$103 Find Cheap Flights from California to District of Columbia

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Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$103
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 11% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 6% lower on average.
Flight from Ontario to Reagan Washington National Airport

Flights from California to District of Columbia: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from California to District of Columbia 
karenFlew with Alaska Airlines
LAX
-
IAD
Jun 2024
Personal tips are bring your own food if you're hungry; keep foot space as open as possible for leg room; pack your patience
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
LAX
-
IAD
Jun 2024
Get to the airport on time because traffic in LA is unexpected

FAQs for booking flights from California to District of Columbia

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from California to District of Columbia?

    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 California to District of Columbia.

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

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

    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 California to District of Columbia 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 California to District of Columbia?

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

  • Which airlines fly most frequently to District of Columbia?

    California and District of Columbia are connected by different airlines. The airlines that fly that route the most regularly are United Airlines (139 flights per week), Air New Zealand (117 flights per week), and Virgin Australia (109 flights per week).

  • How many airports are there in District of Columbia?

    There are 2 airports in District of Columbia. The busiest airport is Washington Dulles Airport (IAD), with 58% of all flights arriving there.

  • Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in District of Columbia?

    Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in District of Columbia is Baltimore/Washington Airport (BWI), with an average flight price of $284.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to District of Columbia?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to District of Columbia is Wednesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $425. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $566 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to District of Columbia?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to District of Columbia is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $396 on average. Morning departures are around 17% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to District of Columbia is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $480.

  • What is the cheapest flight to District of Columbia?

    The cheapest ticket to District of Columbia from California found in the last 72 hours was to Baltimore, at $217 round-trip. The most popular route is Los Angeles (LAX) to Baltimore (BWI) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $217.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from California to District of Columbia?

    The cheapest month for flights from California to District of Columbia is February, when tickets cost $304 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are November and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $635 and $580 respectively.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from California to District of Columbia?

    To get a below average price on the flight from California to District of Columbia, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 40% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 26 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to District of Columbia?

    From California, there are direct flights to District of Columbia from 5 cities. The city with the most direct flights is San Francisco, with 308 direct flights each week.

  • How many direct flights to District of Columbia are there each day?

    There are around 106 direct flights from within California to District of Columbia every day. Most flights (63%) depart in the morning.

  • How many direct flights to District of Columbia are there each week?

    Each week there are around 740 direct flights from within California to District of Columbia. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 16% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to District of Columbia?

    An average nonstop flight from California to District of Columbia takes 6h 41m, covering a distance of 2312 miles. The shortest route is Las Vegas (LAS) to Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl Airport (IAD) with an average flight time of 4h 25m.

  • How many long-haul flights are there to District of Columbia each week?

    There are not any long-haul (6-12 hour flight duration) or short-haul (up to 3 hour flight duration) flights to District of Columbia. Instead, there are 740 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration), with the most arriving from San Francisco.

  • What is the most popular destination in District of Columbia?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Washington, D.C. (100% of total searches to District of Columbia).

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from California to District of Columbia

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from California to District of Columbia? 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
SouthwestOverall score based on 4320 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
7.0Food
7.5Entertainment
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

8.0 ExcellentNicole, Mar 2026
LGB - OAK
Read more Southwest reviews

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

Flight boarded late after announcing on time boarding. Flight arrived only a little late despite late departure. Had trouble connecting to WiFi

The Southwest experience has definitely taken a dive from its early days. You can no longer deferentiate from other airlines. Air travel is too expensive. Southwest is no longer budget friendly. They have lost me as a loyal customer.

The charges were ridiculous for an hour flight and the turbulence was very scary.

The seats are now more narrow. I paid for front row the seats in the front are even more narrow than before.

The wifi on the plane is great. The only issue that I have is that I prefer an aisle seat and on my trips this week, I was either in the middle or window. If we can work to secure aisle seating, I will be thrilled. Nice trip.

Great flight but super high price. Glad it was a business trip and not personal

3 hour delay. Had to change plans and was still delayed.

I have been flying commercial for decades. I was in one of the ladder boarding groups, had my bag tagged because they thought there was not going to be enough space for it in the overhead bins. I politely asked one of the attendance if I could try to find a space- she said I could and I did. I then took the bag tag off and gave it to one of the other attendants as I was told to do by the first one. He, in a curt, anal, and disrespectful manner, told me that I needed to take my bag down from the overhead bin and check it. This was a situation I’ve never encountered before. The attendant’s attitude was confrontational and belittling in front of other onlooking passengers as if daring me to challenge him. I am a physician who takes care of patients day in and day out. Not wanting to make a scene, I calmly told him, “do what you need to do.” he took my bag down from the overhead bin, put the back tag back on it, and checked it only to make room for another bag that was also supposed to be technically checked by a following passenger. The same male attendant later came up to me and said “you shouldn’t have showed me the bag tag,” as if conveying that he was just following protocol was a justification for treating me like a kid out of line. I cared about this because it took 15 minutes from my life to then retrieve the bag at baggage claim and it also felt like really poor customer service. I understand the need for protocols. This is also a service industry, and we the passengers are the clients. We should be made to feel welcome and respected and our life in transit made as easy as it can be within reason. This attendant clearly needs to be reminded of that. Of note, an older female fellow passenger sitting next to me agreed with this assessment.

Ended up sitting in front of a child who kicked the back of the seat and screamed for most of the flight.

After landing in Seattle, 3 hours waiting to find parking space do to driving problems. Very uncomfortable.

My only complaint was how far it was from plane to baggage claim

I had a problem with my reservation and no one could help me understand what happened. I booked my flight months ago and received a confirmation email. In the confirmation email, it said that the flight would depart at 3:15 p.m. A few hours before the flight, I tried to go online and check in, and suddenly it said that the flight was leaving an hour earlier. I had to rush to get to the airport and almost didn't make it. No one could help me understand why this happened, and I'm really concerned that it might happen in the future. I would appreciate some support in this matter.

They cancelled the flight and provided no support to find another way home or how to get a refund. Links provided didn’t work and phone wait times were over eight hours. Battery on my phone couldn’t last long enough.

It was a super old plane so the first class experience was just not luxurious

signage from the upper area to the tram down 2 escalator!

You sent me an email saying boarding was at 9:29 and AA sent one that was 8:29 on Sunday morning. I had to call AA to get that it was indeed 8:29.

Not bad. Due to not buying a seat, on the way back, my seat was not assigned till 2 hrs before the flight left. Got me worried I wouldn’t have a seat.

OK, we were delayed and had to de plane and reboard.

United is one airline which regardless of how many separate United tickets in existence, if one flight breaks down, the airline will take care of all the flights.

Seats are uncomfortable. This has been a trend in the industry for decades. Trying to fit more seats on each plane to increase profits at the expense of the passenger.

Staff were good. My seat was in need of repair, but for a short flight was not problematic. Usual basic snack and drink setup that you'll find on any US carrier. Over, a decent, basic flight.

Complimentary light meal would be appreciated. But great flight crew service on all legs

Flight delayed for more than 16 hrs and no effort was spent to provide an alternate

Women boarding passengers at the gate was absolutely rude and disrespectful of passengers. The flight attendant was absolutely delightful! Smiling and connected with the passengers. So happy. The seats are cramped and uncomfortable but I guess that’s just the way it is Communication regarding flight was excellent

We were delayed for about an hour from taking off due to traffic control procedures at the destination airport. But once in the air, the flight went well. The crew members were great and provided cabin service despite moderate turbulence during much of the flight.

it was a very short flight so my expectations were low.

Very disappointing given gate agent behavior. Filed a formal complaint with United.

Horrible experience upon landing. Probably more due to DCA utter incompetence than AA.

Easy boarding. Rows are smaller but that may be an older and bigger me now :)

Flight has been delayed every time I've ever taken it. Seats uncomfortable. Children behind me yelling the entire flight. Some of this is out of their control but overall just consistently not a great experience.

Poor communication ahead of time about flight delays and old planes/other equipment.

Never going to fly your airline again if it can be avoided.

Not to have gotten delayed by 2+ hours for the fourth straight American flight. They're the worst.

Other than nearly three hour delay for maintenance issues, everything went smooth

Snow delayed boarding several times, which I understand happens. Issue I had was that after we did board, pilot told us we were going to roll out to be de-iced, then on our way. We were de-iced once, taxied to the tarmac and then stopped. Sat for another 30 minutes or so, the another de-icing. Then we rolled out to a parking spot, only to sit for another hour due to a traffic stop in DCA, which I'm confident they knew would happen before we boarded. Pilot gave no updates other than we had to hold, attendants did speak to the crew, but when asked, said the pilot would be updating us. We on the ground in the plane waiting for over 2 hours. They did communicate that bathrooms would be open, but no other news until we left. Would have been better to be up front about status.

Flight was delayed. Not much information on when the flight would take off. Eventually we were told it was maintenance. App was not giving updates.

Flight was on time and there was an empty seat next to me. That makes for a good flight!

More inflight connection. And leg space is horrible. And the paying for baggage I'd ridiculous!!!

There's no seats that lean back with little leg space i wad uncomfortable the entire flight. Your charges for extra baggage is despicable and costly!!

Remind customers of the need to have passport or new ID for boarding.

The flight never took off and we spent 7 hours at the airport

There was no food and no entertainment, so I'm not sure why these are even in the survey, as my understanding is frontier does not ever offer food without a few, not even a snack, and there are no screens so unless the flight safety talk is our entertainment why ask how we liked it?. One of the flight attendants say in the back of the plane as people filed in to their seats, yelling orders about where to put baggage and telling people to hurry up. It was the least professional experience I've ever had on a flight.

It was ok. It was expensive to check 2 bags ($75.00 per bag), and then it took a long time to wait for shuttle to take us from one terminal to the terminal where the plane was taking off at LAX. And all of this for a flight where we had to pay for any food or drink that was not water.

When I wanted to check in 3 hours prior to boarding time, the employees mentioned “a little over an hour delay” so I waited for an hour then I went to go look for food in the terminal and most people from that flight were in the same area looking for food. Finally I decided after food to check to see if it’s anytime closer and now it’s 2 mins until boarding closes?! What are you kidding me? I didn’t receive anything via sms about boarding now nor via email or on the intercom. I luckily made it through, barely, and then there’s no room for my carry on mind you I’m in the very first row so I had to place my purse in one further row back and my carry on sections down. Not sure who pays for better seats to get your stuff placed all over the plane but that was the worst experience I’ve ever had flying with anyone.

This airline sucks. They offer low rates then charge you for everything, the app does not work well, the seats are the most uncomfortable. Maintenance issues on the flight, and you still have to sit through their credit card commercials. People are nice enough but does not make up for overall poor experience.

The worst. We never made our connection and they did absolutely nothing to help us at the airport.

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

Everything you need to know for your flight to District of Columbia

Cabin class types available on flights to California

Cabin classes available on flights to California. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.