Apart from the economic factors, traveling by air is the probably the first choice of most travelers.

Recent years China made great efforts to build and expand airports. By the end of the 1999, more than 140 airports had been opened to civil aircraft. Over 80 of these can accommodate large airplanes such as Boeing 777s, 767s, 757s, 747s and A340s. Over 750 domestic, 128 international and 21 regional air routes have been set up, which in total cover a distance of some 1.522 million km.

With Beijing as the hub, domestic airlines criss-cross the whole country linking 136 cities. The international airlines link 58 cities, including Bangkok, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Karachi, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, Nagoya, New York, Paris, Singapore, Tashkent, Tokyo and Vienna in 39 countries and regions and this list is growing everyday.

The majority of the aircraft fleet has been imported from the U.S., Britain and Russia. There is no language barrier aboard the planes since all staff can speak fluent English and flight announcements are made in English as well as Mandarin.

In major cities in China, plane ticket booking is available via a computer network or the Internet. Plane ticket booking is available at all civil aviation ticketing offices, travel agencies and hotels. Airport tax is required for domestic flights and international flights.

Valuable Tips

Confirmation: If you have reserved a seat to continue your flight in China, or for a return journey on an international or regional flight, you should reconfirm its reservation at least 72 hours before departure if you’ll stop over at the boarding place for longer than 72 hours. Or else the seat shall be automatically cancelled. No confirmation is necessary if you stop over at the place for your continued flight or return flight for less than 72 hours.

Ticket Validity : The validity period of normal fare tickets, whether for single, return or circular trips, is one year. The validity periods of special fare tickets and discount normal fare tickets are calculated on the basis of related fares in accordance with relevant stipulations. It might be 3 month, 45 days or 1 month please check the type of theticket you are holding.

Airport Fee : A 90-yuan airport fee shall be collected from passengers departing from any international airports in the People’s Republic of China. Passengers holding diplomatic passports, transit passengers who stop over for less than 24 hours, and children under the age of 12, are exempt from the airport fee.

Free Luggage Allowance by Weight : The free luggage allowance by weight for every passenger holding a ticket with full fare or half fare for an international or regional flight is 40 kg for a first-class ticket, 30kg for a business class ticket, and 20kg for an economy class ticket. No free luggage allowance is granted to babies who pay 10 percent of the adult fare.

Carry-on Baggage : 2 pieces for a passenger holding a first-class ticket; and 1 piece for a passenger with a business or an economy-class ticket. The dimensions for each piece of luggage allowed should not exceed 20×40×55cm, and the maximum weight shall not exceed 5kg. You’ll have to pay if you bring more luggage aboard than is allowed in terms of piece or weight.

 

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