Continental celebrates first NY to Shanghai direct flight with $315 fare

A lot of us over here have friends that we miss terribly over in the U.S., but our repeated pleas to have them come and visit are usually met with a sad shrug and something along the lines of, “We're in the middle of an economic crisis over here. I ain't got funds, man.”

So when we see a deal like this, we gleefully forward it to everyone we know, just hoping someone will bite: To celebrate their new nonstop route, Continental Airlines is flying people between New York (and other U.S. locations) and Shanghai for $315 each way from March 25 to May 31.

Sure, that's $315 before they add excise tax, passenger facility charges, September 11th security fees and anything else they can come up with before you hit the pay button... and since it's a U.S. airlines flying out of Newark, you can probably expect to be twiddling your thumbs on the tarmac for half your trip and then arrive here to find your luggage lost... but have you ever seen a base fare so low? That's cheaper than flying to Mexico!

Please come on over, guys? We've got a really comfy couch prepared all nicened up for you.