Cheap flights from London to Chengdu

November is the cheapest month on this route, and the price calendar on this page shows how every other month compares. Late autumn and winter are usually the quietest stretches, while the weeks around Chinese New Year and the Christmas holidays lift fares in both directions. Flying out midweek from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted or London City tends to cost less than a Friday or Sunday departure, and a longer layover is often what you trade for a lower ticket. For spring and summer travel, book a few months ahead rather than at the last minute.

Every airline listed for this route — China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Etihad Airways, Finnair, Qatar Airways, Hainan Airlines, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Shenzhen Airlines and Tianjin Airlines — sells it as a connecting trip. The mix is network carriers rather than budget airlines, so the differences show up in the fare family, the baggage allowance and the length of the connection. Gulf and European carriers usually put you on one through-ticket with a checked bag, while pairing a Chinese carrier with a European one can mean separate tickets and a self-transfer.

Chengdu has two airports in the listings for this route, Chengdu and Tianfu International Airport, and your ticket decides which one you land at, so check it before you arrange a pickup. Both sit outside the city centre, and the run in can take a while in traffic. The metro, airport buses and taxis are the usual ways into town, and the metro keeps moving when the roads do not. If you land late, sort your onward transport before you fly rather than at the kerb.

Currency

CNY (¥)

Power sockets

Type A, C, I · 220 V

Language

Putonghua

Emergency number

110, 119, 120

Driving side

right

Calling code

+86

Internet domain

.cn, .中国

Population of Chengdu

20.9 M (2020)

Time zone

UTC+08 (Asia/Shanghai)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check which London airport your fare leaves from, since Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City are not interchangeable.
• Confirm the baggage allowance on every leg, because connecting fares often mix airlines with different rules.
• If your itinerary is two separate tickets, make sure the gap leaves time to clear immigration and check your bag in again.
• Sort your entry documents for China before you pay, including any transit rules if you change planes en route.
• Compare the price calendar around November, the cheapest month, before you fix your dates.
• Book early if you plan to travel around Chinese New Year, when this route gets busy in both directions.