$471 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Australia - Compare and Save

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Cheap Flights from San Francisco to Australia

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 5 days
Sydney
Sydney1 stop$1,087
Brisbane
Brisbane1 stop$953
Perth
Perth1 stop$1,125
Cairns
Cairns2 stops$1,311
Adelaide
Adelaide2 stops$1,133
Hobart
Hobart2 stops$1,314
Canberra
Canberra2 stops$1,259
Darwin
Darwin2 stops$1,376
Launceston
Launceston2 stops$1,613
Townsville
Townsville3 stops$1,788
Maroochydore
Maroochydore2 stops$1,757
Ballina
Ballina2 stops$1,431
Sydney
Sydney1 stop$1,087
Brisbane
Brisbane1 stop$953
Perth
Perth1 stop$1,125
Cairns
Cairns2 stops$1,311
Adelaide
Adelaide2 stops$1,133
Hobart
Hobart2 stops$1,314
Canberra
Canberra2 stops$1,259
Darwin
Darwin2 stops$1,376
Launceston
Launceston2 stops$1,613
Townsville
Townsville3 stops$1,788
Maroochydore
Maroochydore2 stops$1,757
Ballina
Ballina2 stops$1,431

Price, demand and travel trends for San Francisco to Australia flights

Use KAYAK data on prices, travel dates, airlines and seasonal trends to compare options and book flights with more confidence.

Are flights from San Francisco to Australia cheaper or more expensive than last year?

Fares from San Francisco to Australia are running about the same as they were around this time last year, averaging $1,225 round-trip.

What are the cheapest fares from San Francisco to Australia right now?

Here are the cheapest round-trip fares from San Francisco to Australia on KAYAK in the last week:

• Melbourne (MEL) from $953
• Brisbane (BNE) from $953
• Coolangatta Gold Coast (OOL) from $995
• Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD) from $1,090
• Perth (PER) from $1,125

What’s the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to Australia?

February is the cheapest time of year to fly, with average fares of $1,111. Prices are highest in December, when average flight costs increase to around $1,858.

When is the best time to book flights from San Francisco to Australia?

Book your flights 17 weeks before your trip. KAYAK data collected over the past 12 months shows that booking in this window can save you around 20% compared to booking last-minute (within 2 weeks of departure).

Which airport in Australia is the cheapest to fly to from San Francisco?

Based on KAYAK data from the past 12 months, the cheapest airports to fly into Australia are:

• Brisbane (BNE) from $1,254
• Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD) from $1,262
• Canberra (CBR) from $1,278

What’s the cheapest day to fly from San Francisco to Australia?

Wednesday tends to be the cheapest day to fly from San Francisco to Australia, while Saturday is the most expensive. Fares run about 22% higher that day, based on the past 12 months of KAYAK data.

What's the cheapest time of day to fly from San Francisco to Australia?

Data from the past 12 months shows it's cheapest to fly to Australia during the night with average prices of $1,342. The evening is the most expensive time to fly, with average prices of $1,430.

Key details for San Francisco to Australia flights

Low season

June

Cheapest flight

$471
Beat the crowds with an average 11% drop in travelers.
One-way flight from San Francisco to Melbourne Airport

Your San Francisco to Australia flight questions, answered

Find helpful answers about this route, including flight times, airports, airlines and booking tips.

  • Is now a good time to book a flight from San Francisco to Australia?

    Yes. Fares from San Francisco to Australia are low right now. As a rule of thumb, a round-trip under $1,072 (cheaper than most fares this year) is a good deal, so if you spot one at or below that, it's a good time to book.

  • How much should I budget for a flight from San Francisco to Australia?

    Over the past 12 months, round-trip fares from San Francisco to Australia have ranged from $1,072 to $1,776.

  • What are the main airports serving Australia?

    Australia has 14 airports. The three busiest are Sydney Kingsford Smith (SYD) (54% of arrivals), Melbourne (MEL) (19%) and Brisbane (BNE) (13%).

  • What airlines fly nonstop from San Francisco to Australia?

    Based on the flight schedule for the next 3 months, 2 airlines offer nonstop flights on this route:

    • United Airlines
    • Qantas Airways

  • Where in Australia can I fly nonstop from San Francisco?

    You can fly nonstop from San Francisco to 4 destinations in Australia. Some of the most popular among KAYAK travelers include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

  • Is it cheaper to fly with a layover from San Francisco to Australia?

    Yes. Nonstop flights from San Francisco to Australia average $1,469 over the past 12 months, but flights with a layover can cost less. The most affordable connecting airports are:

    • Nadi (NAN) from $959
    • Manila Ninoy Aquino Intl (MNL) from $1,077
    • Vancouver Intl (YVR) from $1,198

  • How long is a flight from San Francisco to Australia?

    Nonstop flights take 15h 12m on average. The fastest scheduled flight takes 14h 05m, from San Francisco (SFO) to Brisbane (BNE).

  • How often are flights from San Francisco to Australia delayed and what's the average delay?

    19% of flights on this route are delayed by at least 15 minutes. The average delay is 2h 46m.

  • Which cabin classes are available on flights from San Francisco to Australia?

    On flights from San Francisco to Australia you can book Economy Class, Premium Economy Class, Business Class or First Class.

  • What are some popular landmarks in Australia?

    KAYAK travelers' favorite landmarks in Australia include:

    • Sydney Opera House
    • Marvel Stadium
    • Melbourne Cricket Ground
    • Crown Casino

  • What are the earliest and latest flights from San Francisco to Australia?

    The earliest nonstop flight from San Francisco to Australia departs at 8:00 pm and the latest departs at 11:55 pm. Nonstop flights take about 15h 12m.

  • Which are the best airlines that I should fly with on my way to Australia?

    According to KAYAK, Singapore Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, and Fiji Airways are among the most recommended airlines to fly with if you are on your way to Australia. However, you may not find all three airlines available depending on which city in Australia you are traveling to. For instance, if you are traveling from San Francisco to Sydney, the airlines offering flight routes to Sydney include Air New Zealand, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Delta Airlines, Scoot, and Singapore Airlines.

  • Which airlines provide nonstop flights from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia?

    If you are heading to Sydney, Air New Zealand, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and United Airlines offer nonstop flights from San Francisco International Airport to Sydney Airport.

  • Which is the best airport to fly to for visiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park?

    Book your flight to Cairns International Airport since Cairns is the closest city to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. You can also choose to book a domestic flight from another Australian city to Cairns, like Melbourne, Perth, or Sydney.

  • Do I need a visa to travel to Australia from the United States?

    You should carry your U.S. passport and visa with you along with an approved Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). All those traveling to Australia for business or tourism purposes within 90 days or less can get an Electronic Travel Authority. Note that travel agents and airlines in the United States can apply for ETAs for travelers.

Your guide to booking San Francisco to Australia flights

Get tips on when to book, when to fly and what to know before your trip.
  • If you can plan ahead, the sweet spot for booking your flight is 17 weeks before your trip. KAYAK data shows fares in this window are around 20% lower than last-minute bookings (made within 2 weeks of departure). Not ready to commit? Set a Price Alert and we'll let you know when prices change.
  • If your travel dates are flexible, book your trip for February when flights are typically cheapest and avoid December when prices are at their highest.
  • Flying on Wednesday is usually the cheapest. Flights on Saturday cost about 22% more on average, so being flexible with your travel dates could help you save.
  • If you're looking to save, Brisbane (BNE) is the cheapest airport to fly into from San Francisco. If you have onward travel, don't forget to factor in the cost of your journey by train, bus or domestic flight.
  • Start your trip in Sydney, which is the most popular destination in Australia. From there, it's easy to continue on to other popular destinations such as Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
  • If you want the shortest trip, choose the San Francisco to Australia nonstop route. If you'd rather save money, the route via Nadi (NAN) is usually the cheapest.
  • For those traveling from San Francisco to Australia for the first time, Sydney is the best place to visit to get a feel of Australian culture and entertainment. Once your flight has arrived at Sydney Airport, you will be pleased to know that the airport provides shuttle services to the city’s various popular destinations, which include the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Harbour Bridge, and Taronga Zoo.
  • Since it is a long flight from San Francisco to Australia, you will need some time to relax before the long journey. San Francisco International Airport offers free yoga rooms for relaxation, practicing yoga, and self-reflection. You can find the yoga rooms at Terminal 2 between Terminal 1 C Gates and Terminal 2 D Gates. The rooms are also at Terminal 3 E Gates near Gate E6.
  • Sydney, Australia may be the most popular destination in the country, but you might want to extend your stay in Australia and explore other cities. Consider taking cheap domestic flights to other popular cities like Melbourne, Cairns, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. Jetstar, Virgin Australia, and Qantas are among the airlines that provide cheap domestic flights, which are available from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and other cities. You can also find affordable domestic flights at smaller airports like Gold Coast, Proserpine, and Avalon.
  • Looking for the fastest way to get to the city of Sydney? Airport Link provides a train service that will take you to the main city within 13min.
  • Did you know there are a number of dining places at San Francisco International Airport? If you are waiting for your flight at SFO Airport, visit these places that serve delicious snacks like burgers, sandwiches, wraps, baked items, and so on: Bacon Bacon, Bistrot Bay Area, Drake’s Flyaway, and Farley’s Café & Lounge.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco to Australia

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco to Australia? 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
7.4Entertainment
7.5Food
8.0Comfort
8.5Crew
8.0Boarding
Airline reviews

Very friendly cabin crew and great comfortable in-flight experience. Check-in experience at SFO can improve if a separate web check-in/bag drop line can be added.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Aug 2026
Read more Fiji Airways reviews

Very friendly cabin crew and great comfortable in-flight experience. Check-in experience at SFO can improve if a separate web check-in/bag drop line can be added.

The only thing plus on this flight was the crew. They made me feel welcome and took care of me on the flights. The biggest issue is that business class always boards first on all airlines. There needs to be separate doors for business and premium class to enter. I had to wait over 40 minutes for economy to be boarded. I didn’t pay 5000 dollars to wait. The other issue not enough food choices , no sandwiches or snacks in between - what the hell. I would never travel this airline again.

Boarding had poor communication. Passengers didn't get clear directions to prepare for Boarding. The plane was an older model which had some issues with operating the seats (the staff was great). Due to age the seat cushions were compressed and less comfortable than expected.

Fiji Airways always goes above and beyond. If anything I'd say the food was less enjoyable than in the past. But that in no way lessened the experience with the cabin crew or the excellent attentiveness and service they provided throughout the entire trip!

Everything was great . Arrived on time was smooth plane was clean. Crew/Staff was friendly and helpful.

Fiji Airways was amazing, will definately be lfying them again. The "Fijian hospitality" is not a catch phrase, it is genuine. the only things that could be improved is the entertainment. Not a great choice of movies, and the TV shows only have about 5 or so episodes, and often of a random season.

Very good; seat made ready for bed after meal, a plus since one airline covered the seat at the start.

The experience on Fiji Airways was absolutely amazing. Streamlined. All staff was amazing. Pleasant. Friendly. Extremely helpful.

The experience was lovely in every respect. The crews were delightful.

Wider seats would be nice. Love the wine selection. Crew is superb. Need more movie / TV selections.

Great airline service by the staff. I highly recommend it

This flight was the second leg of a trip that began in Auckland, New Zealand. I was unable to find a way to select seats in advance. The boarding passes we were given in Auckland did not have seat assignments for the second flight. There was no way to check on it until personnel showed up at the gate in Los Angeles, immediately before boarding time. The flight was overbooked by one, and since I was traveling with my sister, we needed two seats. We waited in considerable anxiety for everyone else to board and when one person did not show up, we had to take whatever was left. At least we finally got on the flight although we were the very last to board. We were not able to sit together, of course.

The food was not as good as Air New Zealand. The veg pasta was pass-able but the veg cibotta sandwich was dry, hard and not up to par. The coach staff were attentive and accommodating.

Overall the plane was good and the crew great. The big disappointment was the skycouch. Maybe it would be good if you were a parent with 2 small kids travelling but as a couple it's hopeless. It's impossible for 2 adults to lie down so one ends up sitting. We split our time with one lying and the other sitting. We both got more sleep sitting upright. We will never book one again and don't recommend it to anyone.

Not entirely positive. It’s frustrating that everything is done through the united app. One of our flight attendants on our trip from San Francisco to MSP continually had trouble hearing people so she flipped her hair into people’s faces

Our original flight was cancelled from SFO to AKL on 6/16/25. So we had to stay overnight at a hotel after a 12-hour layover plus 3-hour delay before the cancellation. Then had to fly to LA and then to AKL the following day losing an entire day of our vacation in NZ, that we can never get back.

Everything very good except the sofa couch not as comfortable as expected.

New Zealand crew were attentive. We were not informed that we needed transit document to pass through New Zealand. A checkin employee helped with this for which we were thankful.

There was a snafu with confirming seats at check which left us in limbo for the second leg of our trip. I believe the ANZ app is not well integrated with the systems at the terminal resulting in this disconcerting error.

The pilot tried to make up for lost time due to delays that were out of her control. She communicated the issues openly and clearly and made every effort to do what she could to alleviate issues.

PREMIUM ECONOMY - excellent !Brilliant new plane. Excellent tv catalogue. Good food. Good communication and service from all friend Australian crew. Good communication from captain. Best travel experience in years.

Loved the staff. The economy seats could have been bigger.

The food was terrible. And the flight attendants were very rude. One flight attendant wouldn’t help a passenger lift their carry-on. Another flight attendant wouldn’t give a man an extra blanket. And they walked by not even looking at the passengers to see if they needed a glass of water.

I have flown Qantas multiple times in the past it seemed this flight the plane had less seat room or the seats were way less comfortable than before. Everything else was about the same. Thanks

I disliked the fact that they forced people to put up their seats during meal service

Headphone jacks worked poorly, seat recline was broken. Planes were rundown.

Delayed and missed connection, was not re-booked like other travelers so ended up being stuck for several hours due to no one handling my booking.

same as previous comments. i hate being on a plane that long. no problems w/anything else.

Good - better than other airlines in terms of food and seat comfort.

After flying Quantas (Prem Econ - SYD-SFO) which was Spectacular, we boarded AA flight SFO/PHL.. Prem Econ was NOT available on this flight so we were stuck in Econ - even though we paid $2600 EACH/ONE WAY for this ticket. I even had to BUY extra legroom seats - this AT LEAST should have been included on the AA flight. There were no screens in seatbacks, forcing passengers to use phones for entertainment. No water bottles were provided - only cups of water. The Quantas flight was FAR superior to the AA flight - even though we purchased Prem Econ for the FULL trip....

Better management of the boarding process. Is there any way you could forward all the window seats first? That's the Way Reno Air used to do it, and they had the fastest boarding in the industry!

overall a very good travel experience - left on time, arrived early. Mostly a smooth flight. Polaris seats were excellent, very good service and nice food with options.

Flight was over two hours late, but they notified us early in the morning. They ended up changing planes the food on board that was extremely mediocre and we were in premier class.

Food was very bad Crew was not so welcoming. Chairs was so uncomfortable

Easy of boarding, helpfully staff at check in, surprisingly comfortable seating

My flight time was changed without any notification to me which ruined my time sensitive plans so I ended up completely changing my travel plans and no reimbursement.

Food should be changed in menu Many muslims travels in this airlime they need to add one Halal meal

AWFUL. I have had the experience of traveling with many airlines across the world, and hands down United Airlines is the worst. Not one flight was on time, and I don’t think I met one crew member or staff member who wasn’t rude.

Moody attendants that can barely look up at the passengers. I’m all for people having an off day, but you can tell some Untied Airlines Employees have lost their zeal for their jobs

United requires seat selection in order for those booking together to stay together.

Announcements were unintelligible. Entertainment system was non-existent. Ground crew kept changing story for flight delay.

Amazing and light experience, boarding on time, crew is super nice, clean salon and special thanks for movies availability. Provided by United Airlines

737-8 Max is an awful design. Toilets in the rear are inaccessible for most of the flight due to service carts.

Food was bad, and they used plastic for everything. For the amount we spent, it felt cheap and as if they were doing us a favor. They need to focus on true user delight, like other airlines such as Emirates, Cathay Pacific, and KLM do, and go above and beyond in terms of cabin facilities and passenger amenities (Earbuds, pillows, blankets were just cheap and completely useless)

No TV on the flight. The charging outlet was not working. No food, even a sandwich. The served orange was poor quality.

I was charge a baggage checking fee $68!! I volunteered to check my duffle bag which usually goes under my seat!

Very rude gate attendants in San Francisco who didn’t let me bring my little carry on (smaller than usual size) and after boarding I realized that there still were a lot of overhead compartment space (like a full section available in some spots). That made me lose 30 minutes at my destination at 1am and it could have broken something fragile that I had in it

The flight from SFO to YVR was delayed and my bag did not make it to my next flight from YVR to SYD. It took almost 3 days after I landed to get my bag and when I got it, it was filled with dust

All attendents were very efficient, pleasant and happy. Everything went smoothly. The seats could have been wider. There could have been more free food instead of just one small bar.

They rescheduled me and I had no issues with the new flight

More options for your flight from San Francisco to Australia

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