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Cheap Flights from Kailua-Kona to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 5 days
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$364
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$429
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$401
Sacramento
Sacramentononstop$384
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$345
Palm Springs
Palm Springs2 stops$495
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$346
Reno
Reno1 stop$346
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$364
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$429
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$401
Sacramento
Sacramentononstop$384
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$345
Palm Springs
Palm Springs2 stops$495
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$346
Reno
Reno1 stop$346
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Kailua-Kona to California flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona to California?

Flight prices are below average for this route right now.

Flights to California from Kailua-Kona usually cost between $368 and $519 in January.
The lowest price found in the past 5 days was $364 on Southwest (Jan 19-Jan 26).

What is the cheapest Kailua-Kona to California flight route?

The cheapest ticket to California from Kailua-Kona found in the last 5 days was to San Diego, at $240 round-trip. The most popular route is from Kailua-Kona (KOA) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $287.

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

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $476 on average. Morning departures are around 13% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $588.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Kailua-Kona to California?

No, with an average price for the route of $478, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Kailua-Kona to California?

The cheapest month for flights from Kailua-Kona to California is January, when tickets cost $317 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and October, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $559 and $518 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Kailua-Kona to California?

If you are looking for a flight deal from Kailua-Kona to California, look for departures on Wednesdays and avoid leaving on a Tuesday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from California, Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly and Saturday is the most expensive.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Kailua-Kona to California?

To get a below average price on the flight from Kailua-Kona to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 25% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 20 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

September

Cheapest flight

$168
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 7% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 12% increase in price.
Flight from Kailua-Kona to San Diego

Flights from Kailua-Kona to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Kailua-Kona to California 
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Sep 2026
Hawaiian Airlines were excellent from check in, and boarding to arrival. But I direct San Jose to Kailua-Kona would be better than the the hop in and out of Honolulu. The time to get from one gate to another in Honolulu was too short
DerekFlew with Delta-Sep 2026
Check your bags knowing that 50 minutes can be a hard cut off time.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Feb 2026
I flew direct from Kona Airport. It's small, friendly . But on the obverse side loading did take a very long. Take a direct flight to San Francisco; connection is a terrible experience in Honolulu International Airport.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines-Nov 2025
Pay to reserve your seat and bring airbuds for the free movies!
MikeFlew with Alaska Airlines-Jul 2025
Be prepared for your flight by purchasing a meal before departure, and by all means spend the eight bucks for inflight WiFi.
Verified travelerFlew with Hawaiian Airlines-Oct 2024
The gate we were at did not have a designated boarding area. This caused passengers to congregate in the middle of a walkway. The gate agent was clear in telling people to sit until their zone was called, but many did not listen. Whole fruits and vegetables are also not allowed, so don't pack those back to California. Bags were also weighed -- carry-ons could be just 25 pounds or less. This was enforced.

FAQs - booking California flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona to California.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona 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 Kailua-Kona to the following destinations at these prices or less: Las Vegas $327 one-way - $580 round-trip; Los Angeles $258 one-way - $444 round-trip; San Francisco $264 one-way - $504 round-trip

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Kailua-Kona to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Kailua-Kona 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.
7.9
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 13106 reviews
7.8Comfort
7.0Entertainment
7.0Food
8.5Crew
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

The fight attendant for the first class cabin was outstanding. Very attentive and cared excellently for the passengers. Very smooth flight and landing. I used my iPAD and my own apps for entertainment, but I think a service including inflight entertainment will be better for some.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Sep 2026
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

The fight attendant for the first class cabin was outstanding. Very attentive and cared excellently for the passengers. Very smooth flight and landing. I used my iPAD and my own apps for entertainment, but I think a service including inflight entertainment will be better for some.

It differed from the flight out to Kona: fewer people thus a simple seat change was great. 1 row 2 seats. The menu was also better than the flight out as well. It arrived 45 minutes early.

I was in economy class and there was plenty of leg room. New interior which was nice and they served various kinds of chips and sodas on the red eye. You couldn't get a bottle of water but they instead served it in a medium paper cup from a reinforced structured paper container, environmental friendly.

Boarding passes could not be received online, even after online check-in. While they appeared on the Alaska.com app, they did not transfer to inbox or messages and were not available at all on the Alaska.com app following the check-in process. There was no choice other than to get boarding passes at the airport counter.

I know airlines have to save money, but a little more legroom would be nice. I’m a small person and I just felt cramped after a few hours. However, I loved everything else! Free Alaska Airlines wifi, free movies, yummy snacks, and the crew was so helpful and accommodating!

Unfortunately 4 hour 40 minute delay because of airport then one hour into flight diverted back to Kona elderly man on plane got heart attack trying to get home some how

Horrible! No blanket or pillow available! We had bulkhead seats but the seats were worn out and no cushion old. No meal or even a sandwich for our 5 hour flight just a little bag of pretzels. Crabby attendant female with long brown hair. We will not book Alaska Airlines again

We had to cancel and we’re treated fairly with 100%refund quickly

Paid additional for seat upgrade, but got same seat as no upgrade.

We should have put our backpacks overhead as there was no foot room under the seat in front. Couldn’t hear flight announcements in the waiting area. The seat was hard so that it got uncomfortable toward the end of the flight. I’ve never had this happen before.

It’s too cold like fridge and they don’t offer a blanket with expensive price

A List preferred boarding was nice Asked for a mask and cheerfully received Denver bag check-in is tricky. Not near other checking desk. Have to navigate to east security and up to level six for bag checkin. TSA busy and 20 minutes process thru pre lines Denver train to gates quick but one more thing to plan time for and long concourse walk to gate

Not exactly Southwest’s problem, but the new Burbank airport is not great. No restaurants open and tons of work still to be completed. Can’t believe they opened the airport in that condition.

Southwest has lost most of what made it special. The flight attendants all used to seem fun and like they were having fun. Now they seem just miserable. They do NOT seem happy to give you your pretzels and drinks. They stick it in your hand or on your tray like it's an annoyance. They bark safety instructions at you. It's not just this flight but the last few SW flights I've had to SNA and SAN as well and it's not just me. I've informally surveyed my colleagues (business and leisure travelers) and these feelings are consistent. The tickets are similarly priced to other carriers and the seat assignments make boarding slower. The free luggage and free ability to change flights is still a differentiator. You lose that and there's virtually nothing special left.

Overall good experience...exception: very cold temp in teh cabin.

I liked how it boarded fast. I do not like how the seats are just too narrow, and I’m not a big person.

Despite paying for an ‘upgraded’ seat in row 1, I had to put my luggage in the middle of the plane. Snacks were bleh and seat was small and uncomfortable and I am not large. Attendants were fine but not super helpful. Plane just seemed outdated.

Delayed for no reason at all originally. Then they said it was due to weather conditions. Communication between kayak and Southwest was terrible because both displayed different delays and departure times for HOURS throughout the day. The plane then had technical issues which delayed us from taking off even longer. Didn’t actually take off until 11:45pm when the original departure time was 7:35pm. I didn’t get home until 1:30am the next day. I was exhausted and pissed off. I am not confident if I’ll fly southwest in the future or use kayak to book.

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Boarding was quick. The flight itself was good. However, no charging ports for cell phones. Also, the food provided was just a few snacks. For a 5-hr flight, I would expect at least a sandwich.

dropped my bags at Seattle Delta curbside. 1.5 hours before departure. one bag oversized made it. the other was left at curb and mishandled. poor communication from delta in sjc baggage claim. No internet on flight and food choices in business are horrible. You are forcing us to fly Alaska which is shockingly better than the Delta experience. that is a low bar.

attendents were rude and the boarding was disjointed and poor

DL486 could not get to the gate due to jet bridge malfunction. We moved gates. The connecting flight of LAX to MCO was not communicated with. Even though we were in the same terminal, DL482 left without about 10 of us, including a mother and her 3 children. I got to the gate at 7:34 am which is past the 7:20 am last call for a 7:35 am departure. Had they waited 5 minutes, all of us would have made it on board.

Not really a “Delta” problem but worth mentioning: Boarding was a difficult process. TSA seemed understaffed and Pre-Check took longer than regular TSA. The supervisor was frazzled and yelled at travelers. Once through TSA, we had to put our carry-ons through another x-ray machine. Then queue up to board with both boarding pass and ID. Then, when we got to the stairs on the tarmac, we had to show our boarding pass again. Maybe this is just normal for Kona since the terminal is outdoors (but still a “secured” area).

Staff at the check-in counter were friendly, happy and helpful. They tagged our bags and sent us to “bag drop off” but were not very clear about where that was. The airport was busy we headed off in what we thought was the right direction until a gentleman waved us down and actually came after us. He was the baggage handler for Delta and recognized our “deer in the headlights “ look-he brought us to the right area (which was marked as the Southwest Airlines Drop Off) and sent us on our way. Wonderful guy, low key and working with a big smile on his face. Loved it. Loved him.

My flight was extremely cold. I had a jacket and a cover was left in each seat. The cover was extremely thin and I have a disability, fibromyalgia and arthrithis and AC air is the worst. I closed my vent and my husbands vent and it still was frigid. I asked the attendant if I could get another cover and she quickly almost dismissively and totally unconcerned stating, (I quote) (one per chair) and walked off so quickly that I didn't get a chance to explain to her that I literally have adisability. I didnt want to make a seen so I set on that flight for over 5 hours in pain, joints locking up and extremely uncomfortable. When my fibromyalgia flares up my joints not only ache but they will lock up also and it takes me days to get back to my regular self even though I take medication for it. I felt like it would not have hurt anyone at all for her to just give me an extra cover because I'm sure they have all types of medical issues in people that fly every day.

Your crew could maybe answer the call bell at least one of the times I pressed it. I pressed it first time with 2.5 hours left in our flight bc my partner was hungry and wanted a sandwich. We finally got the sandwich with 40 mins left in the flight.

This flight landed early, but deplaned late. We were stuck sitting and waiting for a gate for over an hour

Delta flights are great. Easy boarding, friendly crew, great entertainment system. The food/snack choices could be a little better, especially on 4+ hour flights, but still better than most other airlines.

Not much food service - comfort + seat wasn’t that comfortable

Job well done, being treated for good and helping a lot . thanks you so much till will meet against.

My flight from Honolulu (UA 1221) was on a very old 757, no video monitors anywhere. If you wanted to watch a movie, you needed to do so using the United app on one’s phone. WiFi was $8 for Mileage Plus members; I demurred, choosing to spend my time reading a novel using the Kindle app on my Samsung S26. The meal was okay … Breakfast on any domestic airline is so-so as a rule and this one was no exception. The best part of the meal was the fruit plate and the warm croissant. The highlight: The flight left on time and arrived early.

Excellent flight. On time. Great staff. Clean and crisp cabin.

This was an overnight flight, and in the morning they did know coffee service. How you can throw passengers in a San Francisco airport at 5:40 a.m. in the morning and not giving them Coffee is a crime.

Packed in plane small uncomfortable seats elbow to elbow nobody wants to be in that situation for the money they paid

Horrible service no Wi-Fi connection on both leg of the flight and they are refusing to fix bad service

Flight arrived 30 min early and bag was waiting at the baggage pickup. United Club HNL was one of the nicest in the system

Fantastic crew. Flight was delayed at last minute but we were given updates every 20 minutes and the crew was so friendly and considerate. I miss the touch screens on the back of the seats, wish they would bring that back though.

I was pleased and I had a very good experience. The staff was friendly and attentive.

Wi-Fi was not working. Boarding lanes were a mess.

Everything was fine except they changed the gate number and we ended up running all over LAX because of it.

My flight in Dallas had maintenance issues. Which caused us to missed our connecting flight in LA. We had to stay overnight in Los Angeles. American Airlines booked us a hotel. The hotel was the Holiday Inn. It was horrible. The whole hotel smelled like weed and there were people rambling all night long up and down the hallways. The carpets in the hallway and the room has stains. There was dirt on the floor. It was so nasty that I slept in my clothes.

The flight crew was rude. We were in first class and no one even offered water until an hour after we were in the air. Horrible experience

Boarding gate in Honolulu was staffed with a great clerk with a soothing voice despite the flight delay of over an hour. Flight attendants in the plane were all grumpy, not pleasant looking bunch. Their sour attitude showed throughout the flight. Inly able to get a select few movies started. Most of the movie links in the “free entertainment” did not work.

Flight boarded from Gate 39 at OGG, the farthest gate in the terminal. There were no Hawaiian themed amenities for the flight. The first class service was mediocre at best; I received not special welcome or recognition as an executive platinum member of American Advantage program. The flight attendants were more concerned with their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as we disembarked. Fortunately, the flight arrived at LAX a few minutes early.

What, first class and not even a cup of coffee before landing at 5 am in First Class? Really?

RE Food: Wish there was a choice for No Rating. Flew from Honolulu to Los Angeles on a Red-Eye flight (11:00 pm to 7:30 am). Other than a package of cookies with a beverage choice offered soon after take-off, and a beverage choice shortly before landing, no other food choices were offered. Everyone slept or rested for most of the trip. Nothing to rate. RE Entertainment: Everyone was sleeping most of the flight. Only saw one passenger watch about 30 minutes of entertainment on his iPad. I never attempted to access any entertainment options.

Our flight was great we left Kona earlier and got into LAX almost an 1hour earlier as well. LAX AA is in repair so to get out and found our bus to get pick up was a bit confusing.

I can say I will not be taking this airline again any time soon. Seat were uncomfortable and too tight. Lack of chair screen and little overhead space.

Flight was on time and luggage arrived undamaged. My main complaints revolve around comfort. The seats were very uncomfortable. We were unable to sleep as a result. The entertainment offerings were all on the wifi. Who wants to watch a movie on their phone? The flight staff did the best they could with what they had to offer, which was just little snacks and soda, etc. My Delta flight was a much better experience in contrast.

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