$212 Find Cheap Flights from the United Kingdom to California

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KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to California

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
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Useful Info

What is the cheapest flight to California?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to California from the United Kingdom found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $381 round-trip. The most popular route is London Gatwick Airport (LGW) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $381.

What is the cheapest month to fly from the United Kingdom to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom to California is September, when tickets cost $723 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are July and August, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,104 and $1,030 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from the United Kingdom to California?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights 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 the United Kingdom to California, you should book around 2 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 19 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 Los Angeles Airport (LAX), with an average flight price of $634.


Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
High seasonJuly
Cheapest flight$212
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 12% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 22% increase in price.
Flight from London Gatwick Airport to Los Angeles

Flights from the United Kingdom to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from the United Kingdom to California 
AlastairFlew with British AirwaysLHR-SFOFeb 2025
Make sure your free checked luggage is for outward and return flights.
Verified travelerFlew with British AirwaysLHR-SANSep 2024
Flight overall is good. Service is very good. Bring yourself some snacks, in case the food isn’t up to your taste.
MeganFlew with IberiaLHR-LAXSep 2024
Pack light and know you can always get stuff when you land.
Verified travelerFlew with United AirlinesLHR-SFOSep 2024
Download all your music. Add shows and movies to your queue. Bring short so you can relax. Bring long charger cords.
SimonFlew with British AirwaysLHR-LAXJun 2024
If flying business class I’d research which cabin your aircraft operates. BA have some old business class on the 380 and new business class on the 777. (And 350). The new cabin is so much better. But the food just isn’t as good as it used to be

FAQs for booking flights from the United Kingdom to California

  • I’m booking a flight to California to visit San Francisco. Which airport do I choose?

    San Francisco International is the closest to the city centre (15min) and has the most options when it comes to airlines and routes. United, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic operate direct flights from London Heathrow, Norwegian flies from London Gatwick, and Thomas Cook Airlines operates seasonal flights to SFO from Manchester. However, this is one of the busiest airports in California; if you’d prefer a less busy airport, you can fly to San Jose International, which is 47min from downtown San Francisco. However, do keep in mind that British Airways is the only airline to operate regular flights to this airport from London Heathrow.

  • I’m planning a trip to Yosemite National Park. What’s the best airport to fly into?

    The closest airport to Yosemite is Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT), about 96 mi away from the park and accessible by road. If you want to fly from the United Kingdom all the way to Yosemite, you'll have to have a stopover either in San Francisco or Los Angeles. United flies from Heathrow and Gatwick to San Francisco and Los Angeles, while American Airlines flies to Los Angeles from Heathrow. Alternatively, or if you’d prefer to fly as little as possible, you can fly into San Francisco and then drive to Yosemite (approx. 3h 50min).

  • Which international airport in California is closest to Disneyland?

    Los Angeles International Airport is the closest to Disneyland California, which is about 35min away by car. This airport is served by the Disneyland Resort Express bus, which takes passengers straight to the park.

  • I’m searching for flights to California from Northern Ireland. Which are the best airports?

    If your final destination is Los Angeles or San Francisco, you can choose to catch a flight to California from London Heathrow with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and United, or from London Gatwick with Norwegian. easyJet operates direct flights to Gatwick from Belfast International Airport (BFS), while Aer Lingus and British Airways operate regular flights to Heathrow from George Best Belfast City Airport (BHD). If you’re flying to San Jose or San Diego, you’ll have to fly out of London Heathrow on British Airways. The simplest option is to book your flight to California with this airline from Belfast International.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom to California.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom 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 Thursday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $713. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $829 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 evening, when round-trip flights cost $736 on average. Morning departures are around 6% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $780.

Top tips for finding a cheap flight out of the United Kingdom

  • For passengers flying from other cities in the UK without direct flights to California and who prefer to fly low-cost to London, Flybe operates regular flights to London Heathrow from Aberdeen and Edinburgh. On the other hand, Gatwick has more options for low-cost flights with easyJet operating regular connections with Belfast, Glasgow, and Inverness.
  • When looking for flights to California, you can choose from four international airports with regular direct flights to the UK. Those are Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Diego International Airport (SAN), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and San Jose International Airport (SJC).
  • London Heathrow (LHR) is the airport in the United Kingdom with the most options when it comes to airlines flying to all the four major airports in California. Keep in mind that if you’re flying from elsewhere, you’ll probably need to factor in a stopover here.
  • If you prefer to fly out of London Gatwick (LGW), you'll have fewer options in terms of routes and airlines. Norwegian is the only airline operating direct flights to California from this airport, and only to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
  • If you’d like to book a direct flight to California from Manchester Airport (MAN), look for seasonal flights operated by Virgin Atlantic and Thomas Cook Airlines to San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from the United Kingdom to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from the United Kingdom to California. 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 the United Kingdom 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
DeltaOverall score based on 7982 reviews
8.2Boarding
7.9Entertainment
8.5Crew
7.3Food
7.9Comfort
Airline reviews

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.

4.0 OkayMathew, Jun 2025JFK - SAN
Read more Delta reviews

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.

There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2

5 hours of delay that could've been much shorter if Delta had taken the 1 hour delay they imposed on the flight before boarding to run any of the plane checks required for flight to find the hydraulic issue that required nearly 3 hours to fix. $24 of meal credit buys a sandwich and a soft drink. Poor communication within the terminal about what gate we'd be re-boarding from and when we'd be re-boarding.

The entertainment and wifi mostly didn't work on this flight.

Terrible entertainment system - kept freezing and audio kept cutting out. Snacks were mediocre at best for a 5 hour flight.

I am still upset that my bag was lost on a recent trip to Rome ; we were inconvenienced and out €150 Euros ; delta has refused to reimburse us

This had nothing to do with Delta… The flights were on time and flawless. The service was excellent. We purchased seats in (aisle/middle) comfort plus since this was a cross country flight. Unfortunately, the woman seated at the window was 300+ pounds and, as might be expected, covered up about a third of the middle seat also. there was absolutely nothing that Delta could have done about that… I just don’t know what the answer should be. If you purchase a seat, you should should be able to use the entire seat and not just the portion that someone else is not sitting/oozing in. Disappointing…there should be something that could be done….I'm just not sure what solution could be.

I love the free WiFi!! Crew was nice. Bathroom was decent. First time flying delta in a long time and I enjoyed it. Will definitely look into booking with Delta more but I think Delta is a little more expensive than the other airlines.

Seats are much much more comfortable than United, which is what I usually fly

If I pay extra for "comfort+" I expect leg room where I can stretch my legs. I was seated with an attendant's seat blocking my feet. Knee space was fine but my feet had less room than the non-"comfort+" seats. Also, don't go cheap on food when you have flights of 3+ hours. It's insulting.

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

It was all good flight was on time, service was good I enjoyed a few movies and everything was smooth

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

We were given vouchers we couldn’t use with a 5.5 hour delay

Really good 😊 the woman at the gate entrance was a little rude checking in our carry-on but i dont think she worked for the airline, she worked for the airport at sacramento, other than that amazing.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Great experience…left a bit behind schedule but made up fir that in the air and landed 10 minutes early 😁

Airbus plane, nice and polite staff, entertainment even as it was a short flight.

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

Boarding gate in Honolulu was staffed with a great clerk with a soothing voice despite the flight delay of over an hour. Flight attendants in the plane were all grumpy, not pleasant looking bunch. Their sour attitude showed throughout the flight. Inly able to get a select few movies started. Most of the movie links in the “free entertainment” did not work.

I flew Business Class. Rory, one of the Cabin stewards, was attentive, explained the menu, provided appropriate drinks. was

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.

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.

Loved the staff, boarding and drink options! Wish the comfort of the seat could have been better nevertheless

Honestly, I haven’t flown American in years, probably due to the pandemic and my being unable to travel for certain periods in the last two years, but it was a good experience to dig out or obtain a new American Airlines account after many years of traveling for business with American in the past.

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

One bottle of water and a package of cookies for comfort plus. We had to literally beg a flight attendant for an extra bottle of water later in the flight due to feeling dehydrated.

Flight boarded from Gate 39 at OGG, the farthest gate in the terminal. There were no Hawaiian themed amenities for the flight. The first class service was mediocre at best; I received not special welcome or recognition as an executive platinum member of American Advantage program. The flight attendants were more concerned with their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as we disembarked. Fortunately, the flight arrived at LAX a few minutes early.

Bigger seats. Board back to front! Disembark front to back!

Good legroom. Attentive crew. Wine quality poor, you can do better

It was freezing. I asked crew member for a blanket and was told it might be in front of plane but I never got one. I turned off all the vents but still froze.

Great experience. Flight was on time and reached destination on time

I meant this flight was not good, the one from Tirana to Frankfurt was better!

Easy checkin. Things went off without a hitch. The the movie selection for the flight wasn’t great, though.

food, movie entertainment upgraded current, interconnecting flights being on time, we have a 24-hour overlay

Exit row seat that cost extra to book had a bad monitor marked as out of order, so clearly something they should have fixed.

Cheapest airlines I have ever been on. I got downgraded and never got on united. I got rerouted through Vancouver onto jetwesf

Never happened. Flight was delayed. Had to be re rojyed

I was very grateful for Lufthansa's role in organizing mobility support. The touchscreen on my seat was faulty: slow, stained (I couldn't get it clean), and glitchy. This made selecting movies extremely time consuming, and twice I had to start all over from the beginning.

The flight was an hour late leaving Heathrow. The food was mediocre. When we got to Austin, my husband’s luggage was missing. He filled out information at baggage claim. We are waiting to hear something. His name is Henry Jacob Braunig.

The food was very good and it came multiple times

Flight from LGW to JFK delayed by 4 hrs No explanation given until the pilot said the delay due to planned maintenance on the aircraft

We arrived late to London, and consequently were 5 min. late to be allowed through security for our next flight. Even though dozens of people missed the same flight, BA did not radio ahead to hold open security for an extra 5-10 min. to allow people to get on the flight. This caused an additional 6 hour delay in London after waiting over an hour in Customer Service to get rebooked. They did not have enough staff on hand to help people in a timely manner. Not at all happy with the BA's customer care or customer service.

All service prior to the flight was terrible: online check-in not working, no customer service tel,, multiple airport scanners not working, A huge mess.

CONSTANT ERROR MESSAGE THAT THE WIFI COULD NOT BE PURCHASED DUE TO INABILITY TO CONNECT PAYMENT SYSTEM VIA SATELLITE. THIS HAPPENED IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. THE MAIN REASON I TRAVEL IN PRIORITY IS TO BE ABLE TO WORK FOR WHICH I NEED ACCESS TO INTERNET. .

They lost my luggage. Lady who was helping with it in Austin was rude. Not very helpful!

Waited 3.25 hours in plane only to have the flight cancelled.

More space, of course. a footrest! more room to walk. Movie selection was awful. Some good documentaries would help if the movies can't be better. The flight itself was great, crew was great.

Better synchronizing the boarding processes. The audio announcements, the personnel and the digital signage were not saying the same thing. All confusion.

Book cheap flights from the United Kingdom to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

 
These are the cheapest round-trip flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
9/6Sat
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
11h 15mLGW-LAX
9/22Mon
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
10h 25mLAX-LGW
$343
9/6Sat
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
11h 15mLGW-LAX
9/22Mon
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
10h 25mLAX-LGW
$344
8/25Mon
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
34h 07mLGW-SFO
9/8Mon
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
52h 25mSFO-LGW
$562
9/19Fri
1 stopAmerican Airlines
16h 54mLGW-SFO
10/10Fri
1 stopAmerican Airlines
13h 58mSFO-LGW
$570
8/24Sun
1 stopBritish Airways
13h 59mLHR-ONT
9/9Tue
1 stopBritish Airways
12h 05mONT-LHR
$582
11/24Mon
1 stopBritish Airways
15h 15mLHR-ONT
12/5Fri
1 stopBritish Airways
13h 07mONT-LHR
$583
8/24Sun
2 stopsDelta
23h 50mLHR-ONT
9/9Tue
2 stopsDelta
16h 10mONT-LHR
$586
8/24Sun
2 stopsDelta
20h 41mLHR-ONT
9/9Tue
1 stopDelta
15h 40mONT-LHR
$587
10/18Sat
2 stopsUnited Airlines
17h 28mLHR-LAS
10/18Sat
1 stopUnited Airlines
32h 05mLAS-LHR
$628
10/18Sat
1 stopUnited Airlines
15h 52mLHR-LAS
10/18Sat
1 stopUnited Airlines
27h 27mLAS-LHR
$658

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Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best deals for one-way flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
8/29Fri
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
11h 15mLGW-LAX
$212
8/29Fri
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
11h 15mLGW-LAX
$218
9/12Fri
nonstopNorse Atlantic UK
11h 15mLGW-LAX
$219
9/15Mon
1 stopIberia
29h 20mLHR-SFO
$499
9/15Mon
1 stopIberia
29h 20mLHR-SFO
$500
11/26Wed
1 stopLufthansa
14h 05mLCY-SFO
$582
8/25Mon
1 stopLufthansa
15h 00mLCY-LAX
$587
10/28Tue
1 stopBritish Airways
15h 06mLHR-ONT
$592
11/5Wed
1 stopBritish Airways
15h 15mLHR-ONT
$594
11/17Mon
2 stopsVirgin Atlantic
20h 44mLCY-SFO
$801

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Last minute flights to California

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 to California that are departing in the next 10 days.
7/8Tue
multi-stopLufthansa
26h 50mLHR-LAX
9/24Wed
nonstopLufthansa
10h 30mLAX-LHR
$586
7/8Tue
multi-stopLufthansa
26h 50mLHR-LAX
9/24Wed
multi-stopLufthansa
15h 00mLAX-LHR
$594
7/8Tue
multi-stopDelta
14h 10mLHR-LAX
9/21Sun
nonstopDelta
10h 30mLAX-LHR
$619
7/8Tue
multi-stopDelta
19h 38mLHR-LAX
3/28Sat
nonstopDelta
10h 20mLAX-LHR
$624
7/8Tue
multi-stopUnited Airlines
16h 05mLHR-LAX
9/18Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
10h 30mLAX-LHR
$631
7/8Tue
multi-stopVirgin Atlantic
14h 10mLHR-LAX
7/15Tue
nonstopVirgin Atlantic
10h 30mLAX-LHR
$639
7/8Tue
multi-stopVirgin Atlantic
14h 10mLHR-LAX
7/23Wed
nonstopVirgin Atlantic
10h 30mLAX-LHR
$643
7/8Tue
multi-stopUnited Airlines
13h 48mLHR-LAX
7/15Tue
multi-stopUnited Airlines
12h 07mLAX-LHR
$666
7/8Tue
multi-stopBritish Airways
14h 53mLHR-ONT
7/15Tue
multi-stopBritish Airways
12h 05mONT-LHR
$939
7/8Tue
multi-stopBritish Airways
26h 16mLGW-SFO
8/11Mon
multi-stopBritish Airways
13h 56mSFO-LGW
$1,042

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Everything you need to know for your flight 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.

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