Lying on the high Tibetan Plateau in the far west of China, Tibet is a region that can be hard to get to, making it a little more expensive than other locations across Asia. Flights into Tibet are limited to only those from mainland China and Nepal, with Nepal being the only international airport with direct flights to Lhasa.
With costs being so high for flights to Lhasa, anyone with a tight schedule or who prefers to fly rather than take the train should be looking around on the internet for the lowest possible price. In addition to using a local travel agent for flights, there is a wealth of internet-based flight comparison websites that will do much of the legwork for you.
Learn to Use Cheap Flight Search Engine
There are literally thousands of websites that claim they have the cheapest flights on the internet, and some of them are actually correct in their claims. Out of the thousands of flight comparison websites, there are a handful that stand out as more popular, mainly due to actually offering the cheapest flights on the web for some of their destinations.
Taking the Cheapest Flight to Lhasa
Of the many sites that offer help in finding you that cheapest flight, there are four that stand out above the rest as more popular with regular fliers. When it comes down to the actual cost, there is little between many of the websites when booking flights several months in advance. However, for flights at shorter notice, the variance is more prominent.
Kayak – US$ 242 One-Way Chengdu to Lhasa
Kayak, one of the top sites, is a major site for finding cheaper flights at short notice. However, they are massively invested in what are known as hacker flights on short-notice bookings. This means that they can offer cheaper return flights using different airlines for outbound and inbound flights, but do not guarantee that you will return to the same airport you departed from in your home country. Some return flights even have no defined destination, so you can end up hundreds of miles from where you started out.
Google Flights – US$ 240 One-Way Chengdu to Lhasa
When it comes to speed and responsiveness, nothing matches Google Flights for getting your results fast. In terms of cheap flights, it is comparable with the other four top sites, and has the advantage of offering a cheaper flight close to your requested travel dates. You can also use your Google account to keep track of the smallest price change on your search settings through your Gmail, allowing you to track price changes in real time.
Momondo – US$ 242 One-Way Chengdu to Lhasa
Similar to Google Flights, though much more colorful, Momondo is one of the best sites for multi-city flights, with short stops in between your destinations, which is ideal for those visiting several places in China before heading to Tibet. Multiple tabs show you the difference between the “best”, “fastest”, and “cheapest” flights available for the dates you are searching, and also offer cheaper flights on dates either side of your travel date. They are also well known for having better prices on short notice flights to international destinations around the world.
Expedia – US$ 289 One-Way Chengdu to Lhasa
Expedia, one of the oldest of all the comparison sites, is also one of the slowest in terms of results, despite being one of the best for prices. The filters on flight details for important things are simple and straightforward, with options for flights to nearby airports included in the search results. It also saves your recent searches on its “scratchpad”, so logged in or not, you can retrieve them at a later date. It also tells you how many people are booking the same flights in real time, to give you an idea of how fast those flights may sell out.
However good the price seems on the comparison website, it is important to check it with the airline and booking agent as well, as there can be changes to the actual price you will pay. Some sites include airport taxes and supplements, while others do not, and you will not know which until you go to book. Prices can also change within hours, as demand increases.
Get to Know the Cheap Airline Carriers
If you are looking for a budget airline to take you to Lhasa from China, then you are out of luck. Only Chinese-based airlines are permitted to run flights to Lhasa in Tibet, and there are only four carriers that run these flights from all eight of the major departure points in China for Tibet and from Kathmandu in Nepal. Air China, Tibet Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and East Airlines are the carriers with flights to Tibet from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Shanghai, Shangri-La, Xi’an, Xining, and Kathmandu.
Four Airlines run flights to Tibet from all eight of the major departure points in China
China does have budget airlines for domestic flights, such as 9 Air, Beijing Capital Airlines, Colorful Guizhou Airlines, China United Airlines, Jiangxi Air, Lucky Air, Ruili Airlines, Spring Airlines, Urumqi Air, and West Air. However, none of these cheaper domestic airlines run flights to Lhasa. They can be very useful for domestic flights within China though, to take you from your arrival locations into China to locations that have shorter and cheaper flights to Tibet with the main airlines. The Details of the Flights to Lhasa from China:
Beijing to Lhasa Flight: Flights from the Chinese capital take around 6 hours, depending on connections, and can cost as much as US$ 500 per person for an economy ticket. However, there are only around three flights a day to Lhasa.
Chengdu to Lhasa Flight: With around 12 flights per day, Chengdu is one of the most popular departure locations for Tibet. Flights cost around US$ 280 and take just 2 hours 30 minutes, with almost all flights being non-stop to the Tibetan capital.
Chongqing to Lhasa Flight: At just 2 hours 50 minutes, flights from Chongqing are fast and easy to obtain, with more than ten flights per day. Flights normally cost from around US$ 290 per person for economy tickets and are all direct non-stop flights.
Kunming to Lhasa Flight: Kunming in Yunnan Province is not the most popular departure location for Tibet but does have four direct non-stop flights to Lhasa every day. At a cost of around US$ 265 per person for an economy ticket, the 3.5-hour flights are a good deal for tourists to Tibet.
Shanghai to Lhasa Flight: Shanghai does not have non-stop direct flights to Lhasa but does have around five connecting and stopover flights that take from 7 to 9 hours to get to Lhasa. At around US$ 515 per person for an economy ticket, it is the most expensive route to Lhasa, and not the most popular because of the cost and time.
Shangri-La to Lhasa Flight: There is only one direct non-stop flight to Lhasa per day from Shangri-La, although there are two other connecting flights per day. Flights take just two hours to get to Lhasa, and cost as little as US$ 211, making the flight the lowest cost route to Tibet from mainland China.
Xi’an to Lhasa Flight: Lying right in the middle of China, Xi’an is a popular departure location for tourists flying to Tibet, as it is a major tourist destination itself. Flights cost around US$ 350 per person for an economy ticket and take around 3 hours 20 minutes to get to Lhasa.
Xining to Lhasa Flight: The start of the Qinghai Tibet Railway, Xining is one of the shortest routes to Lhasa by flight and takes just 2 hours 30 minutes for the direct flights. With five flights per day running direct to Lhasa, at a cost of around US$ 283 per person, this is a convenient departure airport for travelers to Tibet.
Sign up Multiple Airlines Membership and Wait for Promotions
Once you have decided on which are the best websites or carriers to get the best prices for your flights to China and Tibet, then it is time to make sure that you do not miss their best deals. All of the sites have free sign-up options that mean you can get the latest deals for your saved searches direct to your email or news feed. It is a good idea to opt out of the “receive other promotional offers” when you sign up, so your inbox and feed does not get clogged with unrelated offers from their partner sites and companies.
Choose the Perfect Flight Window for Cheap Flights Tickets
Aside from searching for the cheapest flights available, there are other options to choose to try and get the lowest cost for your international flights to China for your tour to Tibet. The high season for tourism in Tibet runs from June to September, with shoulder seasons that incorporate April to May and October to November. Which means the low season, from December to February, is the cheapest time for flights to China and Tibet. Traveling Tibet in winter is not as cold as people think, and with fewer tourists traveling to both China and Tibet during the winter months, it can make the trip a lot cheaper.
There are fewer tourists in off-season
There are also times to avoid when traveling to Tibet for flight and holiday costs. Summer in Tibet is the peak season, and flights are costlier than at the other times in the year. You should also avoid the first week of October, which is the National Day holiday in China. This is the week when almost all the Chinese people taking a holiday do their traveling, and Tibet is at its busiest during this week. There have even been times when the Tibet Tourist bureau in Lhasa refused to issue permits for travel to the region during this week.
Book Flight Legs Separately
Another way to save money on flights to Lhasa is to break the journey down a little. Train travel in China is relatively cheap, and if you have the time to travel across China from Beijing to Chengdu, Kunming, or Shangri-La, you can get much cheaper flight costs, even with the cost of the train journey.
You can also get cheaper international flights to China by making the trip in shorter hops. Long-haul flights are notoriously more expensive than short-haul flights that cover the same distance, and three or four shorter flights to get to China can make a world of difference to your wallet.
Use Your Flight Mileage or Travel Point for Discount
If you have credit cards, and many people do these days, it is useful to sign up for those that offer flight discounts or air-miles as part of their promotions. Most of the major credit cards offer air-miles or travel points that accumulate as you spend money using your credit card throughout the year, and these can often make a big difference to the cost of a major long-haul flight such as that to China from the western countries.
