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Cheap Flights from Kansas City to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 5 days
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$251
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$319
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$171
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$260
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$351
Fresno
Fresno2 stops$340
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$339
Bakersfield
Bakersfield2 stops$300
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$598
Reno
Reno1 stop$260
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$251
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$319
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$171
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$260
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$351
Fresno
Fresno2 stops$340
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$339
Bakersfield
Bakersfield2 stops$300
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$598
Reno
Reno1 stop$260
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Kansas City to California flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Kansas City to California to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

How much is a round-trip flight from Kansas City to California?

Flight prices are typical for this route right now.

Flights to California from Kansas City usually cost between $247 and $432 in September.
The lowest price found in the past 5 days was $251 on Frontier (Sep 10-Sep 16).

What is the cheapest Kansas City to California flight route?

The cheapest ticket to California from Kansas City found in the last 5 days was to Los Angeles, at $235 round-trip. The most popular route is from Kansas City (MCI) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $235.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $489 on average. Morning departures are around 1% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $867.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Kansas City to California?

No, with an average price for the route of $381, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Kansas City to California?

The cheapest month for flights from Kansas City to California is September, when tickets cost $335 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and March, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $457 and $453 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Kansas City to California?

When flying from Kansas City to California, you should consider leaving on a Thursday and avoid Sundays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Kansas City, you’ll find the best rates on Saturdays and the most expensive ones on Mondays.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Kansas City to California?

To get a below average price on the flight from Kansas City to California, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 35% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 24 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$62
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 18% lower on average.
Flight from Kansas City to Ontario

FAQs - booking California flights

  • What are some common layovers on the route from Kansas City to California?

    When flying from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to various destinations in California, you might find direct flights to major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego. However, for smaller California destinations or if you're seeking more economical options, common layover airports could include Denver International Airport (DEN), Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), or Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). These layover points often depend on the airline and the specific destination in California.

  • If I want to visit Disneyland, which airport should I fly to?

    For a trip to Disneyland in California, the most convenient airport is John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County. Located just a short drive from Disneyland, it offers an easier and often less crowded alternative to the larger Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Another good option is Long Beach Airport (LGB), which is also relatively close and offers a more relaxed travel experience compared to Los Angeles Airport. Both airports provide access to Disneyland with various ground transportation options, including shuttles, taxis, and car rentals.

  • How can I make my flight from Kansas City to California more sustainable?

    To reduce the environmental impact of your flight, consider flying with airlines that prioritize sustainability. Airlines like Southwest, which operates routes from Kansas City to various California destinations, are known for their efficient fleet and environmental initiatives. Choosing direct flights when possible can help minimize carbon emissions, as the most fuel is consumed during takeoffs and landings.

  • On flights from Kansas City to California, which airlines offer onboard Wi-Fi, and are there charges for using it?

    For flights departing from Kansas City International Airport to California, airlines like Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines commonly provide Wi-Fi onboard. The approach to Wi-Fi services varies among these carriers. Southwest Airlines usually offers Wi-Fi at a nominal fee, while Delta Air Lines and American Airlines may have different pricing structures based on the length of the flight and the type of internet package.

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Kansas City to California 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 Kansas City 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 from Kansas City to California 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 Kansas City 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 from Kansas City to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from Kansas City to the following destinations at these prices or less: Las Vegas $185 one-way - $286 round-trip; Los Angeles $153 one-way - $277 round-trip
  • Your journey from Kansas City to California begins at Kansas City International Airport (MCI). While this airport isn't a major hub for any specific airline, it is served by several carriers, including Southwest Airlines, which has a significant number of flights from this airport. You'll find both direct and connecting flight options to various destinations in California.
  • Select your arrival airport based on your California destination: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for Southern California, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for the Bay Area, Sacramento International Airport (SMF) for the state's capital area, San Diego International Airport (SAN) for the San Diego area, or John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County for the Disneyland area and coastal attractions.
  • Southwest Airlines provides frequent direct flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco, making it a popular choice for travelers. For Northern California destinations like Sacramento, airlines such as Delta Air Lines and United Airlines offer a variety of flight options, including some direct flights and others with layovers.
  • For families flying from Kansas City to California, Kansas City International Airport provides amenities like nursing rooms and family restrooms for convenience. Airlines like Southwest Airlines, serving this route, often include family pre-boarding and in-flight entertainment suitable for children.
  • For enhanced comfort on your flight, especially on longer routes, consider upgrading your seat. Airlines like Delta and United Airlines offer premium seating with added benefits such as extra legroom, priority boarding, and improved in-flight services. Look for upgrade options when booking or keep an eye out for promotional upgrade offers.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Kansas City to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Kansas City 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
SouthwestOverall score based on 4215 reviews
7.5Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.6Crew
7.0Food
8.0Comfort
Airline reviews

Over a 3 hour flight. The turbulence was almost imperceptible except for 2 short periods which were not bad and over quickly. The attendants claimed "Safety first" and sat looking at their phones for 3 hours with no drink or snack service. This isn't the first time with Southwest. I thinkit may be there new plan of operation. Oh, and it was June 18, Southwest's Birthday which offered free drinks. NOT.

4.0 OkayJeff, Jun 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

Over a 3 hour flight. The turbulence was almost imperceptible except for 2 short periods which were not bad and over quickly. The attendants claimed "Safety first" and sat looking at their phones for 3 hours with no drink or snack service. This isn't the first time with Southwest. I thinkit may be there new plan of operation. Oh, and it was June 18, Southwest's Birthday which offered free drinks. NOT.

The flight was okay. The pilots did an amazing job and kept us updated on the flight. The flight attendants were okay. They found time to be chatty with each other rather than focus on the guests. One of the attendants was a little less warm when asking about my bag I had on my lap that I was using during latter part of the mid- flight. Mind you, it was not the departure descent. I’m respectful to each and every attendant, it was the tone in her voice reminding me to place my carryon bag on the floor. I hope to have a better experience next time.

Pretty seamless, just a tad bit late in taking off and landing.

Everything a cheap airline should be at normal airline rates.

Delays delays delays. Late taking off, late landing, wait for a gate, etc.

Multiple delays and gate changes. Arrived at final destination 6 hours late. All rental cars had been taken.

Crew was pleasant; flight was on time. Paid extra for early bird check-in and still got B boarding.

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

Crew was great - friendly and helpful with boarding - letting folks know where overhead space was available thus getting us out of the gate on time.

This was the second leg in a row where the Wi-Fi was down so I couldn't use my electronics for entertainment. Also, I realize that Southwest planes do not come with chargers which would have been nice since my phone was low battery and the flight was over 3 hours. The snacks and drinks are in such small portions, and the snacks aren't good.

The experience was bad. Flight was delayed to handle maintenance (understandable) but still there was some dew forming and dropping as droplets on few seats. Internet at best was allowing some browsing but at a snail pace.

Both of my flights to and from JFK experienced significant delays. Most notably, my first flight was delayed by six hours due to crew members being affected by delays on a previous flight. While I understand that disruptions can occur, Delta’s staffing and operational planning should include sufficient contingency measures to handle situations like this rather than placing the full burden of those delays on customers. Additionally, the $12 meal voucher offered as compensation was inadequate, particularly given the high cost of food and beverages at the airport. Considering the length of the delay and the substantial inconvenience caused, I believe more meaningful compensation would have been appropriate.

Comfortable seats. Nice service online. Short flight, so not a lot of time to enjoy.

Your survey needs a N/A option. I didn’t use the entertainment or eat food.

Flight was delayed multiple time and for more than 1 hr. My onward flight from BOS to MCI was also delayed. These delays have caused me so much inconvenience and Delta does nothing to ensure flights take off on time. No one knew why the inbound flight was delayed and what was the issue.

Our flight was delayed by over 4 hours due to a maintenance issue. They announced a new plane was on the way. We were given a $12 food voucher ( airport food is quite expensive You can’t even by a water and a small snack for 12:00. 4 hours later we boarded and landed in Atlanta at 10:20 ish pm. Of course we missed our connection and we were given a hotel voucher and another food voucher ! We didn’t make it home until 11:00 the next day ! Unacceptable

Delta has too many delays now days. It is 1:06 am now. I was supposed to land in Norfolk at 10:30 pm. I got re-booked through Detroit and I’m still in Detroit. I hope to be landed in Norfolk by 3am. I’ve been in airports for 12 hours as of right now. There is a weather delay now but most delays lately have been maintenance.

This is the first time I've been disappointed with Delta. I was called by Delta to see if I would volunteer to change flights since my original flight home was overbooked. I accepted. The modified booking only provided me a 35 minute layover - when you subtract the fact that boarding closes for a flight 15 minutes early, that gave me 20 minutes to run for one end of the airport to the other. I barely made it. On the 2.5 hour flight to Tampa, the crew repeatedly let us know over the intercom that they cannot serve drinks or snacks due to safety/turbulence. I would have accepted this reason if they did not CONTINUALLY SERVE DRINKS AND COOKED FOOD to First class. If safety is the excuse then the entire plane should be strapped in for safety. On top of this the air conditioning vents were not working correctly and the plane was uncomfortably warm. I love Delta and am a loyal Delta traveler, and I have never had an experience like this. I don't know if there's a disconnect between availability among third-party sites like KAYAK and the airlines or what, but when overbooking causes issues like this for travelers it should be reviewed and changes to the booking process should be made. I blame BOTH KAYAK and Delta for this terrible experience.

A regional sized plane was used for a cross country flight with no overhead bin space. I had to "pink check" my laptop and my medications. I was NOT pleased!!!!

I always fly with Delta. My friends tell me their horror stories of flying with other airlines. I just smile and say, “You should fly Delta”

The app logs you out right when you are boarding requiring all passwords and reservation number for the flight. Super annoying

The pre-order only approach for fresh food is really challenging

the seat has a problem. the back had a hole.

Old 757 with poor entertainment system. United no longer partners with United for free text and email. O'Hara an absolute disaster! Limited gates clauses two hour delay. Unfortunately this appears to be the norm.

The flight to America was freezing. The overnight flight back to the UK was boiling hot and the cabin stank of toilet or occasionally perfume, even though I was several rows back from either bathroom. Food was tiny portions. Two small pieces of tough and dry beef in random gravy with pretend mashed potato raking up most of it. Very little veg. Salad was ok. Wooden cutlery broke within minutes of using. Lots of old films for entertainment. Some new ones. Generally a bit rubbish.

The SFO lounge closes at 12 midnight. My flight took off at 2AM

Delayed 2 hours while stuck on the aircraft. If the luggage was properly loaded the first time we probably wouldn’t have been delayed at all

Fine not above and beyond as I had a connection that was delayed due to maintenance

Boarding was quick and efficient. My screen didn’t come on and everyone else had theirs working so a little bummer but it was a short flight!

They makes us feel confident on the flight. There was no any cancelation and they are really helpful with us.

I have to sit in the middle for more than five hours because the first flight was delayed. Terrible experience. No more American Airlines.

The boarding process was slow and we had a delay on the tarmac, not the fault of the airline. They had ZERO food options available for purchase which shouldn't happen.

Once again the staff of American Airlines is kind, helpful, efficient, and professional.

Awful! We boarded and then sat on the plane for 50 mins before having to deplane due to a maintenance issue which should have been addressed before boarding. Then we had to change terminals as there was no other plane for us at the current terminal. Then we waited another 2 and a half hours to board again only to wait for 50 mins on the plane again for the snacks to be brought from the broken plane. And once we were on the flight we still only got the complimentary cookie and soda or water. No food vouchers provided even though we had waited over 3 hours for our flight.

Our experience with American Airlines was extremely disappointing and honestly made an already exhausting international journey much worse. After flying all the way from Melbourne and dealing with significant jet lag, the American Airlines experience at LAX was the last thing we needed. The terminal and boarding area felt very old and uncomfortable, with little to no air conditioning and only old fans running in the area. Boarding was also through outdoor stairs rather than a jet bridge, which felt especially inconvenient after such a long journey. Even though we were traveling First Class, the onboard experience was surprisingly poor. There were no meaningful snack options, no decent coffee available to order, and the aircraft was so small that there was barely enough overhead space for carry-on luggage. The staff experience was also disappointing and lacked the warmth or attentiveness we had experienced on our international flights. To make matters worse, the flight departed late, extending an already very long travel day. Overall, the combination of the outdated terminal, uncomfortable boarding process, limited First Class service, small aircraft, poor staff experience, and delay made this an extremely unpleasant final leg of our journey. It significantly worsened our exhaustion and jet lag rather than making the connection home easier. Unfortunately, this experience was bad enough that I do not plan to travel with American Airlines again in the future.

No food. I paid over $1.000 for my ticket for nuts and espresso beans.

American delayed the flight for a crew rest period. The delay occurred late in the evening - the earliest i can find is 10:20 pm. With a 6 am flight anyone on the flight would have already have been asleep (unless you are insane, a vampire or on drugs) and at least for me i was already on the way to the airport at 445 am the next morning when i discovered they delayed the flight until 9 am. Given the incoming flight was in the air at 6 pm the evening before this should have been figured out a lot more timely that was there only crew to use. Just frustrating given there is no consideration for customer experience anymore in flying.

I very rarely fly American and my experience today reenforces that is the correct decision. While the staff were all very courteous, our flight was first thing in the morning so there was no reason to be delayed, yet appropriate maintenance checks weren’t completed prior to our flight so we were delayed multiple times. Not a great showing, American Airlines.

More room. International flight - by the time you put your purse and shoes under the seat in front of you, add in the pillow and blanket they give you- makes for tight fit.

Everything minus the seat, was okay. Not enough room. 15 hours in a small space was hard on my back. I'm still quite sore.

Tiny seats, no entertainment, no amenities, delays, they charge for carry on and their allowed personal item is smaller than in other airlines.

I really didn't like anything. Paid for my checked luggage online ($79) and then was told that I would have to paid another $79 for my carry on. Was not allowed to enter the terminal until 3 hours before my flight and when I finally was allowed to check my bag and enter, my flight was delayed 3 times. When I finally landed, we were all instructed to "run off the plane" as they had to do a quick turn around to Las Vegas. Me and several of my flying companions will never fly Frontier again.

Our flight was canceled. I will never use Kayak nor Frontier for travel again. The entire experience was a headache.

Terrible. The canceled my entire flight when I requested a refund for a trip frontier canceled trip one way.

i was unable to check in the flight. refund requested

I think Frontier was very good at communication. Their app worked very well. Loading was great and the flight was nice and easy.

Great for the price. No wifi or entertainment, but gate agents and crew were fantastic and we boarded quickly and left on time.

Decent clean onboard experience. Okay discount airline experience. Unfortunately, any customer service interactions are difficult and unhelpful. There is no service. Also, a premium seat only gets you premium boarding if you line up first. Once they start general boarding you must go to the back of the line. Not very premium

The crew was mostly okay. The flight attendant who answered our questions was curt and unhelpful unfortunately. He seemed upset and I understand having off days.

Very bad! No good service delayed my second connection flight

Everything you need to know for your flight from Kansas City to California

Information on your arrival and departure airports