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Cheap Flights from Charlotte to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 5 days
Sort by: Cheapest
Santa Ana
5h 13mNonstop
from $237per person
Ontario
5h 07mNonstop
from $237per person
Los Angeles
5h 13mNonstop
from $241per person
Sacramento
5h 33mNonstop
from $254per person
San Jose
7h 07m2 stops
from $261per person
Burbank
6h 55m2 stops
from $267per person
Palm Springs
5h 00mNonstop
from $279per person
Fresno
6h 57m2 stops
from $305per person
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Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Charlotte to California flights

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

How much is a round-trip flight from Charlotte to California?

Flight prices are below average for this route right now.

Flights to California from Charlotte usually cost between $369 and $565 in November.
The lowest price found in the past 5 days was $241 on Frontier (Nov 4-Nov 11).

What is the cheapest Charlotte to California flight route?

The cheapest ticket to California from Charlotte found in the last 5 days was to Sacramento, at $277 round-trip. The most popular route is from Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $480.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $523 on average. Morning departures are around 59% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,267.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Charlotte to California?

No, with an average price for the route of $515, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Charlotte to California?

The cheapest month for flights from Charlotte to California is February, when tickets cost $444 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $510 and $497 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Charlotte to California?

If you are looking for a flight deal from Charlotte to California, look for departures on Thursdays and avoid leaving on a Sunday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from California, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly and Sunday is the most expensive.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Charlotte to California?

To get a below average price on the flight from Charlotte to California, you should book around 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 7% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 26 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$119
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 10% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 3% increase in price.
Flight from Charlotte to Ontario

FAQs - booking California flights

  • Are there services for those with limited mobility at the airports in Charlotte and California?

    Yes, each of these airports along this journey is ADA-compliant. At Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) and at any of the arrival airports in California, you will have access to accessible restrooms and water fountains, communication assistance, and wheelchair assistance free of charge. You can also request assistance with boarding and deplaning, including during any layovers. If you need to use these services, contact your airline in advance.

  • What are some common layover airports on the route from Charlotte to California?

    You will find many direct flights from Charlotte to Florida depending on your destination, but some routes will require one or two layovers. If you fly with Frontier from Charlotte (CLT) to San Diego International Airport (SAN), you will have a layover in Denver. Those flying with American Airlines to Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) will have a layover in Dallas (DFW), while those flying with United stop at Denver (DEN). If you are flying to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with Delta will stop in Atlanta (ATL), while those with American Airlines stop at Dallas (DFW) and those with Frontier stop at Denver (DEN).

  • Are there any direct flights from Charlotte to California?

    Yes, there are a lot of direct flights from Charlotte to California. You will find direct flights from Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on board Spirit Airlines and American Airlines. Direct flights to San Diego International Airport (SAN) are operated by American Airlines. Direct flights to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) are on board American Airlines, as well. There is also a direct flight to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) on board American Airlines.

  • How can I make my flight from Charlotte to California more sustainable?

    Eco-conscious travelers should consider booking nonstop flights when possible to reduce the amount of fuel burned during takeoffs and landings during their flights. Also, consider flying with Delta Air Lines or Frontier, two of the most sustainable airlines flying this route. Finally, pack light and consider booking an economy-class seat. 

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Charlotte to California?

    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 Charlotte to California.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Charlotte to California 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 Charlotte to California?

    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 from Charlotte to California with an airline and back with another airline.

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

    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 from Charlotte to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from Charlotte to the following destinations at these prices or less: Los Angeles $538 one-way - $555 round-trip
  • Those flying from Charlotte, North Carolina, to California will be using Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) as their departure point. This airport is a hub for American Airlines, US Airways, PSA Airlines, and more. Aside from Charlotte, this airport also serves nearby cities like Belmont, Gastonia, and even Newport, South Carolina.
  • Travelers who want to book the cheapest flights possible from Charlotte to California can expect to fly to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on board Spirit Airlines. These are usually direct flights, but sometimes they have a layover in Chicago. If your flight has a layover, you will need to self-transfer.
  • Those flying out of Charlotte will usually have access to some airline lounges depending on the airline they are using. You can find the American Airlines Admirals Club in the terminal as well as a USO Lounge, an American Express lounge, and The Club CLT.
  • Travelers wanting to visit the Napa Valley in northern California should consider flying into either San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Sacramento International Airport (SMF). These are the two closest major airports to Napa Valley.
  • If you want to visit Yosemite National Park in California, your best bet will be to fly into either San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) or Sacramento International Airport, as you will have easy road access to Yosemite National Park from these nearby airports.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Charlotte to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Charlotte to California? 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.
7.9
SouthwestOverall score based on 4220 reviews
7.5Entertainment
8.6Crew
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

I liked how it boarded fast. I do not like how the seats are just too narrow, and I’m not a big person.

6.0 GoodRobert, Oct 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

I liked how it boarded fast. I do not like how the seats are just too narrow, and I’m not a big person.

Despite paying for an ‘upgraded’ seat in row 1, I had to put my luggage in the middle of the plane. Snacks were bleh and seat was small and uncomfortable and I am not large. Attendants were fine but not super helpful. Plane just seemed outdated.

Delayed for no reason at all originally. Then they said it was due to weather conditions. Communication between kayak and Southwest was terrible because both displayed different delays and departure times for HOURS throughout the day. The plane then had technical issues which delayed us from taking off even longer. Didn’t actually take off until 11:45pm when the original departure time was 7:35pm. I didn’t get home until 1:30am the next day. I was exhausted and pissed off. I am not confident if I’ll fly southwest in the future or use kayak to book.

Flight was fine. Only thing was flight was delayed nearly 2 hours. Flight was originally scheduled to depart at 7:50pm but didn't depart until 9:50pm. I got home around midnight. It was later than desired and I had to get up early next day to take kids to practice. I have noticed that last flight of day on West Coast for Southwest always tend to have delays.

Terrible delay today. also, waited 90 minutes for baggage to unload in Seattle earlier in the week.

Seated at front bulkhead for a smidge extra leg room away from home and on flight back home. Away crew was very proactive about assuring our carryons had space close behind us (because no seat in front of us our personal items had to be in a small bin overhead). They actively required passengers place overhead luggage on its side so more items could fit in bins. Home crew made no such efforts. I had to struggle back rows to get overhead bags upon landing, no crew help then either, and some disgruntled passengers as I and others retrieved our bags. There was a system that worked pretty well. The home bound crew just didn't feel like working.

Flight left on time and was early landing. Seats not comfortable and not enough space…

It would have been better if the flight was on time

No wifi, seems to be very common with Southwest currently. Everything else was normal.

I have not flown Southwest in awhile and had a very pleasant experience. From ticketing to boarding to the flight. The flight left on time and landed ahead of schedule. It won't be so long next time!!

Leslie the gate agent was incredibly helpful with helping me get on an earlier flight! I saved several hours of airport time thanks to her, and she made the process easy and quick.

the flight got cancelled - few hours before the departure time - no time to change

No entertainment on flight, no food service, could not connect to WiFi

Enjoyed it very much. Especially liked the free WiFi that Delta offers.

On time flight. Seat comfort could be better in the Comfort section.

Perfect flight both ways. On time, courteous staff, plane comfortable and cool. Best domestic flights I’ve had in awhile.

The important things including boarding and the flight being on time and safe were excellent. The disappointment comes from the comfort and amenities. Was misled by the "availability" of inflight internet- there is an extra cost. The tray table was broken, the bathroom door stuck and flight attendants were competent but not very friendly.

Flight was delayed, missed connectingnflight to DC. Put me on flight to Baltimore, had to rent a car for $200. Plane was old, wall peeling around window. Flight was packed, every seat full on small plane. I spent 14 hrs on Friday in airports and missed my planned weekend event.

You could have not cancelled the flight (AA, which I will be flying from now on) left for BOS despite the fictitious weather issues (that no one in my Boston family could see). You could have rebooked my direct flight to another direct flight instead of sending me though JFK, the worst US airport after O’Hara You could have rebooked me on a Main Cabin seat (like the one I paid for in my original ticket instead of putting me a the last row on JFK->BOS leg, pocketing the difference in ticket price But I do not really care whether you will ever do that in a future because in a future neither I nor anyone from my company (unless they pay out of pocket) nor an of my clients and partners (if they heed my advice) will ever be caught dead on any of Delta flights

Temperature in the plane was quite warm for the entire flight - actually just outright hot making for an unoleay4 hours. Crew either couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything about it. No acknowledgement or apology. All passengers were commenting on how hot it was.

The crew was good, the WiFi was amazing, but the plane was meh. Uncomfortable first class, not enough room for baggage. My stuff ended up being behind my seat, so I had to sit on the plane for 20 minutes before I could get to it after landing.

The flight was significantly delayed. The inbound flight from EWR was delayed departing because of mechanical problems. My original departure from CLT was 5:28 pm but due to the delay of the inbound flight, after arrival, deplaning, cleaning, boarding, we did not push back from the gate until 9:00 pm. Once in the air, the flight was smooth and what was originally supposed to be an arrival in ORD at 7:30 pm local time turned out to be 9:35 pm.

My bags were misplaced!!! Im in a foreign country with no bags

Bad food, bad service, cold cabin with no additional blankets when asked for (they told me they don’t provide additional blankets). I’m a frequent traveler and this is one of the worst companies I traveled with (by the way I thought that I booked my ticket with Lufthansa but I didn’t see that the flights were handled by United).

Flight is clean and ontime. Crew is friendly. Snack can be better and the internet connection is poor

United airlines, mediocre at best. No issues , nothing great . Worked for me

Short and everyone communicated with me about the changes every step of the way.

The boarding process was delayed and the miscommunication of what seats are broken

After the morning frenzy of 35 min wait through CLT security at 4;30 AM, it was nice to have a smooth pleasant boarding experience. This 6:30 AM flight was not full. We were able to get seated swiftly and took off promptly. Nice touch they distributed the old fashioned headsets with 8 mm jacks. Snacks were decent and arrival was uneventful.

Flight from CLT to DUS via MUC ticketed by United Airlines and operated by Lufthansa. 2nd leg of flight from MUC to DUS was cancelled and no notification provided. At check in , Lufthansa agents at airport were unable to locate record and wanted us to contact United Airlines directly.

I have to sit in the middle for more than five hours because the first flight was delayed. Terrible experience. No more American Airlines.

The airplane I love and I love I came back safe thank you American airlines

Boarding was very efficient. Everyone got on board and we got on our way very quickly. It was frustrating that the entertainment app was not functioning properly. I was not able to activate some of the movies offered. The crew on this flight appears to be pretty grumpy. They had no smile on their faces. I felt like they were doing us a favor for being there.

Long 5 hour and 45 min flight and only one drink service and cookie snack

This flight didn’t happen because AA agents didn’t let us board the flight

Would have been good to have a meal since it was a 5.5 hour flight

Plane was good but was delayed. probably not AA fault but caused a 1 hour delay. Seating was cramped.

Poor availability of food. Cold cabin temperature. Extremely long waiting time for a flight attendant to respond to a call button signal.

Flflight crew were amazing, kind, and considerate. Fofood choices were limited, and didn’t have a variation.

I was hoping that the food would be a little bit more selection,, but I understand with the airlines what they are going through flight was excellent

My experience with Frontier was terrible. We were delayed for 2 hours. At one point during the wait at the gate I left to go get a sandwich - I was gone probably 15 minutes. In my absence, they decided to move our flight up, boarded and left. When I came back the two attendants were very rude and I unavoidably had to purchase another ticket on the next flight. During this whole time, the Frontier app did not update the departure time, so I was SOL.

Flight was delayed by about an hour, once we arrived at LAX we had to take a shuttle to the baggage claim - it was completely disorganized. The agents at the shuttles were rude and unable to provide any information. Frontier charges extra for everything from bags to drinks - at the end it ends up being more expensive than flying the better airlines

Tiny seats, no entertainment, no amenities, delays, they charge for carry on and their allowed personal item is smaller than in other airlines.

I really didn't like anything. Paid for my checked luggage online ($79) and then was told that I would have to paid another $79 for my carry on. Was not allowed to enter the terminal until 3 hours before my flight and when I finally was allowed to check my bag and enter, my flight was delayed 3 times. When I finally landed, we were all instructed to "run off the plane" as they had to do a quick turn around to Las Vegas. Me and several of my flying companions will never fly Frontier again.

Our flight was canceled. I will never use Kayak nor Frontier for travel again. The entire experience was a headache.

Terrible. The canceled my entire flight when I requested a refund for a trip frontier canceled trip one way.

i was unable to check in the flight. refund requested

I think Frontier was very good at communication. Their app worked very well. Loading was great and the flight was nice and easy.

Great for the price. No wifi or entertainment, but gate agents and crew were fantastic and we boarded quickly and left on time.

Horrible communication about delay of flight and what options were available

More options for your flight from Charlotte to California

Complete your trip to California with a hotel stay or car rental