$71 Find Cheap Flights from New York to California

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from New York to California departing on 1/6. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from New York to California.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from New York to California.
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Cheap Flights from New York to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$174
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$216
San Diego
San Diego2 stops$208
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$183
Palm Springs
Palm Springsnonstop$287
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$212
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$298
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$269
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$432
Reno
Reno2 stops$251
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$197
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stops$174
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$216
San Diego
San Diego2 stops$208
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$183
Palm Springs
Palm Springsnonstop$287
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$212
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo1 stop$298
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$269
Arcata
Arcata1 stop$432
Reno
Reno2 stops$251
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$197

Book Cheap New York to California Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from New York to California that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from New York to California

Fri, Feb 27 - Tue, Mar 3
Frontier Logo
1:00 pm - 10:48 pm
JFK
-
LAS
12h 48m1 stop
Frontier Logo
11:58 pm - 11:58 am
LAS
-
JFK
9h 00m1 stop
$131Frontier
Thu, Jan 15 - Sun, Jan 18
Frontier Logo
7:59 am - 11:12 am
JFK
-
LAS
6h 13mnonstop
Frontier Logo
10:36 pm - 6:30 am
LAS
-
JFK
4h 54mnonstop
$132Frontier
Wed, Feb 4 - Wed, Feb 18
JetBlue Logo
5:29 pm - 8:58 pm
JFK
-
LAX
6h 29mnonstop
JetBlue Logo
6:00 am - 2:22 pm
LAX
-
JFK
5h 22mnonstop
$177JetBlue
Wed, Jan 7 - Wed, Jan 14
JetBlue Logo
6:30 am - 9:18 am
EWR
-
LAS
5h 48mnonstop
JetBlue Logo
8:50 pm - 4:33 am
LAS
-
EWR
4h 43mnonstop
$197JetBlue
Sun, Jan 18 - Tue, Jan 27
Delta Logo
4:59 pm - 8:22 pm
JFK
-
SAN
6h 23mnonstop
Delta Logo
7:05 am - 3:29 pm
SAN
-
JFK
5h 24mnonstop
$217Delta
Sun, Jan 18 - Tue, Jan 27
Delta Logo
9:05 am - 12:49 pm
JFK
-
SFO
6h 44mnonstop
Delta Logo
12:15 pm - 8:58 pm
SFO
-
JFK
5h 43mnonstop
$217Delta
Fri, Jan 30 - Mon, Feb 2
Alaska Airlines Logo
5:30 pm - 9:08 pm
EWR
-
SFO
6h 38mnonstop
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:18 pm - 6:24 pm
SFO
-
EWR
21h 06m1 stop
$250Alaska Airlines
Thu, Jan 8 - Wed, Jan 14
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 10:23 am
EWR
-
SFO
6h 23mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
10:50 pm - 7:09 am
SFO
-
EWR
5h 19mnonstop
$252United Airlines
Thu, Jan 8 - Mon, Jan 12
United Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 9:39 am
EWR
-
SFO
6h 39mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
10:50 pm - 7:09 am
SFO
-
EWR
5h 19mnonstop
$253United Airlines
Fri, Jan 16 - Tue, Jan 20
Alaska Airlines Logo
6:08 pm - 8:11 am
EWR
-
SFO
17h 03m1 stop
Alaska Airlines Logo
4:03 pm - 4:22 pm
SFO
-
EWR
21h 19m1 stop
$256Alaska Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for New York to California flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from New York 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 New York to California?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from New York to California departing in January.

What is the cheapest New York to California flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to California from New York found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $135 round-trip. The most popular route is from New York John F Kennedy Intl Airport (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $135.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from New York to California?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $459, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from New York to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from New York to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from New York to California is September, when tickets cost $312 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and April, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $472 and $382 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from New York to California?

The average price of all round-trip flights from New York to California clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

When flying from New York to California, you should consider leaving on a Monday and avoid Sundays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to New York, you’ll find the best rates on Wednesdays and the most expensive ones on Sundays.

How far in advance should I book a flight from New York to California?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from New York to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from New York to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 42% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 14 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonSeptember
Cheapest flight$71
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 9% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 9% increase in price.
Flight from New York LaGuardia Airport to Las Vegas

Flights from New York to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from New York to California 
BeverlyFlew with JetBlue
JFK
-
SFO
Dec 2025
Wear support socks which helps when you sit for a long time.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
SFO
Dec 2025
Bring your own food and in flight activity since they don’t supply any.
LuisFlew with Delta
JFK
-
SFO
Mar 2025
It’s a long flight, come prepared to either watch movies, read or sleep.
HowardFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
SAN
May 2025
Must have a tablet to watch videos. Bring a seat cushion.
AracelyFlew with Spirit Airlines
EWR
-
LAX
Dec 2024
Bring snacks and your own water bottle to stay hydrated.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
SAN
Feb 2025
My flight was not delayed, but my family had a flight earlier in the week that was, by 5 hours. My daughter says she'll never book a late afternoon flight as they seem most likely to be delayed. I personally like the timing and usually they cost less. Also, get on the plan with fully charged devices or a non-electronic form on entertainment.
Verified travelerFlew with American Airlines
JFK
-
LAX
Jan 2025
Be there on time it really need two hours for security checkups
Verified travelerFlew with Qantas Airways
JFK
-
LAX
Nov 2024
there was an instance where a non speaking couple didnt know when to board. people cut in front of them and the crew didnt respond. it would be nice if there were translators available to assist when needed. i get that you want people on board as quickly as possible. sometimes, it's like herding cats. but do assist the people who dont understand the language.
JulieFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
SFO
Oct 2024
Leave early. JFK can be messy. I couldn’t find healthy food choices so eat before you arrive.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
SAN
Oct 2024
Landing in La Guardia or Newark (New Jersey) is more convenient for commuting to Manhattan.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
LAX
Jun 2024
Make sure to get food before you get to the airport. Bring chargers for ur phone or your technological device.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
SFO
Jun 2024
SFO is one of the most convenient and pleasant airports. When flying Alaska Air make sure to bring your food and a larger water bottle that usual (you get only two drink services (one small cup each) for a 6 hour flight.
BerniceFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
SAN
Jun 2024
Give yourself plenty of time to get through security.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
PSP
Mar 2024
Bring an iPad with lots of shows downloaded. The terminal at jfk is nice and small, easy to go thru security. Palm Springs airport is amazing. You step out and feel like you’re on vacation.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
LAX
Apr 2024
There are buses from Time Square Bus Terminal to Newark for $18 direct no stops you are there in 30 minutes.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
JFK
-
SFO
May 2024
The airport food was limited and expensive. Best to bring a sandwich from outside…
MasakoFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
LAX
Apr 2024
Newark has few food options so pack something if you can. It’s not worth getting food at Newark.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
EWR
-
SAN
Feb 2024
Allow time for TSA (I had) or figure out the priority boarding (I didn't but will look into it for future flights), I thought they were pretty inefficient. A guy behind me was freaking out because he was going to miss his flight and a bunch of us let him cut the line in hopes he could make it.
SridharFlew with Spirit Airlines
EWR
-
OAK
Dec 2023
Fly light. Get seats in front. Make sure you get here before 10 - rental car place closes prior.
LaurenFlew with JetBlue
JFK
-
LAX
Dec 2023
Be very careful that you don’t misplace anything. If you have to go through TSA multiple times, be sure to retrieve ALL your things even if it means you have to hold up the line unfortunately. Otherwise, there will be zero help to retrieve your things afterwards even though there are so many cameras.

FAQs - booking California flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from New York 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 New York to California.

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

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

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

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $359 on average. Morning departures are around 42% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $621.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from New York to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from New York to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from New York 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
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 11424 reviews
7.1Food
8.1Boarding
7.8Comfort
8.5Crew
7.0Entertainment
Airline reviews

First Class seats had no more legroom then Premium Economy. There was no working WiFi or entertainment. I would have rather paid $400 more and flown on United for the 6 hours from EWR to SFO.

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Nov 2025
EWR - SFO
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

First Class seats had no more legroom then Premium Economy. There was no working WiFi or entertainment. I would have rather paid $400 more and flown on United for the 6 hours from EWR to SFO.

Overall the flight was on-time and plane ride very comfortable. The free snacks not so good - only a small bag of pretzels and no milk. I wanted milk. There was not entertainment on the plane unless I wanted to download their APP. But I would consider flying with them again and be more prepared on my part with food and entertainment.

This time it is good, no delay and right on time

No food but only snack was provided during the 6-hour flight from EWR to LAX. I was so hungry during the trip.

Miss bigger screens for movies Staff was friendly Seats comfortable Bathroom line long

Seats are so small now that it's very hard even for a medium-sized person to be comfortable!!!

Good experience on flight. But flight was delayed for takeoff by an hour, and Alaska posted the wrong landing time on its website. So the person who was designated to pick me up arrived 1 hour early and sat waiting for a long time at 11pm at night. This could have been avoided with better text and website communication by Alaska/Hawaiin Airlines

If there were movies it would have made the flight much easier.

As always to close confinement for passengers not in upgrades. I like that you still get carry on and personal bag.

I purchased the internet during the flight and it stopped working after 1 hour, so I barely got to use it.

My flight was cancelled with no explanation after I had already cleared security. I was given 4 options to rebook, only one being non-stop like I had paid for. I grabbed it. It was 4 plus hours later and then took off even later. Biggest complaint is that I booked early and had an aisle seat. They gave me a "window" seat in front of the exit row, so the seat did not decline. I weigh all of 103 #s and it was tight for me! For what I paid, I feel I was kind of ripped off. I think they should have given me the empty comfort seat for the inconvenience. There was no apology nor any explanation as to why the flight was cancelled. My guess is it benefitted Delta in some way.

Very smooth, on-time, and pleasantly uneventful flight. The team at the gate and on board were professional and genuinely courteous. The pilot kept us well updated throughout, and both takeoff and landing were steady and enjoyable without any drama. Just a good, solid flight. Thank you! 💗

I truly love flying with Delta. They have always treated me with the upmost respect

The flight was great. The gate location was way to far away!!!

This route with Delta always has delays or is cancelled. Aircrafts seem smaller and older. I fly Delta quite a bit - haven’t had issues with the international flights. But this route has always been the troublesome one

I believe that a four-hour trip should have a meal. Delta had none.

Was charged for my luggage despite having been on one ticket from an international flight. Too tired to argue after 15 hours on flight. Was charged for rechecking it at JFK airport. Not sure why those off Kenya Airways were required to do that.

Flight was canceled, and no effort was made to help with rebooking, no hotel vouchers, no car transportation and minimal food voucher and most places for food were closed by the time the voucher was given. Waited for 3 hours for bags. Simply the worst travel experience I have ever had

At first, we were on the runway for about an hour, literally. The Captain did explain that the Control Tower just had a change shift (sounds like an unrealistic excuse) and then that we had to change a runway. A regular economy seat is made for 12 yo twiggy. I understand Delta wants to push for an upgrade, but after sitting in a Comfort seat and in First class. I would say First class is not worthy of my money. The landing was delayed because of the weather in NYC, I don't hold that against Delta, of course. The Captain did alert us to that upon takeoff in Vegas and again as we reached NY.

Not a "Delta" issue, but a JFK issue: We booked a connecting flight with 3 1/2 hours between to clearn immigration and customs. Our inbound flight (BCN to JFK) was on the taxiway 45 minutes which ate into our layover time. Immigtration was insanely quick with the CBP MPC app; however, clearing TSA (again, after we were ALREADY cleared in Spain on the inbound international flight) took over 95 minutes. This left us with 10 minutes before boarding the connecting flight (JFK to SAN) to walk to the far end of Terminal 4 and try to find food. We didn't find any food that could promise to serve us in under 10 minutes so we boarded the Delta flight after coming off a plance and an 8-hour flight knowing that we wouldn't be served any food on the next 5 1/2 hour flight. I feel like Delta needs to put pressure on the JFK TSA to open more screening stations (by our count, we saw only 5 scanners open and a line of - as we said - over 90 minutes. The insult is that we WERE ALREADY SCREENED through TSA, but as you come off one flight into the USA, you have to go through the whole process again. It seems like if you have a connecting flight, there should be a way to pass through immigration and customs without needing to return through TSA.

Flight was delayed 8 times. We were sitting at the airport for 14 hours. We got 2 hours of sleep (if that) on what was not meant to be a red-eye.

Plane boarded early a quickly, was mostly full. We left close to on time. And landed early.

Flight was timely, relatively comfortable, with decent entertainment and food served. Only problem encountered was with the free messaging which I highly appreciate, but it did not work from iphone to non-iphones.

This flight was perfect. No complaints and only the highest regard for the crew and ground staff and how they executed perfectly. I fly a lot with United and would request predictability and transparency in their operations instead of last minute changes.

Survey sent before we actually left. Delay after delay. Now a crew problem.

I love flying with United. Unfortunately, I flew on an older plane with minimal upgraded technology (no Bluetooth functionality or handy charging ports). Otherwise, the flight was great and even arrived early.

They changed my seats after I checked in and I was stressed from the time I saw that information until just before boarding, when the gate attendant fixed it, but it shouldn't have happened. And if it couldn't be prevented, then the people on the phone I spoke with should have done something to help, which they did not, nor did they offer me compensation, just meaningless apologies.

Smooth flight, especially take off and landing, and great crew on board. Really loved the stroopwaffles!

Deplaning was delayed because of Jetbridge equipment issues in MKE, causing an issue on an otherwise great flight.

Not really their fault, but a 4.5 hour delay is pretty brutal

Baggage handling poor. Second time this has happened. My bag went to San Francisco instead of Fiji. No apology. Luckily Nadi airport staff are fantastic. My bag arrived in Fiji the next day.

Disliked having to wait a little longer to disembark from the plan when we landed in London

Food should be better quality. Video screens have poor resolution and the library of movies is poor. The other airlines are much better.

They only offered water for Group 6. Awful announcements from the Crew. Couldn't understand a single word. Barely came by for the trash afterwards. Man, I love water for a premium flight. Wow. Water in a cup.

Great. Quick and quiet and east. The breakfast choices were a welcome surprise!

We arrived 4 hours early and still almost missed the flight because they weren’t able to access one of the boarding tickets. They then sent hour bags late and we were all of our without clothing and eventually had to take an expensive cab back and forth to the airport as they wouldn’t deliver the bag which arrived late at night that day and we would have to wait until noon the began day (messing up a second day of plans). Also, all the food has dairy or pork. No vegan or even vegetarian option in the flight—even for purchase.

The comfort of the seats was great, the crew eased my child’s anxieties and the fact that I had full cans of my beverage choice was great.

Pathetic check in experience at JFK. Everything is self check in. Not enough staff present to help with when the check in process or the kiosk gets stuck. Staff present not welcoming or pleasant at all. On the other hand the NY based flight crew was great. Courteous and friendly throughout the flight. Special meals leave a lot to be desired. Kids meals should be made available when kids are flying and same goes for special kids meals too.

This was a horrible experience. For a first class experience, my chair was held together by 3M tape - and I have a photo. The crew weren’t very attentive, somewhat dismissive and forgot my drink and snack, the chair reclined about 3 inches on a 6-hour cross country flight. I was also not informed that there was no lounge available in Newark airport because of renovations, so all around this was one of the worst experiences and I would actively avoid both American and Alaska Air going forward.

Waited on the runway for takeoff for 2.5 hours. Air traffic rerouted us. The plane didn't have enough fuel, so had to go back to the gate. Had to wait for a new pilot. Should have landed at 5:22. Didn't land until 9:10. Trash flight.

Everything was great. I liked the text updates so that I never miss a gate change & I have all the latest info.

No internet on a flight over three hours in this age is criminal. Staff inattentive and dismissive

Worst flight experience ever flights canceled. JetBlue told us just did not even bother standing in line to come back in one and a half hours then without any information we had to go pick up all of our luggage and spend over $2000 in accommodation just to get home. JetBlue said that the next flight available for us to get home would be three days later. Absolutely absurd hasn’t offered to give us any compensation do not fly JetBlue horrible company. They said it was based on the weather and the weather is great in all locations that we would’ve been flying to total hoax. I think it’s a conspiracy theory.

flight was delayed for hours with no explanation. The plane was a very old aircraft.

The flight departed more than 1 hour late. Leg room is bigger than most airlines

Excellent. Although they used to greet me as a mosaic member and provide a free drink, early boarding helps me to keep coming back to JetBlue.

No music app working: no economy meal on five hour flight; hour on tarmac at the end waiting for a gate. Flight itself was smooth and easy.

Communication with the customer and stay is important. Staff off with a minor inconvenience but it worked out of course. Also this was a very old Mint Class plane. They snuck this one in on us. The updated aircraft are much better.

The flight itself was fine, but the boarding process was extremely frustrating. There is no one scanning boarding passes - passengers just scan themselves and enter the jetway. By the time my husband and I got on the plane and were halfway to our seats they determined there were too many bags on the plane and everything at that point needed to be checked. This created a lot of unnecessary chaos. They should have alerted people before getting on the plane that they would need to start checking bags instead of waiting until people were already on the plane.

In flight on demand didn't work at our seats. Only a single beverage/snack run.

Everything you need to know for your flight from New York to California

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.