One-Way Business Class from China to Europe for €693 with Gulf Air (Economy for €201)

Gulf Air was once the jointly-owned national airline of Bahrain, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Oman. Today, it is solely owned by Bahrain and operates its hub at Bahrain International Airport. More importantly for us, it regularly offers good (business class) deals.

Currently, one-way tickets from Guangzhou or Shanghai to Europe are available for just €693 in Business Class. If Economy Class is sufficient for you, prices start at just €201 (including 30 kg of baggage).

Depending on your travel class and departure city, prices are as follows:

You can use the form below to search via Skyscanner or Trip.com. Trip.com offers a small student discount. The cheapest travel dates are highlighted in green.

Flights from China to Bahrain are operated with Boeing 787 Dreamliners and take approximately 8 to 10 hours. In Business Class, seats are arranged 2-2. Thanks to the seat layout (Apex Suites), every seat has direct aisle access without needing to step over a neighbour. Economy passengers don’t have this luxury—they’ll have to settle for the standard 3-3-3 layout with 81 cm of seat pitch.

From Bahrain to Europe, flights continue on an Airbus A321neo LR. Business Class offers lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration, which can be transformed into a 198 cm bed. Economy Class offers 79 cm of seat pitch in a 3-3 configuration.

Stopover in Bahrain

Stopovers in Bahrain of up to 7 days are possible at no extra base fare cost. The price increases only slightly due to higher taxes and smaller OTA discounts. Here’s an example with a 3-day stay in Bahrain starting at €779:

You can use the form below to book flights with a stopover:

Booking form with stopover

Search & Book

According to the fare rules, flights can be booked until April 30, 2025 for travel through December 10, 2025. Economy Class availability is somewhat limited compared to Business Class.

To find the cheapest dates, Google Flights is helpful (instructions). For booking, Skyscanner often offers the lowest prices, but we recommend Trip.com as a more reliable OTA. Booking directly through Gulf Air, Economy tickets start at CN¥1,822 (~€220) and Business Class at CN¥6,167 (~€744).

Miles & Points

The booking class is I for Business Class and W for Economy.

For the Shanghai – Bahrain – Athens example in Business Class, this results in:

Economy Class mileage credit is lower:

Translated and edited by Ditmar

Cover Picture: Gulf Air Boeing 787 | Photo by Slava Taukachou on Unsplash