · Sep–NovAirportsTullamarine (MEL) · Avalon (AVV)Every route into MelbourneFare seasonality
When this route gets cheap.
Fares bottom out in December around $587 and peak in October near $782, 33% dearer, across the 9 months we track. The cheapest itinerary we are tracking makes one stop and takes about 12.5 hours outbound, on a 25-night trip — ticketed under China Southern, which on a connecting fare need not operate every leg. At $587 for 8,055 km each way, that works out to about $36 per 1,000 km flown. That is below the $44 per 1,000 km typical of long-haul fares here. Across the 9 departure cities we track at a similar distance from Melbourne, this fare ranks 6th — 47% above the $400 from Singapore. That puts it in the cheaper half of the 38 routes of similar length we watch out of Shanghai, where the middle fare is $777. The best time to be in Melbourne: Mar–May · Sep–Nov.
Cheapest day in the next 4 months: 17 Dec, $587
Press a day to compare its fares
The median cached fare across this calendar is 4% higher than when tracking began on 8 Aug — $707 then versus $738 now, across 21 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 $508, on 15 Oct.
October 2026
November 2026
1Monday 2 November: $657, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.3456Saturday 7 November: $684, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.8Monday 9 November: $732, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Tuesday 10 November: $727, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.111213141516171819Friday 20 November: $743, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.21222324252627282930
December 2026
Tuesday 1 December: $733, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2Thursday 3 December: $1k, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.456Monday 7 December: $749, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.8Wednesday 9 December: $943, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Thursday 10 December: $791, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.1112131415Wednesday 16 December: $647, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Thursday 17 December: $587, the cheapest day in view. Compare fares from this day.Friday 18 December: $620, below the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Saturday 19 December: $625, below the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Sunday 20 December: $641, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Monday 21 December: $641, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.22232425Saturday 26 December: $653, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2728293031
January 2027
123456789101112131415161718192021Friday 22 January: $872, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Saturday 23 January: $890, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.24Monday 25 January: $851, above the usual price. Compare fares from this day.Tuesday 26 January: $749, around the usual price. Compare fares from this day.2728293031
CheapestBelow usualUsualAbove usualCached fares · checked 17 Oct 2026 · bands from 110 tracked fares
Cheapest in Dec, around $587
15% below the $690 typical fare
$782Oct, above the usual price. Compare October fares.$657Nov, around the usual price. Compare November fares.$587Dec, the cheapest month. Compare December fares.$749Jan ’27, above the usual price. Compare January fares.$661Feb, around the usual price. Compare February fares.$688Mar, around the usual price. Compare March fares.$705Apr, around the usual price. Compare April fares.$661May, around the usual price. Compare May fares.$697Jun, around the usual price. Compare June fares.
CheapestBelow usualUsualAbove usualPress a month to compare its fares
Cheapest round-trip fare found each month, Shanghai to Melbourne, from cached prices.
Route facts
- Airports
- Pudong (PVG) · Hongqiao (SHA) ↔ Tullamarine (MEL) · Avalon (AVV)
- Flight time
- ≈12.5 hours outbound
- Distance
- ≈8,055 km each way
- Typical price
- $690 round-trip (seasonal median)
- Airlines on the board
- China Southern
- Itineraries
- Connections on current fares
- Best months to visit
- Mar–May · Sep–Nov
Good to know
SHA → MEL, answered.
Is $587 a good price for Shanghai to Melbourne?
Only slightly. The seasonal median is around $690 round-trip and this fare is 15% under it. We do not call a drop notable until 20%, so this is an ordinary price for the route rather than a reason to hurry.
What is the cheapest month to fly from Shanghai to Melbourne?
Across 9 months of cached-fare history, Dec comes out cheapest on this route. The best months to actually be in Melbourne are Mar–May · Sep–Nov — when those overlap, that's your window.
How far in advance should I book SHA → Melbourne?
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 9 months of cached fares, Dec comes out lowest on this route. Our guide Why flight prices change covers what does move a fare.
Are there nonstop flights from Shanghai to Melbourne?
The current cheapest fares involve a connection, ticketed under China Southern. 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 Melbourne?
Lock the flight first — then compare stays for 17 Dec – 11 Jan '27 · 25 nights.
Browse hotelsMissed it?
Cached fares expire. This route has a feed of its own — follow it and the next SHA → MEL drop reaches you as soon as we find it.
Follow this route’s feedKeep browsing
Related routes on the board.
ExceptionalNonstop · 2.5h
SHA to PEKChina
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$188
usually $430
−56%
Most monthly lows $299–$460. Cheaper than every other month on record (10).
Rare1 stop · 11.5h
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$352
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Most monthly lows $449–$595. Cheaper than every other month on record (5).
GoodNonstop · 9h
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usually $590
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Good1 stop · 10h
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$590
usually $785
−25%
Most monthly lows $651–$896. Cheaper than every other month on record (5).
Measured1 stop · 17h
DXB to MELUAE
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$860
usually $1,000
−14%
Most monthly lows $924–$1,054. Cheaper than every other month on record (8).
