China-U.S. Flights in 2026: Routes, Airlines and When to Book

No airline or government page cited here names a best day to buy a China–U.S. ticket, so this guide does not predict a low-fare day. You can check three things instead: an airline's own sale dates, public holidays in China and the United States, and the change and refund rules of your fare. On the airlines' own timetable pages and releases, Air China flies from Beijing and Shenzhen, China Southern from Guangzhou and Wuhan, and Delta from Shanghai Pudong; Sichuan Airlines' Chengdu flights make a stop. The pages cited here carry no fares; for a price, send your route and dates.

Quick answer by situation

The airline timetables and releases below are not year-round schedules; the booking page shows the real flight on your date.

This guide covers Delta only among U.S. airlines; United and American publish their own timetables.

Which airlines fly from Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Shanghai and Chengdu?

Which Air China flights leave from Beijing and Shenzhen?

Air China's page does not say whether its times are local, and it prints +1day or +2days for a later arrival date. Each cell reads departure → arrival. Outbound cells name a day only where times differ by day; return cells name the days the page gives.

What dates do the China Southern and Delta pages give?

China Southern's PDF gives each row in the Quick answer table an end date between October 21 and 24, 2026, and no later dates. Its frequency column has no key, so the table counts flight days instead of naming them.

Delta's release says that from October 7, 2026 Delta increases Shanghai Pudong (PVG) to Los Angeles (LAX) from three to five weekly flights. The timetable is headed October 6 for Los Angeles and October 25 for Seattle and Detroit, and notes that flight times may change.

Is the Chengdu flight nonstop?

The timetable page lists four Chengdu–Los Angeles flights, all with a stop: 3U8631 and 3U8632 at Hangzhou, 3U8699 and 3U8700 at Jinan, planned aircraft 330. The page prints an operating-cycle code for each flight without explaining it, so this guide names no weekdays.

A Sichuan Airlines notice dated November 21, 2023 (in Chinese) says the airline starts Chengdu Tianfu–Los Angeles flights on November 24, 2023, that the return flight refuels at Hangzhou Xiaoshan airport, and that passengers may not leave the aircraft there because Hangzhou is not an entry airport. The timetable page lists Hangzhou as a stop and does not say whether passengers may deplane.

Which option fits whom?

When should you book a China–U.S. ticket?

Three things can be checked on official pages, and none predicts a low-fare day.

1. Airline sale announcements. The one dated announcement cited here is Air China's sale page (in Chinese, no publication date): sign-up and purchase from June 8, 2026 to July 19, 2026 (register first, then buy), for travel from August 11, 2026 to November 30, 2026, on U.S./Canada-origin routes to China. That window has ended, and the sale does not cover tickets that start in China. The pages of China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan, Sichuan Airlines and Delta cited here state no dated China–U.S. sale.

2. Public holidays. For China, the General Office of the State Council's Notice on the Arrangement of Certain Holidays in 2026 (document no. 国办发明电〔2025〕7号, dated November 4, 2025; in Chinese; copy on the Beijing municipal government portal) lists National Day, October 1 (Thursday) to October 7 (Wednesday), as its last holiday and makes October 10 (Saturday) a working day. It covers 2026 only; for 2027, look for the General Office's later notice. For the United States, the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Holidays page says federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) sets these public holidays for federal employees; they are not days when the whole country closes.

OPM's note for **: if a holiday falls on a Saturday, for most federal employees the preceding Friday is treated as the holiday for pay and leave purposes; on a Sunday, the following Monday. Put your outbound and return dates against both calendars.

3. Fare-brand rules. On the same airline, different fare brands carry different change, refund and free-baggage rules, as listed below.

What should you check before you book?

How much checked baggage is included?

None of the three pages below carries a date. Air China's brand-fare page (in Chinese) has one set of tables for all the countries it lists, the United States among them. China Eastern's allowance page (in Chinese) gives these rows under its item for Africa, the Americas, Canada, the Middle East and Singapore. China Southern's passenger notice (in Chinese), item 26, covers itineraries between the Americas and the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and says the display at purchase decides for 精省 and 基础.

China Eastern's brand-fare page (in Chinese, undated) says its brands (economy: Basic, Standard, Flex, Youxiang 悠享) differ in change, refund, baggage and benefits. For Basic economy the two China Eastern pages differ: the allowance page lists 1 piece, while the brand-fare page says that on some routes Basic has no free checked baggage but allows one carry-on item of up to 8 kg, 20×40×55 cm and no more than 115 cm in total.

What do the change and refund rules say?

Air China's brand-fare page shows the same pattern in economy and business; it gives no fee amounts and says the fare rules shown at purchase apply.

Air China's voluntary refund and change rules (in Chinese, undated; "2023 November edition", in force from November 1, 2023) and China Eastern's international ticket rules (in Chinese, January 2026 edition, effective January 20, 2026) give no fee table, so the amount follows the fare you bought. Both say that special fare products follow their own rules, that each change is charged a change fee except for an infant ticket without a seat, and that when the fare is non-refundable, the fuel surcharge is too, while unused-sector government taxes are still refunded unless government rules bar it.

China Southern's passenger notice says a voluntary refund must be made within 13 months from the day travel starts (from the issue date if the first segment is unused), on an unused ticket (item 12); unless otherwise stated, an international ticket is valid for one year (item 17); and on a voluntary change, a fare rise means you pay the difference and the change fee, while a fare fall is handled as a voluntary refund and a new purchase (item 24). Its Refund and change FAQ (in Chinese, undated; ticket numbers starting with 784, group tickets excluded) lists free involuntary change or refund for irregular flights in items 5 and 13.

Delta's Change or Cancel Overview (undated) says Delta removed change fees for Delta Classic and Extra on tickets that start in the U.S. or Canada; for tickets that start elsewhere, fees may differ by origin and ticket type and are shown at booking.

For domestic flights, see this comparison of Air China, China Eastern and China Southern refund policies.

What do U.S. federal rules say about the 24-hour rule and refunds?

These federal rules come from the eCFR (title 14, up to date as of October 5, 2026). Under 14 CFR 259.2 and 259.3, a "covered carrier" includes a foreign air carrier on flights to and from the U.S. An airline's own page, such as Delta's below, may state its own scope; the ticket you buy is governed by the terms at booking and by the airline.

• 24-hour hold or cancel. 14 CFR 259.5(b)(4): a Customer Service Plan must let you hold a reservation at the quoted fare without payment, or cancel it without penalty, for at least 24 hours after booking, if you book one week or more before departure.
• Refund for a cancelled or changed flight. 14 CFR 260.6: a covered carrier that is the merchant of record must give a full and prompt refund, including taxes and ancillary fees, to a consumer with a nonrefundable ticket on a scheduled flight to, from or within the U.S. This applies to a cancelled flight, or a significantly delayed or changed one, when the consumer chooses not to fly the changed flight, accept rebooking or accept the compensation offered. The refund is automatic if a cancelled flight comes with no alternative or compensation, if the consumer rejects an offer, or if the consumer does not respond by the dates the rule sets. 14 CFR 260.2 defines what counts as significantly delayed or changed.
• Delta's own text. Delta's page names a 24-Hour Risk-Free Cancellation in two footnotes: for a qualifying eTicket that originates in the United States and a qualifying ticket for travel from the U.S., within one day of purchase. A separate part says tickets bought directly from Delta can be cancelled without penalty within 24 hours of purchase, before departure, and names no origin. The page does not state whether this covers a ticket that starts in China.

What if there is no nonstop flight, and where do you collect your bags?

A connecting trip can take three forms: one ticket with a connection; separate tickets, where you are responsible for the connection; or entering the U.S. at the first airport and taking a domestic flight.

China Eastern's two airport pages (in Chinese, undated) cover San Francisco and New York JFK only. The San Francisco page says that under U.S. customs rules you take your bags out at the first U.S. stop, connecting or not: collect them, clear customs, then go to the airline's transfer area. The JFK page says the transfer desk accepts checked bags only if they were checked through to the final destination at the origin, and that all connecting passengers collect their bags and clear customs first. The desk is on the 1st floor arrivals area, right of the customs exit; screens show its position, and the desk offers no check-in service.

What do you need to enter the United States with a Chinese passport?

The State Department's Visitor Visa page (undated) says foreign citizens generally need a visa to travel to the United States: B-1 for business, B-2 for tourism, including visiting friends or relatives. You apply with online form DS-160 and an interview (generally required, with limited exceptions). The page lists a visa application fee of $185 and says your passport must be valid at least six months beyond your stay, unless a country agreement exempts it. The State Department and your U.S. Embassy or Consulate give the steps.

The evus.gov home page says EVUS applies to a citizen of China with a valid Chinese passport and a full-term 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa, traveling to the United States for temporary business or pleasure. CBP's EVUS FAQ calls it the online system for updating basic biographic information; it is not another visa. Both pages are undated. The fee depends on the date:

• evus.gov states $30.75.
• A Federal Register notice published November 19, 2025 (90 FR 52085): $30.75 from January 1, 2026.
• A Federal Register notice published October 1, 2026 (91 FR 62534): $31.75 ($30.75 plus $1.00) for fiscal year 2027, from October 16, 2026.

The FAQ also says travelers subject to EVUS without a valid enrollment cannot get a boarding pass. An enrollment lasts two years or until the visa or passport expires, whichever comes first, and ends six months before the passport expires, because entry requires six months of passport validity. For more, see the guide to EVUS registration for Chinese passport holders with a 10-year B1/B2 visa.

FAQ

When should I book a China–U.S. ticket?

No airline or government page cited here names a best day to buy. Check sale dates, public holidays in both countries and your fare brand's change and refund rules.

Which Chinese cities have flights to the United States?

Per their own pages, Air China (Beijing, Shenzhen), China Southern (Guangzhou, Wuhan) and Delta (Shanghai Pudong) fly nonstop, and Sichuan Airlines flies from Chengdu with a stop. No timetable is cited here for other cities.

Where do I find the change and refund rules, and what do U.S. federal rules say if a flight is cancelled?

Each airline publishes its own rules. Under 14 CFR Part 260, a covered carrier that is the merchant of record must refund a nonrefundable ticket on a cancelled scheduled flight to, from or within the U.S. when the consumer does not accept the rebooking or compensation offered, and automatically when none is offered.

What do I need to enter the United States with a Chinese passport, and what is the EVUS fee?

You need a visa (B-1 for business, B-2 for tourism). With a 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa on a Chinese passport, EVUS applies too: $30.75 on evus.gov, and $31.75 from October 16, 2026 under a Federal Register notice published October 1, 2026.

Need a flight quote?

Send us your route and travel dates and we will reply with a quote: contact us.