Asia - Air travel within China

I hope to fly from LAX-PEK then SHA-LAX.

For travel within China am I better off reserving while there? Are prices standard? I got the impression there is only one price for each class of service for a particular route. As oppose to our daily changing airlines.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by natalie:

For travel within China am I better off reserving while there? Are prices standard? I got the impression there is only one price for each class of service for a particular route. As oppose to our daily changing airlines.</font>

Do a search here, in Other Asian Airlines, and maybe in Travelbuzz and you'll stumble upon at least 5 relevant threads.

The short answer is that discount seats are readily available in all classes, but that you usually need to buy your ticket at origin or destination in order to get anything deeper than 20% off. (Alternatively, you can use ctrip if you read Chinese.)

2-3 days advance purchase is usually sufficient to get 40%+ off on popular routes. City pairs with limited frequencies can be a bit tougher.

I figured I could go anywhere for the open jaw of LAX-PEK and SHA-LAX, since I haven't found one the consolidators that specialize in China, but...

with regards to my question of traveling within China I am looking for XIY-KWL-SHA which I couldn't find on the sights listed in the other threads I checked on. I don't think these are cities that are serviced by the airlines that offer passes.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by natalie:
XIY-KWL-SHA which I couldn't find on the sights listed in the other threads I checked on.</font>

That's a bit tricky; I doubt you do better than 20% off Y. I suggest you use the TAs in your hotels to book tickets out of their respective cities.

Rather figured those would be. The flights aren't really high priced to begin with, just wondered if I would be better off booking them on something like travelocity or in China.

While looking into an open jaw of LAX-PEK and SHA-LAX travelocity, sidestep etc... all seem to indicate I would be traveling different airlines. Don't some airlines run both routes?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by natalie:

While looking into an open jaw of LAX-PEK and SHA-LAX travelocity, sidestep etc... all seem to indicate I would be traveling different airlines. Don't some airlines run both routes?</font>

Don't use Travelocity; use a consolidator like Gateway or a bucket shop. UA, NW, NH, OZ, JL, MU, and KE all sell open jaws for little or no premium. I've recently become quite fond of JL because: 1) they fly to lots of cities in China from Narita; 2) they almost always come in south of $700; and 3) they permit open returns. On the downside, JL forces lots of long layovers/overnights in NRT/KIX.