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Find cheap flights from Raleigh to California from $73

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Raleigh to California departing on 5/28. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Sat 6/1
Sat 6/8

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Best California Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$152
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$180
San Diego
San Diegononstop$173
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$230
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$357
Fresno
Fresno3 stops$301
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$588
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$193
Reno
Reno2 stops$284

Good to know

Low season

January

High season

June

Cheapest flight

$73
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 20% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 27% increase in price.
Flight from Raleigh to Los Angeles

FAQs - booking California flights

  • Where are the most common layovers between Raleigh and California?

    Most flights from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to California will have at least one layover, but layovers on this route could be almost anywhere in the country. Some of the most common layovers on this path are at Denver International Airport (DEN) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).

  • Does Raleigh-Durham International Airport have any lounges for passengers?

    Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) has a handful of lounges that passengers can use while waiting for flights to California. The American Airlines Admirals Club, Delta SkyClub, and United Club are all good options.

  • Which airlines welcome pets on flights from Raleigh to California?

    Several airlines will allow you to bring pets on board when you’re flying from Raleigh to California. American Airlines is one of the best in the business when it comes to accommodating pets. Your pet just needs to be small enough to fit into a soft-sided 18 x 11 x 11-inch kennel, and you must have a health certificate for your pet from your veterinarian issued within 10 days of your travel date.

  • What steps can I take to make a flight from Raleigh to California more sustainable?

    To make a flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) to California more sustainable, look into flying with an airline like American Airlines or Delta. They’ve both committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 and have strong sustainability plans in place.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Raleigh 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 Raleigh to California.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to California from Raleigh 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 Raleigh 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 to California with an airline and back to Raleigh with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Raleigh 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 to California from Raleigh up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Morning departure is around 8% more expensive than an evening flight, on average*.
  • Before you even think about trying to book a flight from Raleigh, NC, to California, you should decide which airport in California you want to fly to. You’ll have to ability to take off from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and head to a number of airports in California, including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and San Diego International Airport (SAN). Smaller airports like Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) will also be options.
  • You’ll be able to fly from Raleigh to quite a few airports in California, but unfortunately, you won’t be able to fly direct in most cases. Many airlines, such as American Airlines, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, and United Airlines, will make at least one stop between North Carolina and California. Some will also make two or even three stops. Make it your mission to find a flight plan that only includes one stop whenever possible.
  • No matter how many stops a flight makes between Raleigh and one of the airports in California, you will likely spend at least 8 or 9 hours on a plane when you’re on your way to the West Coast. Because of this, you should look into the possibility of securing a first-class ticket for your flight. Some airlines like Frontier won't offer true first-class tickets, but others, like American Airlines and Delta, will be more than happy to extend first-class options.
  • Most of the airlines that travel from Raleigh to California will charge you baggage fees if you choose to check bags at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. American Airlines, for example, will charge you for each bag you check. You might be able to trim your travel costs by leaving your luggage at home and only bringing a carry-on bag that doesn't exceed 18 x 14 x 8 inches.
  • Raleigh-Durham International Airport isn’t a hub for Delta, but it is considered a “focus city” for the airline. It’s why Delta tends to have more flights taking off from RDU and heading to California than other airlines. You may want to take advantage of this since it could help you find more convenient flight times.
See more tips
*Average of the lowest prices shown in KAYAK’s search results for departures within the next 30 days

Top 5 airlines serving from Raleigh to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Raleigh 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.
8.0
DeltaOverall score based on 10858 reviews
8.6Crew
7.9Comfort
8.0Entertainment
8.2Boarding
7.4Food
Airline reviews

I had a wonderful experience flying with delta. The gentleman taking care of us on our flight was so nice, accommodating, and attentive. He always was smiling and giving pins to the kids which made me smile. The flight was quick too and without turbulence. Thank you for the great flying experience.

10.0 ExcellentAlexander, Apr 2024RDU - CVG
Read more about Delta reviews

I had a wonderful experience flying with delta. The gentleman taking care of us on our flight was so nice, accommodating, and attentive. He always was smiling and giving pins to the kids which made me smile. The flight was quick too and without turbulence. Thank you for the great flying experience.

Horrible. This was not first class. This was a connecting flight whi h was late. My original flight never came. I hated the fact that delta gave me a connecting flight from New York to Orlando Florida. No meals and the television screens were not working. There wasn't even any power to charge your phones. This is NOT FIRST CLASS DELTA!!! Do better next time!

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

Had a broken tray in business class. Crew just shrugged it off.

Flight was late. Club was full. Experience is exactly what I expected.

I didn’t like that I could not select my seat and was assigned a seat when I checked in at LAX

Great experience overall. Check in at Austin was congested as they only have about 6 check in kiosks, one was broken, and there was a lot of Spring Break travelers.

Bag drop off was slow and annoying. Only 2 agents at the entire delta desk, and no one directing traffic for what line to be in, many confused people slowed down the process. Boarding was fine. Seats in Delta comfort plus were fine. Snacks were great! Definitely a bonus. The entertainment system was awful — old, slow, not responsive, and completely unable to play games due to some kind of error. But on the other hand, thank you to Delta for the free WiFi. That made it better.

Everything would be much better if Kayak stopped nosing into my business with Delta.

Everything was very good other than I had selected a specific seat when I booked the flight and they changed it once I checked-in the day before my flight. I was still in first class but lost my aisle seat for a window seat. Being tall, the aisle offers more comfort so I always select an aisle seat.

Terrible. Flight was cancelled due to the weather in the east and sout east(florida). Did not get any compesation of any kind. According to them, it was not under their control so I lost all the money paid for the 2 fairs from Raleigh, NC to Orlando, Fl.

Service for food to our seat was a bit slow. Snack choices were just pretzels or baked chips. My seat cushion was not attached. Other than Barbie, video choice were not very good or current.

It took an hour to get my bag after landing. Not exaggerating

I liked that boarding and take off were timely despite a 15 minute delay due to weather. The pilot communicated with us the entire flight keeping us informed re: turbulance and slight delays on the runway after we landed.

I had a horrible experience with TSA at the airport. I had to go through TSA several times as there was some issue each time with a piece if clothing I had on. It was so busy & chaotic that I ended up forgetting my Apple laptop at TSA. It’s been days & I can’t get through to anyone to get useful info on how to get it back. I’m very angry because contacting lost & found shouldn’t be this difficult. Employees should know what is going on at their place of work. It seems no one knows as everyone’s answers are contradictory, or you can’t speak directly to anyone as the calls are automated. Very upsetting.

Everything was good instead change the gates! I missed my first flight because it was changed the gate and I didn’t know!

I didn't like the 2 hour delay and then mechanical issue once we were on board.

My experience with Eva sir was good except the long walk in LA Lex, that was inconvenient for my age,

almost 4 hour delay as they over booked and had to wait for 8-10 volunteers to agree to travel next day.

Realize ahead of a 6:30 am flight that you have a completely flat tire that needs replacement. They should have never boarded everyone. They kept us at the gate with the door closed for ALMOST but not quite 3 hours. The plane had been sitting there from the night before. At the 2 hour mark of sitting there, they came through with a bottle of water and cups. Never offered snacks. Never offered a real apology. People missed connecting flights completely. Absolutely no apology. Just yep you are going to miss your connection completely. I don’t know if you can get to your destination today. The new boy time there was a seemingly heartfelt apology was when they said they were sorry and then fifer everyone an opportunity for a credit card. It was so poor. Lucky for us, our funeral was not the same day as our flight or we would have missed it. All for an avoidable repair that could have been done before we even set foot on the plane.

Generally good but there wasn’t any staff available when my luggage didn’t appear at baggage claim in Fresno. It took about half an hour to locate a staff member to open up the locked room where it was being kept.

Do not like the feeling of being in the basic economy. Everyone should feel good no matter what.

All flights were on time and boarding was issue free

Water service would be great. The way they board is terrible. Slow passengers first😂😂 They need to smart up a bit

Our original business class flight was cancelled so we not only downgraded but we were also spread out across the plane not sitting together in separate middle seats. My poor kids were scared and couldn’t see me on the flight and the crew wasn’t sensitive to the situation and what the airlines did to us. Very dissatisfied with United airlines.

The WiFi didn’t work and the seats are too close together. Very uncomfortable.

So so. Terrible aircraft choice for that leg of the flight.

delay several times and wait extra long to board. no entertainment service because there are problem for some rows. always encounter some delays for the last flight of the day.

On time every leg of the journey and exceptional staff at counter, gate, and on board. I haven’t travelled in US for a long time and was genuinely surprised how pleasant this was.

This was a Lufthansa flight. Disappointing main meal. Very rough over Canada and arrival at FRA. IFE was almost unusable.

Fight crew was not very attentive and the bastions were gross!

Our flight was great we left Kona earlier and got into LAX almost an 1hour earlier as well. LAX AA is in repair so to get out and found our bus to get pick up was a bit confusing.

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

5 hour flight - full flight - not enough room to use my computer - slightly delayed - Admirals club was excellent quality food, drink made up for flight seating. No food offerred on flight, you ahd to prebook.

We experience delays on departure and connecting flights resulting in 14 hour to our next departure. We were accommodated with a night's stay but was only provided a 12 dollar meals accommodation. The airlines rules state.at least 50 dollars. In any case, it can not make up for the whole day missed on our vacation in Sydney Australia.

I can say I will not be taking this airline again any time soon. Seat were uncomfortable and too tight. Lack of chair screen and little overhead space.

Plane felt so crowded and tightly packed. The chair itself was not comfortable.

They attended to my needs as I couldn't walk and they provided a wheelchair for me.q

For an over three hour long flight one pack of cookies was not enough.

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

They cancelled the flight then did nothing to help us rebook. It was awful - I won’t fly with them again

The truck that was refueling the plane drove away with the hose still connected to the plane and ripped part of the plane off with it

The boarding time. I was in Section 1 the lady in charge just let people in section 3 without see us. Make a line , I have to step out and ask her. We were in the line and she just take my ticket and that’s it, so if I don’t ask her she could leave us at the end! We paid more for that privilege and. She doesn’t care….

See my previous comment which is mostly about our flight from Phoenix to SFO

The check in at the airport was awful. Told I need to pay for a bag. The item was taken at screening. I went back to get my $ back and they gave me a coupon with a QR code that doesn’t work. Worst costumer service ever!!!!!

4 hour delay because they used our aircraft to fly a different segment (per the captain)

Lost baggage on my connecting flight. 24 hours later, still no update on my bags.

I had to cancel within 1hour of the reservation an they put you through hell to . no live customer service desk. I'm handy caped and they make it almost impossible to cancel. They are steeling my money. You should not have that airline on your site. Contact me and I will give you all info. Of what the are doing to me just notable treatment they are set up like that to take people

absolutely horrific. delayed flights, overbooking. over charging. nightmare service beyond words. stay away.

My husband didn't get boarded on this flight. He was asked to pay $50 extra by the Frontier staff to get two boarding passes for check-in at the Las Vegas airport. He refused to pay this extra $50 charge and tried to do check-in online by himself but it seemed to be late with only 7 mins left. It ended up that my daughter and my husband missed the 7-minute time window. They had to take the next non-direct flight which took more than 12 hours from Las Vegas to San Francisco, a very poor experience for them.

Book cheap flights from Raleigh to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

5/28Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
22h 59mRDU-LAX
6/4Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
23h 54mLAX-RDU
$152
5/28Tue
3 stopsSpirit Airlines
28h 46mRDU-LAX
6/4Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
23h 54mLAX-RDU
$170
5/23Thu
1 stopFrontier
14h 59mRDU-SFO
5/26Sun
1 stopFrontier
14h 19mSFO-RDU
$180
5/15Wed
1 stopFrontier
8h 14mRDU-SFO
7/15Mon
1 stopFrontier
16h 55mSFO-RDU
$186
10/15Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
9h 24mRDU-SFO
10/29Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
7h 32mSFO-RDU
$263
7/31Wed
1 stopAmerican Airlines
10h 25mRDU-SFO
8/21Wed
1 stopAmerican Airlines
8h 42mSFO-RDU
$264
7/30Tue
1 stopJetBlue
8h 29mRDU-LAX
8/23Fri
1 stopJetBlue
7h 55mLAX-RDU
$297
7/30Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 39mRDU-SFO
8/12Mon
1 stopUnited Airlines
8h 10mSFO-RDU
$308
7/4Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 39mRDU-SFO
7/9Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 16mSFO-RDU
$319
6/16Sun
1 stopJetBlue
9h 48mRDU-SMF
6/21Fri
1 stopJetBlue
9h 53mSMF-RDU
$373

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Recent one-way flight deals

5/28Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
22h 59mRDU-LAX
$73
6/4Tue
2 stopsSpirit Airlines
16h 25mRDU-LAX
$80
6/1Sat
1 stopFrontier
8h 43mRDU-ONT
$90
5/11Sat
1 stopFrontier
7h 42mRDU-SAN
$90
5/12Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
8h 11mRDU-SAN
$118
6/1Sat
1 stopAmerican Airlines
8h 40mRDU-SFO
$132
6/12Wed
1 stopUnited Airlines
7h 38mRDU-SAN
$150
7/16Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
7h 04mRDU-SAN
$153
6/4Tue
1 stopJetBlue
10h 08mRDU-LAX
$155
6/5Wed
1 stopJetBlue
8h 51mRDU-ONT
$164

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Last minute flights from Raleigh to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

5/7Tue
multi-stopFrontier
8h 14mRDU-SFO
5/14Tue
multi-stopFrontier
22h 40mSFO-RDU
$206
5/7Tue
multi-stopFrontier
8h 14mRDU-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopFrontier
16h 43mSFO-RDU
$219
5/6Mon
multi-stopDelta
9h 41mRDU-SFO
5/16Thu
multi-stopDelta
10h 08mSFO-RDU
$392
5/3Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 51mRDU-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
9h 17mSFO-RDU
$403
5/3Fri
multi-stopDelta
11h 33mRDU-SFO
5/12Sun
multi-stopDelta
7h 04mSFO-RDU
$406
5/3Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
9h 32mRDU-SFO
5/5Sun
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 20mSFO-RDU
$423
5/6Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
6h 04mRDU-SFO
5/13Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 16mSFO-RDU
$499
5/6Mon
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 48mRDU-SFO
5/13Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 16mSFO-RDU
$508
5/7Tue
multi-stopJetBlue
12h 01mRDU-LAX
5/12Sun
multi-stopJetBlue
9h 06mLAX-RDU
$606
5/7Tue
multi-stopJetBlue
11h 00mRDU-LAX
5/13Mon
multi-stopJetBlue
8h 46mLAX-RDU
$628

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