I'm considering a visit to mainland China that might entail doing both Beijing and Shanghai. It would be for two pax starting out in Bangkok. Ideally, we would fly nonstop to PVG, then directly to PEK, then nonstop back to Bangkok-- just three flights. Do either Air China or China Eastern offer air passes to accomplish this? Failing that, are we best off buying three one-ways or two one-ways with a "stopover"? Or should we just scale it back and do one city on this visit and save the other for the next time?

Many thanks.

I'm considering a visit to mainland China that might entail doing both Beijing and Shanghai. It would be for two pax starting out in Bangkok. Ideally, we would fly nonstop to PVG, then directly to PEK, then nonstop back to Bangkok-- just three flights. Do either Air China or China Eastern offer air passes to accomplish this? Failing that, are we best off buying three one-ways or two one-ways with a "stopover"? Or should we just scale it back and do one city on this visit and save the other for the next time?
Many thanks.

The only air passes I've heard of cost around $15k, are good for 20 years or so, and qualify the holder for deep discounts on all flights with a certain airline or group of airlines, often with space available upgrades as an added perk.

In your situation, I would look into booking a RT or open jaw on TG (these cost less than $300 ex-China right now and I can't imagine things are all that different ex-BKK) and a oneway between PEK and PVG (it is almost always cheaper southbound than northbound, but northbound fares can be good as well) to close the gap.

In your situation, I would look into booking a RT or open jaw on TG (these cost less than $300 ex-China right now and I can't imagine things are all that different ex-BKK) and a oneway between PEK and PVG (it is almost always cheaper southbound than northbound, but northbound fares can be good as well) to close the gap.

Thanks for the tip. I've priced out TG roundtrips BKK-PEK and they're coming out at $500 more or less, which is pretty steep for a four-hour flight. Same same price for SQ via SIN, which doubles the flight time and adds a transit stop but does come with SQ service. Because I love SQ and a stopover in Singapore for a couple of hours or a couple of days could be useful, I might try to finagle it that way. Then the question becomes Beijing or Shanghai. Given the timing (Christmas Eve weekend), I'm leaning towards Shanghai. That's been discussed plenty in other threads, so I'll peruse those in making the decision.

Thanks for the tip. I've priced out TG roundtrips BKK-PEK and they're coming out at $500 more or less,

If you spend some time calling agents in BKK, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do a lot better than that. However, since it's probably too early to book special fares for next xmas, any calls now would be for research purposes only.