This deal is back again but with more destinations (Beijing) and cheaper fares (~$50). Dates appear to mostly be March & April but some fares at other dates as well. Best of all is that you get 2 free nights stay in either Xi'an or Changsha.
Hainan is a 5 star airline and bags, food, seats are included in the price.
In the transit airport of Xi’an, Haikou, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Dalian, Hangzhou, Pudong district of Shanghai, Chongqing ,Changsha and Shenzhen, we offer free accommodation and free shuttle service for passengers taking HNA international connecting flight with the transit time being more than 6 hours (inclusive) at the day and on the next day.
and
Hainan Airlines International Connecting Flights include domestic to international flights, international to domestic flights and international to international flights.
To get the cheap prices:
- Find the dates on Skyscanner.
- Sign up for the Fortune Wings Club. This gets you 6% off (+ extra 2% via sale) when you are signed in. It's free to join but be aware that the site keeps producing errors or doesn't load at times. Strangely using a VPN seems to make everything work somewhat normally.
- Get a $50 coupon on their site. If you get "Got Failed Sorry! Your chances have been used up", change your browser to Internet Explorer (or something else).
Screenshot of Melbourne Shanghai fare
Dates: March & April (mostly)
Melbourne to Shanghai $296 Skyscanner. Example Fare gets you in to Xi'an at 5:45PM and out to Shanghai the next day at 9:30AM. On the way back, you fly into Xi'an at 10:30PM and out at 4:50PM the next day. 2 nights in Xi'an. Screenshot of Melbourne Shanghai fare
Melbourne to Nanjing $296 Skyscanner. Example - 2 nights in Changsha. Screenshot of Melbourne Nanjing fare
Melbourne to Beijing $334 Skyscanner. Example - On the way back 1 night in Xi'an, 1 night in Changsha. This is an interesting one but is slightly more at $354. Screenshot of Melbourne Beijing Fare
Melbourne to Guangzhou $296 Skyscanner. Example - 2 nights in Xi'an.
Melbourne to Shenzhen $296 Skyscanner. Example - 1 nights in Xi'an.
Xi'an has the Terracotta Warriors.
Via Secret Flights
The free hotel policy mentions a lot of other transit airports in addition to Xi'an and Changsha. Is it possible to get a transfer through a different airport when flying out of Australia? For example, is it possible to fly from Melbourne to Beijing and transfer through Shanghai?