Going to bump this old thread. Haven't flown to the mainland in 15 years, so dont know what's changed.

Thinking of taking a trip at year-end to the mainland China, looking at MU versus CA in paid Y. I don't have yet necessarily a preference to go to Shanghai or Pékin; will probably visit other cities domestically anyway.

However, looking at fares ex-EU in Y, MU is consistently 600-800 EUR more expensive for a round-trip ticket than CA. Despite my inclination to fly Skyteam (thus MU), that's not really worth the extra baggage allowance, Skypriority, and lounge access I would be entitled to.

Is there something I'm missing that somewhat justifies such a large price differential for MU ? Or what makes CA so much less expensive ?