$90 Find Cheap Flights from California to District of Columbia

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Low seasonFebruary
High seasonNovember
Cheapest flight$90
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 4% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 18% increase in price.
Flight from Los Angeles 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 AirlinesLAX-IADJun 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 AirlinesLAX-IADJun 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 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 $192.

  • 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 $415. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $571 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 $370 on average. Morning departures are around 22% 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 $475.

  • 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 $100 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 $100.

  • 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 September, when tickets cost $317 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and October, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $499 and $464 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. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 22 weeks before departure.

  • How long is the flight to District of Columbia?

    An average nonstop flight from California to District of Columbia takes 6h 47m, 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.

  • 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).

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 10000 reviews
8.5Crew
7.1Entertainment
7.8Comfort
7.1Food
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

Staff are helpful and patient. I don’t appreciate the almost 5 hours delay and also the delay of our luggage and being switched from one carousel to another to pick them up.

2.0 MediocreAnonymous, Jun 2025LAX - SEA
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Staff are helpful and patient. I don’t appreciate the almost 5 hours delay and also the delay of our luggage and being switched from one carousel to another to pick them up.

Staff were great but we were delayed on the tarmac for over an hour.

Great crew, smooth flight and landing. Wish they would offer Dr. Pepper and a choice of flavors of pretzels.

Thank you still providing bags for vomit. My son had a migraine and needed a bag to vomit in and it was right there behind the seat in front of us. Thank you!

We waited over an hour for our luggage to arrive at the carousel in Seattle.

The plane was delayed a bit. It wasn't a huge problem though, as we were heading back home.

Flight was great. Boarding was crazy because another flight was boarding late next to ours so everyone was standing and in the way.

More leg room in back seats. Can you require people to smell good on planes? ha ha Staff was great! Plane was comfortable. I enjoyed the movies and TV. Smooth take off and landing.

Comfortable seat, a little delay, very informative. Love Wi-Fi

very good but no blankets for overnight flight or tv screens…

Most aspects were good however if they assign boarding zones they ought to enforce them or why bother? My luggage from SAN-JFK-MAD was lost in NY so I without my main bag for two days upon arrival in Spain. They were helpful in tracking it and eventually delivered it to my hotel. The flub was because of a delay upon arrival in NYC. I had booked 2 1/2 hours between flights but we had to hold on the taxiway for an hour after landing while waiting for a clear gate which likely caused the baggage error.

Excellent flight, the planes were newer, they did a nice job with boarding, great service overall.

It would be nice if was given wires ear buds. Overall was a good experience was able to sleep on the plane

737-800 in first class was pretty dumpy. Seat had an uncomfortable angle, storage under the seat was blocked so even my very modest backpack didn't fit, power outlet was flaky. Weird tiny seat pockets that couldn't hold a gallon ziploc bag, emesis bag missing, etc. etc. No in-flight service due to turbulence. Crew was excellent, boarding was smooth despite a full flight.

Delta flight was on time, seats were comfortable, and crew was nice.

The Dekta Rep that checked us in was great. She's very personable, pleasant, and can tell she enjoys her job.

Thank you for not flipping the plane on the run way. You guys get a 5 star rating for the flight!!!

Boarding is, as it always is… horrible. Gate lice. Slow moving zones. Too many people with carry ons

It was terrible, if they ran flights on time it would make a big difference.

Delta seems to be improving in many areas, except they are super bad with the food available. Bring back normal food service on long flights.

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

it was so bad. I tried to board my flight from vancouver to saskatoon. And to my surprise they did not board me cause the flight was changed and no email was send to me. and on my boarding pass which i got from seattle says different flight. I did not knew anyone from Vancouver, air canada crew was rude, i asked for today flight but they were rude and i had early morning dental appointment in saskatoon. I was so much in pain and my whole day is wasted today. and i suffered alot. They did provide me hotel but they did not provide me any food. I am really really disappointed first time had so bad experience with air canada. I may think twice to book it again. If i can get any reply or any composition that would be great. Thanks

Very comfortable (upgraded to business class). The audio on my screen didn’t work, but I managed to play the audio through my phone while watching the screen.

I was supposed to be on business class at first class from Denver back to Miami due to weather changes. I missed my connection and it’s put on a flight to Fort Lauderdale. Instead of honoring my business class/1st class ticket, they put me in coach, but there were two first class seats open. I think it’s absolutely disgusting that I paid for first class $1300 ticket and they put me in economy and they had to open seats available and I have still not been refunded the difference. I ended up having to eat a snack box instead of the meal I was supposed to get and did not get home till 2 AM so I think that’s a little pathetic that I had to live off crackers for dinner And my poor dog ate some cheese and salami. Oh yes, apparently when they switched me to the new flight they forgot to mention I had a service dog

Boarding seemed to be organized bedlam. For what ever reason, preboarding took longer than 20 minutes. Made the plane 20 minutes late taking off. Luckily we arrived on time. Flight crew seemed very friendly. Only slight turbulence.

Turbulent taking off & landing to Dulles from Raleigh. Flight from Dulles to Tokyo very good!!

The personnel were professional and friendly. The Boeing 737 Max 9 is too claustrophobic and was very warm at both airport gates, and still warm in the air.

While the staff was pleasant and helpful, the following observations are for your awareness. There was some delay on the tarmac on take off and landing. The paid lunch/food offerings were limited. Entertainment was only available on WiFi at a cost.

get E+, a must for 5 hours flight if you are tall

The first flight was better in terms of the aircraft.

The chair cushions may need an upgrade. I have been noticing they are so worn out, thin so you’d sit in a dip 😄. Other than that, all was an enjoyable trip. Thanks AA!

Cramped seats. FAA should make airlines have more legroom, for even short people complain

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

Eventless. It was a good flight and good crew. Can’t complaint.

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.

Very helpful ground crew after an earlier flight delay and being rebooked on a different flight.

The plane was late and then sat on the runway for almost 45 minutes before taking off.

We kept being told that the flight was full and that all overhead compartments were full and therefore had to check in our hand luggage. We were some of the last people to board and noticed that there was still sufficient space in the overhead compartments. We were obliged to check in hand luggage when there was space and so had to wait at luggage retrieval which took a while to then noticed damage to our luggage - not a great experience!

This was an overnight flight. There was no meal service in first class, just a simple snack basket was offered along with beverages. There should have been some type of continental breakfast prior to arrival in PHL. As an Executive Platinum American Airlines Advantage member, I received no name recognition from the first class flight attendant. When disembarking at PHL, the flight attendants were more interested in their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as they disembarked.

The boarding crew was incredibly helpful getting me on an earlier flight

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.

Flight was delayed 3 times, would have been nice to have received text message instead of email notifications. Frontier app wasn’t even updated accordingly, no gate number disclosed. No agent at front desk of gate to inform of delay. Very confused and left if the dark

They changed the timing , first delayed by 4 hours then went back to 40 mins late, we had to run back to airport to not miss our flight. This is ridiculous

No frills for sure. No gate announcements about flight delay, not even water to drink on the flight.

I loked walking out on the tarmac to board and no first class. I didn't like that they have no snacks or onboard wifi to bide your time.

It was a redeye flight, so every passenger just wanted to sleep, but through the entire flight, the flight crew made announcements over the loudspeaker at maximum volume every few minutes making sleep impossible. For example: it’s 2am, and the crew decides to give an extremely detailed announcement about snacks and beverages for sale. And 3am is the perfect time to wake up everyone with a lengthy announcement about how to get a coffee refill and how to take advantage of new offer from frontier for a credit card.

Book cheap flights from California to District of Columbia

Recent round-trip flight deals

6/30Mon
nonstopAmerican Airlines
5h 01mLAX-DCA
7/5Sat
nonstopAmerican Airlines
5h 27mDCA-LAX
$179
7/2Wed
1 stopFrontier
6h 58mSNA-DCA
7/8Tue
1 stopFrontier
7h 11mDCA-SNA
$188
6/30Mon
1 stopSouthwest
7h 55mLAX-DCA
7/2Wed
1 stopSouthwest
9h 25mDCA-LAX
$199
7/1Tue
1 stopSouthwest
8h 15mLAX-DCA
7/4Fri
2 stopsSouthwest
9h 45mDCA-LAX
$204
7/1Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 06mLAX-IAD
7/4Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 34mIAD-LAX
$211
7/4Fri
nonstopDelta
5h 01mLAX-DCA
7/15Tue
nonstopDelta
5h 28mDCA-LAX
$228
7/4Fri
nonstopDelta
5h 01mLAX-DCA
7/15Tue
nonstopDelta
5h 28mDCA-LAX
$233
7/4Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 50mLAX-IAD
7/10Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 20mIAD-LAX
$237
9/24Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
5h 14mSAN-IAD
9/27Sat
nonstopAlaska Airlines
5h 27mIAD-SAN
$237
9/24Wed
1 stopAlaska Airlines
9h 34mSAN-IAD
9/27Sat
nonstopAlaska Airlines
5h 27mIAD-SAN
$247

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Recent one-way flight deals

8/31Sun
nonstopHawaiian Airlines
5h 12mLAX-DCA
$90
7/7Mon
1 stopFrontier
8h 10mLAX-IAD
$96
10/31Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
4h 51mLAX-IAD
$99
10/31Fri
1 stopUnited Airlines
6h 58mLAX-DCA
$104
9/16Tue
nonstopAlaska Airlines
5h 14mSAN-IAD
$119
7/4Fri
nonstopAlaska Airlines
5h 05mLAX-IAD
$119
7/1Tue
1 stopAmerican Airlines
7h 15mSNA-DCA
$133
7/17Thu
1 stopDelta
10h 12mSMF-IAD
$139
9/18Thu
1 stopDelta
7h 39mSNA-DCA
$139
9/1Mon
1 stopAmerican Airlines
8h 08mSAN-IAD
$150

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Last minute flights from California to District of Columbia

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

6/20Fri
multi-stopFrontier
6h 58mSNA-DCA
6/25Wed
multi-stopFrontier
7h 16mDCA-SNA
$198
6/20Fri
multi-stopFrontier
12h 23mSAN-DCA
6/21Sat
multi-stopFrontier
8h 05mDCA-SAN
$200
6/17Tue
multi-stopDelta
6h 45mSMF-IAD
6/24Tue
multi-stopDelta
7h 54mIAD-SMF
$299
6/17Tue
multi-stopDelta
11h 01mSMF-IAD
6/24Tue
multi-stopDelta
7h 54mIAD-SMF
$304
6/20Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 24mLAX-DCA
8/15Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 47mDCA-LAX
$427
6/21Sat
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 05mLAX-IAD
7/4Fri
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 29mIAD-LAX
$437
6/17Tue
nonstopUnited Airlines
5h 02mLAX-IAD
6/18Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
15h 56mIAD-LAX
$447
6/17Tue
multi-stopAlaska Airlines
8h 41mSMF-IAD
6/23Mon
multi-stopAlaska Airlines
8h 24mIAD-SMF
$463
6/20Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
8h 14mLAX-DCA
6/28Sat
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
8h 25mDCA-LAX
$467
6/17Tue
multi-stopAlaska Airlines
9h 59mSMF-IAD
6/18Wed
multi-stopAlaska Airlines
8h 24mIAD-SMF
$528

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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.

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