$114 Find Cheap Flights from North Carolina to California - Compare and Save

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Low season

January

Cheapest flight

$114
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 14% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 3% increase in price.
Flight from Raleigh to San Diego

Flights from North Carolina to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from North Carolina to California 
ManishFlew with Air New Zealand-Apr 2026
Long haul so make sure to get up and move around a bit.
HartajFlew with United Airlines-Dec 2024
RDU long-term parking can add 30-70 mins to your departure time. At terminal 2 in RDU, getting a taxi can take 2-5 mins, vs. waiting 10-30 mins for a car app pickup. :)

FAQs for booking flights from North Carolina to California

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from North Carolina 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 North Carolina to California.

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

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

  • Which airlines fly most frequently to California?

    North Carolina and California are connected by different airlines. The airlines that fly that route the most regularly are American Airlines (113 flights per week), Air Tahiti Nui (48 flights per week), and Alaska Airlines (39 flights per week).

  • How many airports are there in California?

    There are 29 airports in California. The busiest airport is Los Angeles Airport (LAX), with 39% of all flights arriving there.

  • 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 Diego Airport (SAN), with an average flight price of $244.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Thursday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $530. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $1,092 on average.

  • 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 $512 on average. Morning departures are around 60% 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 $1,269.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from North Carolina found in the last 5 days was to San Diego, at $178 round-trip. The most popular route is Charlotte (CLT) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $401.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from North Carolina to California?

    The cheapest month for flights from North Carolina to California is September, when tickets cost $246 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $312 and $287 respectively.

  • How far in advance should I book a flight from North Carolina to California?

    To get a below average price on the flight from North Carolina to California, you should book around 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 18% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 17 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to California?

    From North Carolina, there are direct flights to California from 2 cities. The city with the most direct flights is Charlotte, with 221 direct flights each week.

  • How many direct flights to California are there each day?

    There are around 49 direct flights from within North Carolina to California every day. Most flights (41%) depart in the morning.

  • How many direct flights to California are there each week?

    Each week there are around 341 direct flights from within North Carolina to California. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 17% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from North Carolina to California takes 6h 35m, covering a distance of 2164 miles. The shortest route is Knoxville (TYS) to Las Vegas (LAS) with an average flight time of 4h 14m.

  • How many long-haul flights are there to California each week?

    There are not any long-haul (6-12 hour flight duration) or short-haul (up to 3 hour flight duration) flights to California. Instead, there are 341 medium-haul flights (3-6 hour flight duration), with the most arriving from Charlotte.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Las Vegas (36% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Los Angeles (19%) and San Francisco (13%). Searches for flights to San Diego (10%), to Ontario (5%) and to John Wayne (Santa Ana) (4%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from North Carolina to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from North Carolina 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 4201 reviews
7.0Food
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
8.1Boarding
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

Seated at front bulkhead for a smidge extra leg room away from home and on flight back home. Away crew was very proactive about assuring our carryons had space close behind us (because no seat in front of us our personal items had to be in a small bin overhead). They actively required passengers place overhead luggage on its side so more items could fit in bins. Home crew made no such efforts. I had to struggle back rows to get overhead bags upon landing, no crew help then either, and some disgruntled passengers as I and others retrieved our bags. There was a system that worked pretty well. The home bound crew just didn't feel like working.

4.0 OkayMather, Aug 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

Seated at front bulkhead for a smidge extra leg room away from home and on flight back home. Away crew was very proactive about assuring our carryons had space close behind us (because no seat in front of us our personal items had to be in a small bin overhead). They actively required passengers place overhead luggage on its side so more items could fit in bins. Home crew made no such efforts. I had to struggle back rows to get overhead bags upon landing, no crew help then either, and some disgruntled passengers as I and others retrieved our bags. There was a system that worked pretty well. The home bound crew just didn't feel like working.

Flight left on time and was early landing. Seats not comfortable and not enough space…

It would have been better if the flight was on time

No wifi, seems to be very common with Southwest currently. Everything else was normal.

Poor customer service, no accommodation for passengers when the flight was delayed over 5 hours.

The flight was late. The crew was rude. There was no food. Cramped and uncomfortable. Nothing about this flight was good.

It was just okay, no frills, basic transportation with no luxury. No screens on the seats, no water or drinks on a short flight. Full flight but at least it was on time.

The first time I flew in the extra legroom section. It was difficult to notice a difference. I had bad luck with my neighbors. The crew was okay. Southwest has reduced the live TV options.

No gluten free snacks. Seats felt worn or bare bones even though it was a new 737 MAX 8.

Plane was clean and comfortable. Flight attendants and gate staff were professional, friendly and efficient. Boarding and deplaning were orderly and efficient. All in all, the typical excellent Southwest experience.

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!

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

We never made it on this flight because we missed our connection due to o delayed flight from Jackson.

We got stuck on the tarmac taxiing after landing early so we didn’t get off the plane until an hour later than we thought we would

It was okay. We were delayed for weather reasons, but the pilots and the flight control staff figured a way around the storm and were able to get us to Los Angeles safely. Not all the staff members were polite, but the entertainment on the flight was good.

Airplane is not very clean, food quality and taste was not good. Lufthansa used to be good but nowadays went down. Overall experience is just okay, wouldn't fly again, prefer Turkish airlines.

I did bought anything… I don’t understand how this book appears to me . Ridiculous

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.

The plane left over an hour late. I missed my connection going to Tokyo. They haven’t sent my bag to Thailand, where I ended up. It took me over 32 hours to get here. Very bad experience so far. I hope they can fix this and get my bag to me, within 24 hours it doesn’t look good at this time.

The flight was excellent. Their was no service as we boarded, the flight attendants spent about 30 minutes just taking and not really caring that the cabin was about 80 degrees and did not offered any beverage to first class passengers or any passenger. The flight from DEN to ONT is not long but not under an hour, we received one drink and bag of chips if you were lucky. I was in first class…. I did leave my hat on the plane and it only took less than five minutes for a United rep to locate and bring it to me.

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.

Good flight. On time. Boarding and seating was easy. Crew were really friendly, yet professional. Bathroom (by cockpit) was small but serviceable. Some the seats were showing some notable wear & tear, but were comfy. Very happy UA customer. TY! 🤛🏽💗

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 airplane I love and I love I came back safe thank you American airlines

Boarding was very efficient. Everyone got on board and we got on our way very quickly. It was frustrating that the entertainment app was not functioning properly. I was not able to activate some of the movies offered. The crew on this flight appears to be pretty grumpy. They had no smile on their faces. I felt like they were doing us a favor for being there.

Long 5 hour and 45 min flight and only one drink service and cookie snack

This flight didn’t happen because AA agents didn’t let us board the flight

Would have been good to have a meal since it was a 5.5 hour flight

Plane was good but was delayed. probably not AA fault but caused a 1 hour delay. Seating was cramped.

Poor availability of food. Cold cabin temperature. Extremely long waiting time for a flight attendant to respond to a call button signal.

Flflight crew were amazing, kind, and considerate. Fofood choices were limited, and didn’t have a variation.

I was hoping that the food would be a little bit more selection,, but I understand with the airlines what they are going through flight was excellent

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

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