Cheap flights from San Francisco to Shanghai from $434

The cheapest month to fly to Shanghai from San Francisco is in January. Flight prices, which tend to average around $742, are often lower during this time because this is during the off-season. The month of February is another great option to travel to Shanghai, with average flight prices from San Francisco averaging around $854.

The cheapest day to depart on your flight to Shanghai is on a Monday when prices can be found for as low as $887. This is often the case because there is less demand to fly during this day of the week. When flying out on a Friday, the most expensive travel day of the week, you can expect to see flight prices from San Francisco to Shanghai for around $1,300.

Our data shows that the cheapest San Francisco to Shanghai flights are usually those with departure times in the evening. Our users have found flights to Shanghai in the evening for as low as $766. Flights at noon are often more expensive with an average ticket price of $1,297.

Fly from San Francisco to Shanghai Pu Dong for the best San Francisco - Shanghai flight prices

You are more likely to see cheaper flights to Shanghai from San Francisco when booking weeks ahead of your departure date. In general, you can expect to find flights to Shanghai for around $1,070 when searching weeks out. However, flight prices might be lower outside of this timeframe. For example, people recently found flights to Shanghai from San Francisco for as low as $870 on momondo.

There are 4 cabin classes available to choose from on San Francisco to Shanghai flights. Cabin price and availability will vary by airline so perform a search above to find the right deals for you.

China Southern is the most popular carrier operating from San Francisco to Shanghai

Cathay Pacific, United Airlines and China Eastern are the top three most popular airlines that fly to Shanghai from San Francisco according to our data. Cathay Pacific is the first choice among our users, with 31% of people opting to fly with this airline when traveling to Shanghai. Keep in mind that there are 14 different airlines that fly to Shanghai on a routine basis, so you have a few additional options to choose from.

Historically, on average around 13% of flights between San Francisco and Shanghai have experienced a delay on any given week. The average delay length over the past 12 months has been 186 minutes.

Generally, flights departing in the early afternoon tend to experience fewer delays. Flights at night have, in the past, seen delays more frequently in comparison.

Tuesday is statistically the day of the week which experiences the fewest number of delays on this flight route. Wednesday has historically seen more delays on average compared to the rest of the week.

According to our data, China Eastern have had the least number of delays on this route over the last 12 months; with about 12% of their flights experiencing any sort of delay.

2 flights are operational daily from San Francisco to Shanghai as of February 2026. The most popular departure time for this route is 12:00PM, with 100% of flights per day taking off in the afternoon.

The number of flights available between San Francisco and Shanghai is 17 per week as of February 2026. The most frequent departure day is Mon, with 18% of weekly flights leaving on this day.