The widest transit window of any airline in this series, and the freshest Chinese rules page — current from 8 April 2026. Ticket must start 876.
🕙 Up to 240h
🏨 Night + transfers
🎫 No award tickets
Last verified: August 2026.
⚡ Quick reference
Sichuan Airlines (3U) — ticket must start 876
Chengdu Shuangliu CTU · Chengdu Tianfu TFU
8–48 hours
8–240 hours
One night plus hotel–airport transfers
Class A hotel, 1 room per person
Class B hotel, 2 people per room
4 hours before the onward flight
Sichuan Airlines publishes the widest transit window I have found anywhere: up to 240 hours
— ten days — if any part of your connection is international. Its rules page is also the
best-dated Chinese source in this series, headed as applying to flight dates from 8 April 2026, which puts
it ahead of most of its competitors on freshness alone.
The three gates
- Ticket number starts 876 and the flight is actually operated by Sichuan Airlines.
Codeshares are out. Charter flights are out. - It must be a through-connection ticket — all segments written on one booking
reference, seats confirmed. Two separately bought tickets will not do, however tight the connection looks. - Connection length, which depends on whether any leg is international.
| Connection type | Window | Nights |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic to domestic | 8–48 hours | 1 |
| Domestic–international, international–domestic, international–international | 8–240 hours | 1 |
Note what the 240-hour figure does and does not mean: you get one night, not ten. The
window is how far apart your flights may sit while still qualifying, which in practice makes this a free
night at the start of a self-designed stopover rather than ten free nights.
Which hotel, and whether you share
| Route and cabin | Room | Hotel class |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic route, business class | 1 person per room | Class A |
| International/regional, business class | 1 person per room | Class A |
| International/regional, economy class | 2 people per room | Class B |
Sichuan Airlines defines the grades rather than leaving them vague. Class A is a
nationally certified 4- or 5-star hotel, a Ctrip 4- or 5-diamond hotel, or an airport-exclusive property.
Class B is 3- or 4-star and above, or Ctrip 3 or 4 diamonds and above, and may include
serviced apartments.
principle same-gender or travelling companions. Sichuan Airlines lets you request a single room through
the app or WeChat mini-programme and pay the upgrade difference at the front desk. If you refuse every
room arrangement offered, the airline treats that as giving up the benefit entirely — so ask for the
paid upgrade rather than declining.
The two-airport problem
Chengdu has two international airports and Sichuan Airlines uses both, so a connection can land you at
Shuangliu and depart from Tianfu, or the reverse. The airline’s rule is sensible: on a cross-airport
transfer you may pick a transit hotel at either airport. But the free transfers only run
between that hotel and its own airport. Getting yourself across Chengdu from one airport to the other is
your problem, and the two are a long way apart. Choose the hotel at your departure airport unless
you have a reason not to.
states that passengers connecting between two international or regional flights must apply for visa-free
transit at the airport before they can check into the transit hotel. The hotels are landside. No
transit clearance, no room.
What is excluded
- Award and free tickets. Mileage-redemption cabins and complimentary award tickets are
not eligible on domestic, international or regional routes. This is the opposite of China Southern’s rule,
so do not assume one carrier’s policy carries to the other. - Children under 12 must be accompanied by a guardian or a designated adult. Infants
cannot book the service but may stay with an adult without occupying a bed. For 12- to 18-year-olds
travelling alone, Sichuan Airlines tells you to confirm the individual hotel’s minor policy in advance
and disclaims responsibility if the hotel refuses. - Changing your connecting flight — date, time, cabin, routing or flight number
— may cancel your hotel booking. Re-confirm it after any change. - Flying your coupons out of order, or abandoning the trip yourself, forfeits the service with no
refund.
Booking it from outside China
Sichuan Airlines’ own rules point you at three channels: the Sichuan Airlines app or WeChat
mini-programme, under Service Hall then Transit Hotel; the 95378 hotline; or an authorised agent, overseas
office or travel agency. That is fine if you are in China. It is much less useful if you are booking from
Europe without WeChat and without a Chinese phone number, which is the position most readers of this guide
are in.
transit hotel by email, before travel, at
e-bookingservice@sichuanair.com. That is Sichuan Airlines’
e-booking service desk. Be clear that this address is not listed on the transit-hotel rules page
itself, so treat it as a practical channel rather than a published one: send your booking reference, ticket
number, both flight numbers and dates, and ask for written confirmation of the hotel booking before you
fly. If it does not come back, fall back to 95378 or an agent.
A note on the 2022 suspension notice
Sichuan Airlines still has a public notice titled Announcement on suspending the Chengdu Shuangliu
Airport transit hotel service, which turns up in searches and reads alarmingly. Check its date: it
was published on 10 September 2022, and its stated reason is the Chengdu COVID outbreak
and the three-tests-in-two-days health monitoring rule then in force. The current rules page lists
contracted hotels at Shuangliu and Tianfu, so the suspension is long over. It is an artefact, not
a live warning — but nobody has taken it down, which is exactly how stale notices mislead people.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Sichuan Airlines transit hotel free?
Yes for qualifying passengers. Sichuan Airlines provides one night’s transit hotel accommodation plus vehicle transfers between the hotel and its airport. Your ticket number must begin with 876, be a through-connection ticket on one PNR with confirmed seats, and be on a Sichuan Airlines-operated flight — codeshares and charters are excluded.
How long can the layover be?
For domestic-to-domestic connections, 8 to 48 hours. For anything touching an international or regional flight — domestic to international, international to domestic, or international to international — 8 to 240 hours. That is ten days, the widest window of any carrier in this series.
Which airports?
Chengdu Shuangliu (CTU) and Chengdu Tianfu (TFU). If your connection moves you between the two airports, you may choose a hotel at either — but the transfers only cover the airport that hotel belongs to, so you arrange the cross-city leg yourself.
Do I get my own room?
Only in business class. Sichuan Airlines gives one room per person to business-class transit passengers on both domestic and international routes, in a Class A hotel. International and regional economy passengers get two people to a room in a Class B hotel. You can pay the difference for a single room via the app or at the front desk.
When do I have to book?
From 30 days before the first flight departs, up to 4 hours before the second flight is scheduled to leave. Book through the Sichuan Airlines app or WeChat mini-programme under Service Hall > Transit Hotel, or by calling 95378.
Anything that disqualifies me?
Yes — tickets bought with miles or issued as free award tickets are not eligible for the transit hotel on any route. And if you are connecting international to international, Sichuan Airlines requires you to obtain visa-free transit clearance at the airport before you can check in.
Related guides
- China Southern transit hotel — nine cities and a three-grade hotel system
- Air China transit hotel — six cities, with every partner hotel named
- Free transit hotels at Chinese airports — the airport-run layer — including Chengdu’s neighbours if your ticket does not qualify here
- All airline stopover hotel programmes compared — every carrier in this series side by side