$377 Find Cheap Flights from Shanghai to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Shanghai to San Francisco departing on 10/15. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Shanghai to San Francisco.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Shanghai to San Francisco.
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Flights Deals

Cheap Flights from Shanghai to San Francisco

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Shanghai to San Francisco that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Shanghai to San Francisco

Thu, Oct 9 - Mon, Apr 6
Philippine Airlines Logo
4:00 pm - 8:50 pmPVG-SFO
19h 50m1 stop
Philippine Airlines Logo
11:25 pm - 2:55 pmSFO-PVG
24h 30m1 stop
$730Philippine Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Nov 25 - Wed, Apr 8
Asiana Airlines Logo
4:20 pm - 3:00 pmPVG-SFO
14h 40m1 stop
Asiana Airlines Logo
11:30 pm - 10:05 amSFO-PVG
19h 35m1 stop
$743Asiana Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 14 - Thu, Nov 6
Korean Air Logo
8:50 am - 10:40 amPVG-SFO
16h 50m1 stop
Korean Air Logo
11:40 am - 8:25 pmSFO-PVG
16h 45m1 stop
$747Korean Air
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 3 - Wed, Sep 10
Cathay Pacific Logo
8:35 am - 11:30 amPVG-SFO
17h 55m1 stop
Cathay Pacific Logo
1:40 pm - 11:55 pmSFO-PVG
19h 15m1 stop
$764Cathay Pacific
Find Deal
Wed, Oct 22 - Mon, Dec 8
Korean Air Logo
8:50 am - 10:40 amPVG-SFO
16h 50m1 stop
Korean Air Logo
11:40 am - 8:25 pmSFO-PVG
16h 45m1 stop
$767Korean Air
Find Deal
Thu, Sep 4 - Tue, Oct 14
Cathay Pacific Logo
5:40 pm - 10:55 pmPVG-SFO
20h 15m1 stop
Cathay Pacific Logo
11:10 pm - 12:10 pmSFO-PVG
22h 00m1 stop
$777Cathay Pacific
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 1 - Thu, Sep 11
China Southern Logo
6:35 am - 8:30 pmPVG-SFO
28h 55m2 stops
China Southern Logo
12:35 am - 4:15 pmSFO-PVG
24h 40m1 stop
$782China Southern
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 1 - Mon, Sep 8
China Southern Logo
8:50 am - 8:30 pmSHA-SFO
26h 40m2 stops
China Southern Logo
12:35 am - 10:20 pmSFO-SHA
30h 45m2 stops
$784China Southern
Find Deal
Tue, Sep 30 - Sun, Oct 12
ANA Logo
1:35 pm - 4:30 pmSHA-SFO
17h 55m1 stop
ANA Logo
12:15 pm - 12:15 pmSFO-SHA
33h 00m1 stop
$1,178ANA
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 29 - Sun, Oct 12
ANA Logo
1:35 pm - 7:25 amSHA-SFO
32h 50m2 stops
ANA Logo
12:15 pm - 12:15 pmSFO-SHA
33h 00m1 stop
$1,206ANA
Find Deal
Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Shanghai to San Francisco

 
Snippets provided in this section are AI-generated based on a summarization of KAYAK-commissioned articles. The articles are presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the articles are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Airlines
United Airlines

United Polaris offers lie-flat seats with aisle access, ideal for long-haul comfort.


United Polaris Lounge offers seated meals and less crowded space for premium passengers.

China Eastern

China Eastern Business Class features lie-flat seats with direct aisle access for long-haul flights.


China Eastern offers free baggage allowance of at least 50 lbs for long-haul passengers.

Airports
PVG

For a quick trip to PVG, take the Maglev train. It reaches the airport in under 10 minutes, running every 15 minutes.

Read more about PVGby Daniel Scheffler
SFO

Upon arrival at SFO, use BART for a cost-effective trip to the city. The station is in the International Terminal.

Read more about SFOby Blane Bachelor
Our travel experts
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on United Airlines

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Read more
Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader

Expert on China Eastern

Robert Schrader

Robert Schrader

One of the web's original travel bloggers, Robert launched his first site Leave Your Daily Hell in 2009. Since then, he's expanded into destination niche sites (one each for Japan, Thailand and Taiwan), in addition to having written for the inflight magazines of Singapore Airlines and Korean Air. Overall, he's visited nearly 100 countries, and flies business as often as possible.

Read more
Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler

Expert on PVG

Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler is a travel writer, podcaster, and producer. Born in Africa, bred in Europe and now living in America he has traveled to 140 countries (and all 50 U.S. states). Plus he has stayed at over 2500 hotels across the globe. His original shows Everywhere and Without Maps (available on Spotify) showcase his beliefs, travel is about humanity and sharing that beauty. And thus it reminds you that you shouldn’t believe everything you think.

Read more
Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Expert on SFO

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor is a journalist and editor specializing in travel and aviation who writes regularly for top global outlets. Born and raised in Florida, Blane has worked and lived in four countries, including the Netherlands, where she’s currently based with her family. Her favorite way to get to know a new destination is by running or riding a bike around town – or hearing a spooky ghost story about local history. She will always choose the window seat.

Read more
Useful Info

KAYAK's insights & trends for Shanghai to San Francisco flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Shanghai to San Francisco to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest Shanghai to San Francisco flight route?

The cheapest price for flight routes found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks for round-trip flights from Shanghai to San Francisco.

Our data shows that the cheapest route for a return flight from Shanghai to San Francisco cost $1,073 and was between Shanghai Pu Dong Airport (PVG) and San Francisco (SFO). On average, the best prices are found if you fly this route. The average price for a return flight for this route is $1,073.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Shanghai to San Francisco?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Shanghai to San Francisco clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

Your flight ticket price will generally be cheaper if you fly to San Francisco on a Wednesday and more expensive on a Saturday. On your return trip to Shanghai, you should consider flying back on a Thursday, and avoid Saturdays for better deals.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Shanghai to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Shanghai to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Shanghai to San Francisco is February, where tickets cost $769 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and January, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,745 and $1,584 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Shanghai to San Francisco?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Shanghai to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Shanghai to San Francisco, you should book around 2 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 25 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Cheapest flight$377
Flight from Shanghai Pudong Airport to San Francisco

When to book flights from Shanghai to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Shanghai to San Francisco based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Shanghai to San Francisco

  • What is the cheapest flight from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Shanghai to San Francisco was $377 for a one-way ticket and $730 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Shanghai and San Francisco?

    Yes, you’ll need a passport to travel to San Francisco from Shanghai.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    When flying out of Shanghai you will be using one of these airports: Shanghai Pu Dong or Shanghai Hongqiao Intl. You will be landing at San Francisco.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld are the airline alliances operating flights between Shanghai and San Francisco, with Star Alliance being the most commonly used for this route.

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to San Francisco from Shanghai?

    Seoul is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from Shanghai to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Shanghai to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Shanghai is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to San Francisco with an airline and back to Shanghai with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Shanghai to San Francisco?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to San Francisco from Shanghai up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Prefer to fly direct from Shanghai to San Francisco?

Find which airlines fly direct from Shanghai to San Francisco Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Shanghai to San Francisco

Monday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Tuesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Wednesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Thursday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Friday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Saturday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Sunday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights

Direct returns

San Francisco to Shanghai

Monday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Tuesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Wednesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Thursday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Friday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Saturday

China Eastern, United Airlines

China Eastern, United Airlines

Sunday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights
See more direct flights

Top 5 airlines serving from Shanghai to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Shanghai to San Francisco. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Shanghai to San Francisco? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.4
Korean AirOverall score based on 1088 reviews
8.1Food
8.2Entertainment
8.5Boarding
8.3Comfort
8.7Crew
Airline reviews

Korean Air is unlike any other major airline I have flown with. The grace and respect that the staff has from check in to de-boarding is unmatched. The flight attendants this time were especially wonderful to my five little children. They helped us rearrange to more suitable seating, brought our children’s meals, and patiently waited for them in the aisles when they had to use the bathroom. We felt so welcome and comfortable. I really appreciate the meal voucher when our flight was delayed. I am grateful to have had such an stress-free experience.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, May 2025ICN - DFW
Read more Korean Air reviews

Korean Air is unlike any other major airline I have flown with. The grace and respect that the staff has from check in to de-boarding is unmatched. The flight attendants this time were especially wonderful to my five little children. They helped us rearrange to more suitable seating, brought our children’s meals, and patiently waited for them in the aisles when they had to use the bathroom. We felt so welcome and comfortable. I really appreciate the meal voucher when our flight was delayed. I am grateful to have had such an stress-free experience.

It's good overall. Flight was packed. Inflight entertainment choices were lacking.

They were very accommodating of a dietary issue. Nice movie & tv selections. Non-stop helped get through a very long (15 hr) flight

Great except for the delay in Korea. Korean Air did a great job setting up a hotel for the night. I also needed assistance with a wheelchair and they were outstanding.

The flight was on time and very quick, as expected, but the leg room isn't great in coach seats.

The boarding process for Korean airlines is very straightforward and easy. You've never met such helpful and friendly people. The food was great and the entertainment options were excellent too. My teenage boys found programs they wanted to watch while I had fun watching a full season of the Last Man - the Blind Investigator (Japanese), which my wife enjoyed too. My only complaint was that it takes a very long time to taxi at ICN (20 minutes) and the pilot had to hold at the gate for 10 minutes after our scheduled departure time, which meant we got to Seattle 27 minutes late. Luckily I had a long enough connection to make my next flight, but just barely.

Just a typical domestic poor flight nothing more. There is no food choices in such a flight. Crew doesn't really care if you are on-board or not

My second flight wasn't better than the first one. And this is 14 hours trip, crew came out only to offer food and the choices was poor. This food choices are good for Asian people but not for westerners. The breakfast kind thing was a corn sausage really disgusting. The air-conditioned blower really blow high and cold, turn out on my arrival to feel seek, that makes the trip uncomfortable. The crew didn't not really come out during the trip to offer drinks or snacks. No fruits available. Very poor service

Our seat row plus one ahead and behind we're completely overlooked during beverage service...

I loved everything, I was just a little confused on my bag allowance. When I checked in it said I was allowed 2 check in bags, but when I got there they said I was only allowed 1 so I had to pay an additional 200 dollars! Other then that everything was great! I would love to use your Airlines again when I fly out to Manila again in late May, however I want to be able to have 2 bags included this time lol 😆

The beefsteak on the lunch menu was excellent! I usually do not eat airplane food. I loved it.

Flight was too cold. I wore a regular cotton tee and it wasn’t enough. It was a night time flight so I would have thought a blanket would be provided to passengers. A 4 hour flight and no options for a meal? I flew Asiana the next day from Seoul to Manilla. Same duration, 4 hours. They give everyone a pillow and blanket and serve a meal. Why is United so cheap and holding back meals and amenities? Also, they promote too much gay stuff and DEI in their advertisements. Please be mindful of other beliefs and don’t shove your gay ideology down my throat.

Staff always with a smile and very helpful with my mom who has mobility issues.

It was amazing. I was not expecting the phenomenal customer service Asiana provides.

The seats felt very small. We were supplied with pillows and blankets, which was nice. Lots of noise from the bathroom, plus exterior noise. Made it hard to hear the entertainment system, even using my own noise-cancelling headphones. The food was really bad. I generally request a vegetarian meal and one was supplied, but the pasta was cold and hard and there was nothing pleasant about it. Two meals were served on this flight; one was a repeat of the meal I had had on the flight immediately preceding this one, which was bad enough I didn't even try it. Drinks were very limited. All I wanted was water, and on a 10.5 hour flight, I was given 3 cups of about 3 ounces each.

We took business class, It was comfortable and I was able to sleep.

For the most part, it was an enjoyable experience. It's the 2nd half of the journey was a bit uncomfortable. It was on a noticable smaller plane compared to the previous one.

The boarding process was good. The toilet could be better maintained.

This has been the worst experience I've ever had. We arrived to Ho Chi Minh Airport and were supposed to get our Asiana ticket from the transfer counter as we came with a different airline. However, the staff at the transfer counter were not helpful and kept giving us different information. We were first told by Asiana airlines staff we had to wait 2 hours so they could print out and give us our tickets, then someone else told us we had to wait 3hrs, someone told us "I don't know, just go sit and wait and we will tell you later." This was at a place in the Ho Chi Minh airport that had no coffee or food shops, nothing, just immigration (to enter Vietnam with a Vietnam Visa) and security (to transfer into the gates) but we needed our printed boarding pass to go through. It wasn't until we demanded to speak to a supervisor as our flight time was 1hr away because they kept telling us "there's alot of time left for your international flight, we will get your tickets later" we still had to wait around 20minutes for the "Supervisor" to give us our tickets. I would NOT recommend Asiana Airlines, especially if going thru Ho Chi Minh Airport as they are not helpful. (We almost missed our flight, due to their lazyness and incompetence of printing our tickets) I would suggest Asiana Airlines to have a Machine in the transfer area so passengers can easily print out their boarding passes themselves and save some money by not hiring incompetent staff that can't do a simple task such as printing a boarding pass.

Great service. They could offer vegetarian food and do more to reduce waste.

Wow very impressed by the quality and attentiveness of service of China Southern. Lived the blankets! Will definitely fly with them again. Despite language barriers, a few attendants know enough English to understand our rudimentary Mandarin and respond to basic questions. Although they don’t explain the beverage and meal service on the website or ticketing documents, they offered regular beverage cart and snacks during the beginning hours and end hours of the long, transoceanic flight. A full meal at the beginning and end of the flight as well, and a midflight small sandwich (dinner roll sized) but we weren’t hungry and didn’t try that one. The expectation is that every sleeps during the middle of the flight. We were on a “redeye” departure from LAX with a morning arrival in China, so I don’t know if this service pattern is the same for other flights. The domestic flight we took from Guangzhou to Harbin offered conventional refreshments and meals like a US flight service. Note that they didn’t offer diet sodas. If you like to stay hydrated, I recommend bringing plenty of your own. It is served in small cups like any other drink. You can ask for a bottle but they’re tiny - about 6 ounces.

China Southern was not the problem. I booked my flight through Kayak and also received a booking reference and alert details regarding departure time and gate numbers… however Kayak NEVER actually booked my flight! We were stranded at the airport without a flight for a long awaited holiday!

The connection between LA and Atlanta was too much stress

Terrible boarding experience,,food is very poor that I I . Never going book this airline again.

The crew were kind, patient and responsive. The service was excellent, even though we travelled the cheapest economy class. We arrived at our destination 40 min early, which for a 15+ hour flight is a great bonus. The boarding seemed a bit "loose", but got us boarded on time, and the plane was off exactly @ 0:30 hrs.

The airport didn‘t give me the ticket. I called customer service to ask for a refund but they kept giving me a perfunctory response and refused to refund me.

The flight was delayed hours and most flights from CS are always delayed. Plane was efficient and got us home but not the best food and no entertainment system at all.

Not good - chair back could not move back for premium economy. Not worth the price

The back of the chair - premium economy could not move back - not worth the price

It was okay. Boarding the staff made you feel rushed like we were late or something

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Airbus plane, nice and polite staff, entertainment even as it was a short flight.

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

Its good expeince but in enternteiment please be like you tube the music i like or movie

I needed to make changes to my flights. When I called customer service, they assisted me with care professionalism.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

The gate was too far away for the connecting flight

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

headphone jack didnt work for the first flight and not much variety

The agents was very rude and they charged me $50 for a carry-on bag saying that it was too big and then I saw someone going on a plane with the same size bag as me

Super surprised with the entire experience. Business class is incredible. Flight attendants around the world could learn customer service from these people. Simply fabulous experience all the way around.

Pillow and blanket are dirty. My son got multiple bites during the flight

Flight was on time. My group paid for seat’s so that us four can be seated next to each other. We all got separated. We all got middle seats, which made it more difficult to be able to get up and stretch or use the restroom. We tried talking to the employees at China Eastern and they were of no help. We will not be taking this flight or recommend this route to others in the future. Also I will be contacting customer service on how I can get our money back for paying for assigned seats.

China eastern was fantastic. I had read so many bad reviews that had made me nervous. However, I found that the flight attendant’s, and customer service check in etc. etc. was excellent. I had no problems. I would fly with them again!

Excellent! I had read some negative reviews but I found out that it was not all was not true! The staff was courteous and helpful. The flight take off and landing was nice & easy. The food was good! I asked for a second and I got it easily and without an attitude! All was wonderful!

Excellent experience however older aeroplanes used by China Eastern Airlines.

The crew were excellent, service amazing, blankets and pillow good, cabin temperature perfect, the flight on time, food was unusual selection however plentiful, price for tickets unbeatable through Kayak. Older aeroplanes used by China Eastern was the only down side.

Delay in off-boarding due to customs at SFO... pilot announcement should have come earlier so passengers don't clog aisles.

Better good than most, if not all European airlines. If you’re stuck in an economy seat anyways, China Eastern is a good choice because of shorter flight time, being able to overfly Russia

The temperature of the plane cabin is too hot. Sweat and uncomfortable. Also my food tray was broken down drinks fall off

Everything you need to know for your flight from Shanghai to San Francisco

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