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SFO - CNS

Find cheap flights from San Francisco to Cairns from $970

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Francisco to Cairns departing on 6/11. 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
0 bags
Thu 5/23
Thu 5/30

Search hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Cairns

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
In the last 7 days travelers have searched 44,632,927 times on KAYAK, and here is why:

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Cheap flight deals from San Francisco to Cairns (SFO-CNS)

Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Cairns 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 and deals for you by selecting your travel dates.
Choose your dates
11:35 pm - 8:25 amSFO-CNS
39h 50m2 stops
6:35 am - 1:45 pmCNS-SFO
24h 10m2 stops
$1,023
Find Deal
Sat, Aug 31 - Tue, Sep 17
11:35 pm - 8:25 amSFO-CNS
39h 50m2 stops
4:10 pm - 1:45 pmCNS-SFO
38h 35m2 stops
$1,024
Find Deal
Sat, Aug 31 - Mon, Sep 16
10:00 pm - 10:45 amSFO-CNS
19h 45m1 stop
11:55 am - 12:50 pmCNS-SFO
17h 55m1 stop
$1,128Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Sun, Sep 1 - Tue, Sep 17
10:00 pm - 10:45 amSFO-CNS
19h 45m1 stop
11:55 am - 9:35 pmCNS-SFO
26h 40m2 stops
$1,138Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Sun, Sep 1 - Tue, Sep 17
10:15 pm - 10:50 pmSFO-CNS
31h 35m1 stop
6:55 pm - 5:50 pmCNS-SFO
39h 55m1 stop
$1,513Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Sun, Sep 1 - Mon, Sep 16
10:05 pm - 5:00 pmSFO-CNS
25h 55m1 stop
6:15 pm - 9:40 amCNS-SFO
32h 25m1 stop
$1,522Singapore Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 4 - Wed, Sep 18
10:05 pm - 5:00 pmSFO-CNS
25h 55m1 stop
6:15 pm - 9:40 amCNS-SFO
32h 25m1 stop
$1,537Singapore Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 2 - Mon, Sep 16
10:15 pm - 1:35 pmSFO-CNS
22h 20m1 stop
6:55 pm - 5:50 pmCNS-SFO
39h 55m1 stop
$1,546Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Thu, Sep 12 - Sat, Sep 21
12:55 am - 12:50 pmSFO-CNS
42h 55m2 stops
1:30 pm - 5:45 pmCNS-SFO
45h 15m2 stops
$1,741Cathay Pacific
Find Deal
Tue, Aug 20 - Wed, Sep 11
12:55 am - 12:50 pmSFO-CNS
42h 55m2 stops
1:50 pm - 5:30 pmCNS-SFO
44h 40m2 stops
$1,825Cathay Pacific
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 2 - Fri, Sep 20

Flights from San Francisco to Cairns - Travel Insights & Trends

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Francisco to Cairns to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

The cheapest price for the route for each airline clicked by KAYAK users in the last 72 hours.
The best deals for a one-way ticket found by KAYAK users over the last 3 days were on Air New Zealand ($970) and Qantas Airways ($1,085). The cheapest round-trip tickets were found on Air New Zealand ($1,128) and Qantas Airways ($1,513).

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$970
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 32% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 32% increase in price.
Flight from San Francisco to Cairns

When to book flights from San Francisco to Cairns

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from San Francisco to Cairns based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from San Francisco to Cairns

  • What is the cheapest flight from San Francisco to Cairns?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from San Francisco to Cairns was $970 for a one-way ticket and $1,023 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between San Francisco and Cairns?

    Yes, you'll most likely have to show a valid passport before boarding the plane in San Francisco and on arrival in Cairns.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from San Francisco to Cairns?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

    Star Alliance, and oneworld are the airline alliances operating flights between San Francisco and Cairns, with Star Alliance being the most commonly used for this route.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from San Francisco to Cairns, Air New Zealand or Qantas Airways?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from San Francisco to Cairns are Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways. With an average price for the route of $2,164 and an overall rating of 8.2, Air New Zealand is the most popular choice. Qantas Airways is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $1,645 and an overall rating of 7.6.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco to Cairns?

    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 San Francisco to Cairns.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco to Cairns?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns from San Francisco 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 San Francisco to Cairns?

    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 to Cairns with an airline and back to San Francisco with another airline. Booking your flights between San Francisco and CNS can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Francisco to Cairns?

    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 to Cairns from San Francisco up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top airlines flying from San Francisco to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Francisco to Cairns. 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 San Francisco to Cairns? 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.
8.2
Air New ZealandOverall score based on 658 reviews
7.9entertainment
7.6food
8.4boarding
8.8crew
8.1comfort
Airline reviews

All was good, the only thing was it didn't run on time.

8.0 ExcellentDaniel, Apr 2024ZQN - SYD
Read more about Air New Zealand reviews

All was good, the only thing was it didn't run on time.

Great meal. Best seats ever! They need to teach other airlines how to do that.

The staff and crew on board were excellent. Business class however, was very weird. I thought we would have individual pods, but the way it was set up was unexpected. Not very private and If you wanted to lay down, you had to have an entire bed made up for you by the crew, rather than how Delta one works where you could just lie down whenever you feel like it. It was a 16 hour flight. I chose not to have my bed made, and that turned out to be a good idea because everybody who had their bed made had to wait for the crew to roll up their mattresses. So strange!

Food was not good. We asked for Muslim food and it was weird tasteless type of boiled veges.

They announced food service but then never came around. We also couldn’t land so kept trying to get to runway and then had to come up and go around happened like 3 times and cause the child next to me to start throwing up

Good food and entertainment options. Great Staff that were all welcoming and caregiving.

The recline on the seat in front of me came back so that I was staring at the top of the man’s head in front of me the whole trip. He refused to bring his seat back up twice every time he was instructed to do so and only relented when he had a tray of good in front of him. And then right back in my lap!!! Horrible man!! I complained to the staff multiple times, but no one would address the issue. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect flight.

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.

Flight attendants are always pleasant and helpful. Pilot kept us updated.

Following a marathon flight riddled by delays and changes from Santiago, Chile, my flight to Melbourne from Sydney was on schedule but I was transferred to the next flight. The reason by ticketing and the floor manager was I missed the entry to flight by one minute! That's right, the emphasised that if I was 1 minute earlier I would be on the flight. I asked what was the point them emphasising 1minute overdue and how that helped me or the situation. They didn't care at all. Replying that if it was one minute earlier they would've done something and smirking delivering the information. Australian's do call Australia home, Qantas calls Australian's suckers.

Rescheduled after ticket purchased and issued, not 2 or 3 times and not a fourth but by 5 times, by Qantas, that's right, 5 changes! Forcing an overnight stay in Chile and need for visa. Qantas can no longer provide basic services as a national or international service provider. Professionalism is extinct and the provider needs to be mentored and educated in perfecting who to operate as an airline. Qantas is the spirit of Australian dissatisfaction.

Amazing! Was put on the earlier flight and I requested for an aisle seat and was given it. Thanks Qantas!

The staff we fantastic and seemed to work very well with each other

Business lounge in Melbourne mediocre. Look at Emirates or Qatar, Qantas! Great friendly crew. Food was good but Emirates is a level above. Business seat good. But can’t compare to Qatar. Main reason for booking Qantas is loyalty and terrific connection via Perth to LHR.

It's only a short trip from Sydney to Melbourne, which i have done many times. The trip met my expectations

The crew were amazing - A great job. They made me feel special and valued.

I really appreciated the fact that when I checked my bags at the Quantas counter after arriving from an international flight an hour early, the agent noticed I had a very long layover. He then found an earlier flight that allowed me to get to Cairns several hours earlier than I planned. That was amazing because I had already traveled over 20 hours and wasn’t looking forward to such a long layover. It allowed me to see my daughter and grandchildren much earlier (it had been two years since I visited last).

Qantas cancelled my flight for no good reason and rebooked me into a middle seat.

Boarding was terrible - the ground staff member Fredeya at lax was more military than customer service, have never encountered a customer service representative as rude as her. Apart from that all other staff were wonderful and the flight was good.

Book cheap flights from San Francisco to Cairns

Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best one-way flight deals from San Francisco to Cairns found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
6/11Tue
2 stopsAir New Zealand
28h 50mSFO-CNS
$970
6/11Tue
1 stopQantas Airways
31h 35mSFO-CNS
$1,085
6/12Wed
2 stopsQantas Airways
54h 43mSFO-CNS
$1,097
6/11Tue
3 stopsAir New Zealand
47h 05mSFO-CNS
$1,166
6/10Mon
2 stops
34h 35mSFO-CNS
$1,296
6/12Wed
3 stopsANA
47h 55mSFO-CNS
$1,373
6/11Tue
3 stops
34h 35mSFO-CNS
$1,391
8/12Mon
1 stopSingapore Airlines
36h 30mSFO-CNS
$1,709
6/12Wed
1 stopSingapore Airlines
36h 30mSFO-CNS
$2,815
6/11Tue
1 stopANA
35h 40mSFO-CNS
$8,228

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Last minute flights from San Francisco to Cairns

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

 
These last-minute flight deals are the cheapest flights found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours for flights from San Francisco to Cairns that are departing in the next 10 days.
4/25Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
19h 45mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
23h 50mCNS-SFO
$2,128
4/25Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
31h 35mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
23h 50mCNS-SFO
$2,154
4/24Wed
multi-stop
59h 50mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stop
60h 20mCNS-SFO
$2,358
4/25Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
31h 35mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stopAir New Zealand
38h 13mCNS-SFO
$2,381
4/24Wed
multi-stop
59h 50mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stop
21h 20mCNS-SFO
$2,439
4/25Thu
multi-stopQantas Airways
27h 00mSFO-CNS
5/2Thu
multi-stopQantas Airways
21h 20mCNS-SFO
$2,538

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San Francisco - Cairns Flights

Departure:

San Francisco (SFO)United States

Destination:

Cairns (CNS)Australia

Return flight deals:

Cairns - San Francisco

Cabin classes:

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