$324 Find Cheap Flights from New Zealand to California - Compare and Save

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KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to California

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

What is the cheapest flight to California?

The cheapest ticket to California from New Zealand found in the last 5 days was to Los Angeles, at $439 round-trip. The most popular route is Auckland (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $439.

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

The cheapest month for flights from New Zealand to California is November, when tickets cost $452 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and July, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $689 and $609 respectively.

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

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $973 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally at night, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,241.

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

To get a below average price on the flight from New Zealand to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 21% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 26 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in California?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in California is San Francisco Airport (SFO), with an average flight price of $724.

Good to know

Low season

February

Cheapest flight

$324
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 7% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 1% lower on average.
Flight from Auckland to Los Angeles

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

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from New Zealand to California 
GregoryFlew with Air New Zealand-Nov 2024
If you can, and you’re a grown adult, pay the few extra dollars for premium economy. You won’t regret it
SidFlew with United Airlines-Jan 2024
wear layers as our flight over was freezing and return flight back was back sweat hot

FAQs for booking flights from New Zealand to California

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from New Zealand 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 Zealand 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 Zealand 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 Zealand 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 Zealand 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 day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Monday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $1,113. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Tuesday, where round-trip prices are $1,331 on average.

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

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from New Zealand 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
Fiji AirwaysOverall score based on 259 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.0Boarding
8.5Crew
7.5Food
7.4Entertainment
Airline reviews

The flight was delayed and it was delayed on my trip from Seattle to San Francisco also, my luggage didn’t get to me 5 days later after my arrival.

2.0 MediocreAnonymous, Sep 2026
Read more Fiji Airways reviews

The flight was delayed and it was delayed on my trip from Seattle to San Francisco also, my luggage didn’t get to me 5 days later after my arrival.

Left on time , arrived on time. Staff was awesome!!!!! Great flight!!!!

A bit cramped in economy and the people in front wouldn’t put their seats up during meal service, crew did not help with that and I felt they could have done more about it.

The airline is ok, but it needs to improve it schedules.

In-flight entertainment options could use a refresh, Consider a tie-up with Spotify for more current music and with IMDB or other service for newer selections/movie ratings.

6 hour delay and they didnt try to make up any time during an over 10 hour flight

Entertainment was not good. Seems like liquor should’ve been advertised only beer and wine was even though I saw others getting liquor didn’t realize I could. And the food to me could’ve been a little bit.

Better connections, much better cabin crew, much cleaner cabin that Qantas, American and probably other carriers.

The flight attendants were extremely friendly and helpful. Everything ran on time. I highly recommend Fiji Airways.

Very clean aircraft. Friendly staff. New plane. Food quality was good. Not my flavor but I saw the effort.

Premium economy seats and food we're very nice although the price could be more affordable so we can do it more often.

The Premium Economy seats were very comfortable and the food was quite tasty. I did not use the entertainment system, but I was able to charge my phone and tablet with the seatback connection.

Air New Zealand over sold our flight and tried to bump us to yesterday. After several calls we got booked to United about 6 hrs before our original flight. No apologies!

Please add more Bollywood movies and recent movies to the entertainment.

Flight was delayed by 2 hours. Got lucky that i had a long connection, else would have certainly missed my connecting flight. Food is just okay, specially the breakfast is worse . Asked for water 30 mins before landing, the response is that we are landing so everything is packed . I guess traveling in economy that’s what we get. Probably business class passengers would get a different answer. Only good thing is that wifi service is available from auckland to lax for most part Next time will try united or American and then compare.

Great except paying $240 usd for 2 pounds over on a checked luggage. Outrageous.

Service was excellent and they’re very helpful and nice

Not a comfortable trip, the seats are not good, and they look old.

Sitting in an aisle seat equals getting hit by food cart and spilled on multiple times Food: gross and minimalistic Crew: frumpy and kurt Sound on multiple entertainment platforms poor Not an earplug problem, system soundboard poor

Wonderful Airlines…our American Airlines could learn from ANZ. From boarding to landing everyone was professional and gracious. Kiwi’s really are the nicest of all people! Thank you

The Airline Attendant found us in flight and moved us to seats in the front of economy due to the short time we would have to make our connecting flight. We really appreciated it.

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.

Delta has joint the nickel and diming airlines. The experience is getting worst by the day. 1,000,000 miles for a trip to Asia in Business Class where I got the same thing for just under 90,000 miles through an Asian airline. Where is Richard Anderson? Please come back!

Crew and support were very good; lounge was very good. Seat was narrow and very close to other passengers; lie flat is more complicated and exposed to the aisleways.

Very bad multiple confusion and miscommunication which i ended up missing my flight.

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.

The flight was done by SkyWest only WIFI no entertainment center are available on the CRJ

Delta is always late. Ruined our first day of a short vacation. Timing is important. We pay to stay on an itinerary

Overall, it was a very good experience. I would have given it a 10/10, especially based on our flight from SFO to Melbourne. The cabin crew on that flight were wonderful and incredibly attentive. They took extra care when setting up our beds so we could sleep comfortably without being disturbed. Dinner was served promptly and smoothly. I woke up quite late, when the flight was already preparing for landing, and the crew still made sure I was taken care of. They brought me English tea in a proper cup, and when it was time to prepare the cabin for landing, they thoughtfully transferred it into a takeaway cup so I could continue enjoying it along with some breakfast. Those small, thoughtful gestures made the long flight feel much more comfortable and special. The service from the SFO to Melbourne crew was truly excellent.

Loved the food and beverages available, spacious economy class, excellent entertainment

Very good overall. Highly recommend for all flying to Australia

We had bulkhead seats in a A380 in the upper deck in seats 31 D and E. Storage was very limited other than in overhead bin - which is not within reach when in seat. Yet paying same price as others in premium economy who have a lot more storage within arm’s reach. Seems very unfair.

We booked with Qantas instead of Delta and we instead flew on American Airlines. American is not our favorite to go on. No leg room and the width of seats are a joke. Your are packed like sardines on American flights.

When I originally booked this flight, I was expecting to travel on Qantas. When the itinerary changed and the long-haul segment was operated by American Airlines, we were disappointed but remained open-minded. Unfortunately, the overall service experience fell far short of expectations. This was a long-haul international flight. Getting up periodically to use the restroom or stretch is inevitable, especially on flights of this duration. However, each time we stood up, we felt as though we were inconveniencing the crew. The tone and body language often suggested that we were in the way or disrupting something simply by moving about the cabin. As a result, I avoided getting up as often as I needed to and was physically very sore upon arrival. Meal service was similarly impersonal. The options were presented in single words “beef or veggie,” “pasta or beef” without any description of what was actually being served. There was little engagement or courtesy beyond that. Even simple expressions of gratitude were often not acknowledged. I am accustomed to no-frills travel and do not expect luxury. What was disappointing was not the absence of extras, but the absence of basic warmth and professionalism. On a long-haul international flight, small moments of courtesy and humanity make a significant difference. In this case, the experience felt transactional and dismissive rather than welcoming. I hope this feedback is taken constructively, as there is a meaningful difference between efficient service and indifferent service.

Flight arrived late with no one to help over 30 people rebook. I slept at the airport.

Business seats not as comfortable or private as most competitors (e.g. Qantas was outstanding), and movie selection was much more limited than Qantas or United has been recently

Hard to move and get out of my seat when the passenger in front is in recline position.

I tried to check in online but was unable to do so. I stood in line for nearly two hours to check in. American Airlines was understaffed. When I finally got to the kiosk to check in, I was still unable to check in. No AA staff was available to help. Finally one of the airport security agents who was helping passengers became of lack of AA Staff told me: “I think the reason you can’t check in is that you are starting your name with an upper case letter when you write it. Just write it with all lower case letters.” That did allow me to check in. HOW COULD ANYONE POSSIBLY KNOW THAT IF THEY USE AN INITIAL UPPER CASE LETTER TO SPELL THEIR OWN NAME, AA WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM TO CHECK IN?????? Then I had to wait in line over half an hour again to drop off my baggage. Although I arrived at the airport 3 hours early, by the time I got to the gate, they had already started boarding.

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

For the Singapore to CA flight, nearly 16 hours long was miserable. We sat on the tarmac for one hour to burn fuel. The flight attendant girls were mean. They would yell at people who stood up to try to stretch their legs. One time the drinks came thru and the lady judged us and made a comment about how much sugar was in apple juice when we ordered it once. She was rude and inappropriate. The entire flight was frustrating. You'd think a long haul like that the airline would try to make you comfortable. I just don't understand why the ladies were so snappy. I have never experienced rude flight attendants like that. It was the longest flight I've had to sit on before. We were not impressed. Raymond on the other hand was amazing! By far the best person working that flight!

premium economy is expensive but worth it for the comfort and food on a long flight

Even though the incoming flight was delayed by 20 minutes they managed to get us to SFO 15 minutes early.

Boarding, time to take off, in flight offerings, and staff were all great. I recommend using UA for this short flight.

Good experience. Staff was friendly and helpful. Flight was slightly delayed due to airport construction, but they still arrived on time.

This is the worst airline I’ve ever been on in my life and I’ve been probably on 75% of them. I said 15 years ago I would never go on United again. I was an idiot. I booked a flight with them from Las Vegas to San Francisco and of course they screwed that up and cost me a day flying all over the world trying to get to Thailand. My luggage was gone for 35 hours all because they couldn’t make their route on time

The flight out of Fresno boarded 1.5 hour past scheduled and made me miss my connecting flight from SFO to SEA.

On the way my flight entertainment wouldn’t work the screen went black and no matter how many times I tried to turn it on it wouldn’t. Food was surprisingly good but the tray tables were tiny so you couldn’t get anything else on the table. The seats hardly go back and are not overly comfortable. Wouldn’t fly United again.

temperature, temperature, temperature. it was hot as balls and everyone around me was complaining and constantly adjusting their vents

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