Star Alliance carriers Lufthansa and Air China are currently selling discounted tickets to China. From Oslo, you can reach the Chinese capital starting at NOK 14,982 (~€1,290). You can also reach Shanghai for NOK 16,867 (~€1,452).
From December 2023 through November 2024, citizens of France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain may enter China for 15 days without applying for a visa.
Our availability calendar highlights all possible flight dates at the lowest price for trips up to 28 days. It will forward you to Lufthansa with your selected flight dates.
Most itineraries have a change of planes in Munich. You have plenty of options regarding business class products: The Munich-Beijing flight is usually operated by a Lufthansa Airbus A350-900, with Lufthansa’s signature 2-2-2 business class. The inbounds from Beijing are either those or Air China’s Boeing 777-300ER, which have a similar business class to Lufthansa.
Flights to Shanghai also feature Lufthansa’s A350 from Munich. Between Frankfurt and Shanghai, you’d find Lufthansa’s Boeing 747-8 with 2-2 configuration in the upper deck and 2-2-2 on the main deck. An Airbus A340 takes you from Frankfurt to Beijing.
While most flights to Chengdu have two changes of planes (one in Frankfurt, one in Shanghai), there are also nonstop services with an Air China Airbus A330 (2-2-2 seating in business class).
Many of our readers may have already experienced Lufthansa’s business class. Generally, Travel-Dealz writers and readers are not big fans of the Lufthansa business class, even though it is definitely not bad. One reason for that is that the service is too inconsistent: From extremely friendly and quick to unfriendly and slow – everything is possible with Lufthansa, even in business class.
With SWISS, it very much depends on the specific seat, as SWISS has a throne seat in every row. While the double seats share a platform in the middle, the throne seat has its own platform on each side, which you won’t have to share with anyone. Those seats thus offer privacy and comfort to an extent that the other seats cannot compete with. Therefore, you may be disappointed if you don’t get one of the throne seats, even if the other seats obviously also have a very high standard.
Search & Book
According to the fare rules, there is no travel or sales period. You need to stay at least six days or one night from Saturday to Sunday to get the lowest fare. Availability is decent between November and December 2023 and brilliant from January 2024 onward.
Google Flights will help you find additional flight dates. We recommend booking premium fares directly with the airline, in this case, Lufthansa.
Why is booking with an airline better than with an online travel agency?
More often than not, online travel agencies offer lower fares than airlines do. We still recommend booking with the airlines directly. There are two main reasons for that:
Better Customer Service
In case any problems like delays, cancellations or missed connections arise, you can communicate directly with the airline. The airline has to take care of you because you have a contract with them.
If a travel agency issues your ticket, you may have to reach out to them first. You also depend on your OTA to forward information like flight changes instead of receiving them directly from the airline. In many cases, you may get a prime exhibition of responsibility shifting rather than problem-solving.
This especially applies to premium tickets. You don’t want to spend more than €1,000 to wind up with some budget OTA’s telephone hotline in case anything goes wrong.
Baggage and Other Fees
Economy fares not including hold luggage are industry standard by now. In most cases, travel agencies charge much higher baggage fees than the airlines themselves. If bags are not included in your fare, airlines are often the cheaper alternative.
This also applies to other things like food services, insurances or priority treatment. In almost all cases, you pay less for additional amenities when booking on the airlines’ website.
Mileage
Lufthansa issues these tickets in booking class P (Some Air China segments may get booking class R and SAS premium economy is in booking class S). Star Alliance frequent flyers can earn the following mileage for a roundtrip from Oslo:
Mileage calculation is currently unavailable.
Destination
Hotel prices in Beijing usually start at roughly €40, depending on the hotel category. Whichever category and hotel you opt for, make sure to get the best price! Our recommendation is to search on booking.com, or even on our own Travel-Dealz hotel search:
Information & Tips for Beijing
China’s capital Beijing is full of historically and contemporary important buildings. Most of them concentrate arround Tian’anmen square – which is sorrounded by government buildings and the entrance to the Forbidden City, the palace that hosted China’s emperors for more than 500 years. Beijing itself is full of attraction that take weeks to discover, but the fun doesn’t end there. Just a 90-minute bus ride away is The Great Wall at Badaling, the best known section of the Great Wall of China.
The Best Time to Visit
Beijing is located in a continental climate zone and is known for its hot, humid summers and its harsh, cold winters. Therefore, the best times to visit are from late March through May and late August through November.
Please be aware that during the Chinese National holidays, usually two weeks after October 1st, the city is overcrowded with Chinese tourists and should be avoided.
From the airport to the city
Beijing Capital Airport, the second busiest worldwide, is very well-connected by public transport. It is served by a regular subway line and an express rail way to the edge of the city centre, which takes 20 Minutes and costs about €3 one way. Further, there are 18 bus lines to different parts of the city (costing €3-5). Of course, taxis are an option as well. A trip to the city centre costs around €12-15, but often take over an hour.
It is not possible to rent a car in China without a Chinese drivers licence.
→ All Dealz for Beijing
Information & Tips for Shanghai
Shanghai is the most important financial and commercial center of China. But not only business travelers are welcome here. Also, regular tourists can get there money’s worth. And this is great because the city is connected to many major airports and therfor we’ll often present you with good deals for flights to Shanghai.
Best Time to Visit
Since Shanghai is located in a subtropical climate zone, spring and autumn are the best travel times thanks to moderate temperatures and a few rainy days. April, May, September, and October are particularly suitable for a visit to the Chinese city thanks to the low rainfall and humidity.
From the airport to the city
Shanghai Pudong Airport is located 40km east of the city center. Probably the fastest and most exciting method is the Maglev. The magnetic levitation train takes only 7 minutes, and with costs of around 5€ it is also a rather inexpensive (and of course faster!) alternative to a taxi, which would cost about 20€.
→ All Dealz for Shanghai
Information & Tips for China
China is the most populous and the third largest country in the world, so naturally, there is a lot to see. The most touristically important cities are the capital of China, Beijing and the financial and trade center Shanghai.
Best Time to Travel
Since the country is vast and extends over several climate zones, there is no best travel time for China. China is connected to Europe through numerous direct flights and the travel time is about 11-13 hours. Flights to China can be found for less than 400€ throughout the year, and there are also often excellent Business Class fares.
A general advice is that travel should be avoided during the Chinese national holidays, which span over the first two weeks of October. During these time tourist destinations are overcrowded with Chinese tourists on their domestic vacation.
Visa for China
Most European citizens will need a visa to enter China.
You can apply for a tourist visa at a Visa Application Service Center (CVASC) in your country. There you’ll hand in your visa application personally and can pick it up again after a few days. There is no faster and cheaper way.
Alternatively, you can apply for a visa by mail. The processing time will be up to two weeks, and you’ll have to pay for extra for shipping.
There are also so-called Visa services available that sometimes offer a faster (and maybe even cheaper) way to get your Visa. Check local sites to find out more.
→ All Dealz for China
Comments (2)
Does this offer also allow the usage of Air China’s limousine transfer in China?
Hi! According to Air China (http://www.airchina.com.cn/en/info/flight-experience/vip/entertainment/exclusive_transport_c4.shtml), the service is reserved for First or Business guests in booking classes F/A/C/D. It’s also a codeshare flight, sold as LH7321 (in the example trip). Based on these, I would say no, but in my opinion, it never hurts to ask.