$79 Find Cheap Flights from California to District of Columbia

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Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$79
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 15% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 8% 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 (239 flights per week), Air New Zealand (208 flights per week), and Virgin Australia (174 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 66% 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 $273.

  • 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 Thursday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $435. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $593 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 $403 on average. Morning departures are around 20% 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 $493.

  • 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 39% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 23 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 Los Angeles, with 458 direct flights each week.

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

    There are around 150 direct flights from within California to District of Columbia every day. Most flights (53%) depart in the morning.

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

    Each week there are around 1,048 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 7h 07m, 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 20m.

  • 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 1,048 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration), with the most arriving from Los Angeles.

  • 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 4315 reviews
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

The entire experience from boarding to landing was amazing! The crew were very friendly. Will definitely be back.

10.0 Excellentlarry, Apr 2026
LGB - PHX
Read more Southwest reviews

The entire experience from boarding to landing was amazing! The crew were very friendly. Will definitely be back.

Delayed flight, lack of information, boarding process is a mess as is the carryon luggage causing issues when leaving the plane….just a poor experience.

Comfortable. Easy. No problems. Just wish they had gf options for snacks.

The crew was very kind and made going to Hawaii relaxing and fun to look forward to! Thank you Southwest for a pleasant flight!

Terrible. Even though there’s assigned seating now, they are still the slowest boarding airline of anyone.

It was good from LAX to Phoenix, But the connection in Phoenix to Tulsa was not that great. The staff on both flights were great. The choice of free entertainment was ok nothing to brag about. The 45 min delay because of some electrical issue wasn't great from Phoenix to Tulsa. We sat there with hardly any air, The seat I had was between windows so the side of the plane pushed in on you. My being a bigger man it then made the seating area uncomfortable. The seats on the plane had no power to connect to recharge your phone or anything. I would recommend that they should look into a slot or clamp to hold your phone to enjoy while watching the entertainment choices hands-free. Also make it possible to raise the inner seat by the window be able to raise the arm rest up to make more room for larger people to set more comfortably. I would also say other then that stop price gouging the airfare or nickel and diming everything. Not fair for people having to fly for emergencies and be paying for higher prices due to the season or holidays. Your making your money either way and the cost of flying is still going to be the same regardless if there's 100 people or 200 people.

Southwest was greaat! The most expensive but the least upsetting for those we were flying to see.

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

Agent could not provide me a boarding pass for the second leg of my flights - yet with a partner airline. Not understood.

I had to change my flight last minute due to a medical emergency. Their agent was compassionate and extremely helpful. This airlines really cares about making travel, for fun, work, or an emergency a customer-focused experience. Thank you!

More efficient with checking lines and boarding/checking bags when needed.

They were really helpful with every question and my kids had never been on a plane and the staff made them feel comfortable

This was my second time flying Alaska Airline in the 1st Class cabin. Everything was fine with the exception of the food and entertainment. The food was just ok but not what I was expecting from 1st Class. A BBQ pork sandwich and baked potato. There wasnt any in-flight entertainment. I found that odd since it was a coast to coast flight Seattle to Dulles. My sister flew 1st Class on Delta on a shorter flight ( Seattle to Cincinnati) and had an awesome meal and in-flight entertainment. I typically fly Delta but there wasn’t a flight with times that fit my schedule. I am by no means a primary donna. But when my upgrade cost over $900…I didn’t use any reward miles…I was expecting more than what I got. I will never fly Alaska Airline 1st Class again. I will stick with Delta for all my travel needs whether it’s in 1st Class or coach.

The flight would have been very good , if not dor the constantly screaming baby in the row behind me. Is there a way to isolate people traveling with infants? This is not the first time this has happened to me.

No headphones provided. No gf food. Only 1 beverage cart run sAN to HNL. Rarely saw crew members

I was on flight #3022 departed from San Diego, California to Medford, Oregon. I had Denise & Damaris as my flight attendants. I didn’t have much interaction with Damaris, but I did with Denise who had, this calm, cool collective voice when she spoke about the emergency exit plans before takeoff. I travel often and I’ve never met a flight attendant that can put you at ease. I felt she respects and takes pride in her position and more airlines need to adopt the integrity and respect that she has for Alaska Airlines. Debbie

They treat me well because of my one world status. Crew is attentive and professional. One of the best airlines out there.

This was my first time flying first class. I was really disappointed with the food option and lack of entertainment. I wasn’t given an option of what to eat. The breakfast was less than desirable. It was a bowl of some type of granola cereal, dried fruit, almond butter and 3 biscuits that we pretty much tasteless. There was so much fiber in that meal I was afraid I would poop myself in the flight. There was absolutely ZERO entertainment available. No tv screen to watch a movie or listen to music. No charging port for my phone. I recently flew Delta Airlines Comfort class and I had a tv screen with numerous options of music to listen to and movies to watch. Also I had a charging port for my phone. I expected more quality from first class. Please understand I am not some prima donna that feels entitled. But the price I paid for first class wasn’t worth what I experienced.

Booked through Kayak Business, had a seat in middle and towards back due to booking rate, not comfortable.

Was great in general, try to respect time and excuses when slight changes have been made, appreciated!

Outstanding service, efficient & friendly crew, flight was safe, comfortable & on time

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

It was a red-eye, but the flight felt surprisingly quick. The seats were very comfortable, and that made resting much easier. I also want to thank the gentleman seated next to me, who graciously moved so my mom could sit beside me. We slept almost the entire way. The cabin crew was respectful in not disturbing us, while also being courteous and professional throughout. Thank you, United.

Boarding was again a "free for all". We were boarding group 4, and almost the entire plane was able to board before us. It's a shame that someone who follows the rules, gets the short end of the stick. Not fair.

It was perfect! I've never flown with United before, but I definitely will in the future

I had a cancelled flight because of technical issues going to my destination, and a delayed flight coming home. All told it wasn’t a total bust.

They delayed the flight from 9:00 to 11:55 At 11:45 they canceled the flight. I paid a premium price for the tickets with poor service

My flight was canceled a few hours before boarding. I was rebooked on Copa airlines and missed an important meeting .

The airplane was an old model, the overhead didn’t have enough room for people’s items and made boarding and boarding disappointing and stressful. Crew allowed passengers to bring more than the permitted baggage sizes.

It was great. Smooth flight, comfortable, left on time and landed on time.

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.

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

Plane was hot and miserable and the crew was rude!

12 hour delay required getting on and off plane 3 times - would have at least liked to have been offered a snack or drink

They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked

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.

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.