$62 Find Cheap Flights from California to District of Columbia

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Good to know

Low seasonAugust
Cheapest flight$62
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 11% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 3% 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 (234 flights per week), Air New Zealand (214 flights per week), and Virgin Australia (181 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 57% 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 $268.

  • 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 $416. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $553 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 $382 on average. Morning departures are around 19% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to District of Columbia is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $460.

  • 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 $150 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 $150.

  • 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 July, when tickets cost $330 (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 $575 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 44% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 20 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 576 direct flights each week.

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

    There are around 172 direct flights from within California to District of Columbia every day. Most flights (64%) depart in the morning.

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

    Each week there are around 1,198 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 52m, 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 22m.

  • 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 1,198 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
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 11465 reviews
7.0Entertainment
7.8Comfort
8.1Boarding
8.5Crew
7.1Food
Airline reviews

The flight attendants were excellent and I was in the back of the plane. Much much better than recent JetBlue experiences on that route and better than Delta on that route.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Dec 2025
SFO - BOS
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

The flight attendants were excellent and I was in the back of the plane. Much much better than recent JetBlue experiences on that route and better than Delta on that route.

I’m not sure there is anything that can be improved, even the cost was fantastic.

Poor. They should have given me a row with more room and instead they put me in a middle seat with two strangers next to me

They were so kind to us! The entire staff were so good to us when we had our service dog join our trip and we couldn't be more grateful!

Larger seats and more room would elevate the experience. Otherwise, it was good!

Flight crew and flight were good. But it departed two hours late.

They changed our flight from a one stop 3 hour layover to a non-stop. Saved us hours and got us there sooner.

The ground crew did not supply drink or snacks during the layover in SFO. So there weren't many options. Otherwise, it was all great.

No accommodation or credit offered for cancelled layover flight to Eugene from portland

I love a red eye flight. No lines to wait in. Lots of turbulence on the flight and a very shaky landing.

No lunch on a x-country flight scheduled for 10:50 am departure, arrived 5+ hrs later. That requires a black box label before you pay for the tickets. Worst, when I checked in online, it's specifically said that lunch was served on his flight for economy Plus passengers.

Our flight from SFO to MSP was right on time on 11/15/2025. No delays. As we approached MSP at about 8 pm, we circled in the air until 8:40 pm so I don't call that efficient for MSP. I think the captain should announce the delay and why. (as if we all don't know that we are just circling around the area, slowing down, speeding up, slowing down.) Thank you. Marilyn Fischer

Staff were friendly and happy. Delta could make sure passengers that don't have the app know of changes. Without Kayak I would not have known about the change of gate or the delay. Kayak was faster to notify me.

The flight used a B767 with a very old interior from before 2014. The entertainment system did not work at all during the flight despite attempts to reset the system. It was like they flew this route just to be competitive.

Delayed flight (1hour) plus a long layover after an overnight flight with no backup plane available.

Flight delayed for two and half hours and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues. No mechanic onsite to fix so had to send one from LAX.

My husband upgraded our seats and I don't know if it was due to the type of planet was or if they didn't upgrade our seats. We were supposed to be in I believe comfort seats and they were just as tight as any other seat- no leg room and we are very tall people but at least it wasn't extremely cold. My husband did put in a complaint about our seating because he paid extra and if we would have known that the space and the tightness would have been the same, we just would have gotten the emergency row emergency row seats that we normally get. We love Delta but both our flights coming home we're not good. Oh I forgot to mention that on our flight to Hawaii our luggage wheels got broke and we had to purse new luggage on vacation then we never had this problem so we didn't know protocol and reported it after we got home only for them to tell is we only had 24hrs to report the damage. Not sure what was going on with Delta this vacation trip.

Crew was excellent. Comfort seats not as nice as other kinds of planes.

It was a great flight and the stewards and stewardess were all kind and accommodating!! The seats were comfortable and entertainment screen excellent!

There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2

The only downside was my cell phone charger wouldn’t work in the charging port but everyone else’s would work in them all. My cell phone cable works fine in my hotel room in Frankfurt.

Very thoughtful flight attendant offered me water immediately since I had run to make my connection.

Older aircraft, no meal, only food was for purchase. Not impressed United.

One bag is incorrect and not acceptable for an international flight. The food was not just good. I won't fly with them again.

Not pleasant trip cross country when the entertainment and WiFi system not working. No entertainment for entirety of route. Staff was rather nonchalant in that they dismissed the problem due to age of plane. It would have been nice to know this up front so I could have come prepared to read or download movies before boarding Coincidentally or not, there was a similar issue with the entertainment system on my previous flight I took on my fist leg of the trip. There are no seat TVs, so you must rely on the app when it works. United can do better. Also, what use it it to pay for boarding group 2 when half of the passengers are in the same line as you?

Premium Plus is a really good idea for longer flights

The flight attendants were great, I joked with one I can’t remember her name, a blond, really sweet. I thought it was run well very professional. This was great i survived Spirit, I know for which I speak.

I was in first class. The outlets at my seat did not work. The plane was shabby and run down. I had prepurchsed a day subscription for internet that was not redeemable. I had to repurchase the internet for my flight and then it didn’t work anyway. Quite disappointed in what was supposed to be the launch of a great vacation.

IAD with the archaic people movers is just a place to be avoided.

I understand stuff happens, but plane failures are likely due to lack of maintenance. Additionally, air conditioning wasn't working, no snack/drink service, no WiFi. Fortunately, the crew was communicative and light-hearted. United grabbed another plane and we were able to get to our destination.

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing enough and the care I received on the flight was astounding.

Horrible. Both legs of my flight were delayed more than 6 hours. No compensation, no screens on the plane, and the plane was not clean.

The flight was smooth, the pilot kept us informed about delays and we arrived more of less on time

The flight was flawless and we even arrived between 20 and 25 minutes early!

Always seated jammed in rear of aircraft Admirals Club food at DFW terminal D was absolute worst food experience and I pay $600/year to eat this dried out junk

Mostly good. Flight was crowded but Airline personnel were very friendly & accommodating. It would be good to have savory snacks rather than just sweet Biscoff cookies.

After we'd boarded , they canceled the flight. The crew didn't even know , we just all received text messages. Then after they deplaned us , AA was just like "too bad, go F your self, we sure ain't gonna help you"

Initial flight was cancelled at the time of arrival to the airport, flight alternative requires switching from direct to flight with a layover, and the plane felt like it would split apart, it was so rattle-y.

Weather delay for 2.5 hours followed by half hour crew delay, did not have ginger ale, uncomfortable seats

It was nobody’s fault - but the plane came 4-hrs late and we were updated randomly in 20-30 mins increments which left us hostage to sit and wait expectantly. It was very long and got very late. Our plane didn’t land until nearly 1 am! Also the toilet wasn’t working. The hosts were nice enough but were clearly “about to pass out” as one told me. Lastly, there was no snack or even time for it. Just a bad experience overall.

Not clean and was told I would get a great seat and it was not great at all

Flight got delayed for 5 hours no good explanation was offered ;(

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.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

The seats were awful, hard plastic covered in sheet vinyl. The airline tries to scam you into paying extra to get seat together when the flight wasn’t full. They were going to separate a family with young children but my wife who had a row to herself gave up her seat so the young mom could be with her young boys. I’m never giving this airline my money again.

It was a short flight so no food or entertainment….

Frontier had yet another flight cancellation. Have never made a complete round trip with this airline without at least one leg getting cancelled. Miserable flights - dirty, uncomfortable planes that apparently always have issues since I've had multiple delays and cancellations with them.

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.