$79 Find Cheap Flights from Washington to California

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Washington to California departing on 7/8. 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
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$79
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 7% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 4% increase in price.
Flight from Seattle to Las Vegas

Flights from Washington to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Washington to California 
GeraldFlew with Delta
SEA
-
SJC
Mar 2026
Flights earlier in the day are better - less chance of stacking delays. Much better than SFO flights, They're terrible in August (fog).
ChristineFlew with Hawaiian Airlines
SEA
-
PSP
Dec 2025
Arrive early to go through security unless you have TSA pre check and/or CLEAR
MarisaFlew with American Airlines
SEA
-
LAX
Jun 2025
Take Alaska Airlines - Clear was great to have at both airports, especially seattle where there was a large security line
Verified travelerFlew with Hawaiian Airlines
SEA
-
ONT
Jun 2025
Make sure to be there on time because the bag drop off can be a little complicated and it takes quite some time to get to the gate.
ShuraFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
BUR
Apr 2025
Don’t . Delta has all the gates together for easy transfers and much more food and beverage selection
RobertFlew with United Airlines
SEA
-
SFO
Mar 2025
If you’re picking up a rental car it’s not very clear that you have to take the train. Signage can be improved at SFO.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
PSP
Dec 2024
Be courteous of your fellow travelers. Remember the carry on baggage rules. Keep your jackets out of the storage bin on full flights. Don't move other people's luggage from one bin to another. Step out of the isle as quickly as you can. Be sure you're in the seat(s) assigned to you.
OksanaFlew with Alaska Airlines
GEG
-
SAN
Feb 2025
Arrive early, the registration kiosks may not work and registration will take more than an hour.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
ONT
Oct 2024
SeaTac lets you make an appointment to get through security. SpotSaver. No cost. Online.
ReidFlew with United Airlines
SEA
-
LAX
Oct 2024
SeaTac does not have a very good or equitable system for security lines. First class passengers don’t have a TSA precheck option, while there are only 2 TSA precheck lines on opposite sides of the terminal. Highly recommend getting TSA plus Clear, as the airport heavily favors this combination, with each section of the terminal having one of these options. I almost missed my flight because the only TSA precheck line was about 45 minutes long.
BruceFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
LAX
Nov 2024
Tight interline connection at LAX - barely made the flight. Directions from AS arrival gate to separate AA commuter terminal for AS codeshare flight connecting to TUS would have been nice.
KimberlyFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
SNA
Jul 2024
When going to Disneyland fly to this airport. Only 8 miles from Disneyland and super quick to check in and check out. Highly recommend this airport!
DavidFlew with Alaska Airlines
PAE
-
LAX
Jun 2024
Well I arrived 2 hours early, but everything was very empty and fast so maybe try to be there an hour early better.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
BUR
Aug 2024
Burbank Airport is the best place to start your travels: small airport, short lines, and easy check in.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
SJC
Aug 2024
The airport is busy and a mess with construction. There is a train to take so account for extra time.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
SNA
Aug 2024
Flight was delayed 9-1/2 hours. Make sure you have somewhere to go in you have to check out of your hotel.
LauraFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
LAX
Jul 2024
LAX is a bit of a mess. Very long walk between terminals.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska Airlines
SEA
-
FAT
Mar 2024
Enjoy the flight. You can see Yosemite national park half dome and el capitan from left side window seat
LaurenFlew with Delta
SEA
-
LAX
Feb 2024
If you have kids, bring your own screens. We were counting on the inflight entertainment and it was a definite letdown. Also, TSA Pre-check is only available at station 2, but wait times are posted at each station so you can see if it’s worth the walk.

FAQs for booking flights from Washington to California

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

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

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

    Washington and California are connected by different airlines. The airlines that fly that route the most regularly are Alaska Airlines (663 flights per week), Delta (301 flights per week), and Qatar Airways (200 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 40% 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 Long Beach Municipal Airport (LGB), with an average flight price of $193.

  • 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 $282. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Tuesday, where round-trip prices are $410 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 $309 on average. Morning departures are around 16% 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 $366.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from Washington found in the last 3 days was to San Diego, at $66 round-trip. The most popular route is Bellingham (BLI) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 3 days was $86.

  • What is the cheapest month to fly from Washington to California?

    The cheapest month for flights from Washington to California is August, when tickets cost $207 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are February and June, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $351 and $348 respectively.

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

    To get a below average price on the flight from Washington to California, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 49% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.

  • How many cities have direct flights to California?

    From Washington, there are direct flights to California from 5 cities. The city with the most direct flights is Seattle, with 3,030 direct flights each week.

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

    There are around 487 direct flights from within Washington to California every day. Most flights (40%) depart in the morning.

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

    Each week there are around 3,404 direct flights from within Washington to California. The most common day for departures is Sunday, with 19% of flights taking off on this day.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from Washington to California takes 2h 18m, covering a distance of 784 miles. The shortest route is Seattle (SEA) to Medford (MFR) with an average flight time of 1h 24m.

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

    There are not any long-haul (6-12 hour flight duration) or medium-haul (3-6 hour flight duration) flights to California. Instead, there are 3,404 short-haul flights (up to 3 hour flight duration), with the most arriving from Seattle.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Los Angeles (24% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Las Vegas (21%) and San Francisco (14%). Searches for flights to San Diego (8%), to Ontario (7%) and to San Jose (7%) are also popular.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Washington to California

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Washington 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 4264 reviews
8.6Crew
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
7.5Entertainment
7.0Food
Airline reviews

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.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, May 2026
MDW - LAX
Read more Southwest reviews

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.

Not having a five hour delay with little notice! The crew was very kind, though, and just as tired as we passengers were. The flight didn't depart until nearly 1 am...and no reason was ever given.

This leg was much better, but we did have to have a 3 hour lay o er after coming from a very exhausting hiccup with our flight from BNA to Den

The Air hostess were very rude on my flight from Houston to Austin . Their regular communication itself felt a they are shouting at people.

Boarding was easy. The seats are small and fairly uncomfortable

The problem with the seat assignments is that there were a lot of rows in the front that were empty but my row at the back was full. Just not so pleasant.

No food or entertainment, just a quick 40 minute flight. A little bumpy due to Santa Ana winds but pilot has no control over that. Good flight and landing!

Good but I prefer choose your own seat. With the new assigned seats they should board from the back I see no advantage to this new boarding. Just like every other airline

I was surprised by everything. The cleanliness, the punctuality, the friendliness of the crew… and the Wi-Fi! Please keep up the good work.

I had to cancel this trip due to medical reasons. I took out flight insurance but I was unable to cancel my reservation on either Kayak or Alaska. I need proof that I did not take this flight to get my refund. I have tried for a week and a half together that information from either Kayak or Alaska but so far I have gotten no response. I am very disappointed!

See what I wrote in the previous section. This was a terrible experience. I would like refund.. I even paid an extra $70 for an aisle seat closer to the front to ensure that I got off early enough to catch the next flight. The fact that the plane did not wait, and even left eearlier, knowing that the first flight came in late, and was moved to a terminal three train stops away is appalling. My friend that flew JetBlue, their flight was delayed and came in later and the connecting flight WAITED for them. How is it that JetBlue could do that, and Alaska could not.

Alaska Airlines staff go out of their way to accommodate my fragile musical instrument, every time. They are unlike any other airline. I've experienced this can-do attitude on several flights with different staff, so this must be the culture of their company. I appreciate Alaska!

It was a bumpy flight but the crew was very attentive and made it a safe and enjoyable experience.

i canceled my flight from SEA to SFO, SNA to SEA and received full refund from Alaska Airlines. i am pleased with the customer service.

Departing flight for our weekend trip was cancelled due to weather which meant our return flight was useless. The whole thing was difficult to get support through but Alaska did recover and was able to reimburse us for the flights yesterday. For some reason, Kayak was not kept in the loop, adding to the confusion.

i canceled my return flight package with Alaska Airlines. Customer Service was excellent and assisted me to cancelled both of our reservations and returned the payment in full. that is excellent service and understanding and empathy of the customers' needs. i like Alaska Airlines and recommend AS to everyone.

The flight attendant was friendly and attentive. Although our interaction was brief—- it made a difference. The crew was upfront about turbulence. I like the Maui pretzels.

I paid for the WiFi and it didn’t work during the whole flight

Everything went smoothly, although the usual gripes about airline travel were still present: the boarding process is inefficient, the snack selection is limited, and so on. Since there was extra space on the flight, the gate agent rearranged many people's seats to put people on the aisles and windows, leaving the middle seats empty, as much as possible, which was pretty great.

While they turned off most cabin lights to allow people to sleep, I was bothered by how bright the side lights still were. It was still quite bright for me in a window seat, when I wish I could have slept!

One of the flight attendants was a little cranky. I appreciated the free wifi and plug to charge my laptop

WiFi didn’t work most of the time. The usb chargers would work only occasionally for 5 mins and wouldn’t charge after that. Had to keep trying repeatedly at each of the seats in the row.

The crew bent over backwards to thank us for flying and make us comfortable. The food service was quick and efficient. The Captain communicated and said goodbye and thank you as we departed. They really stood out!

Generally on time departures and arrivals, clean planes, sky miles membership provides great benefits (complimentary upgrades, etc).

my mom urmila patel needed a wheelchair which was not available on the curbside. she needed to walk almost 50 meters inside (at the risk of falling) and then had to wait in line to get a wheelchair (this is not ok). Once obtained she had to seat in it for 30-45 minutes for someone to take her in thru the checkin process (which was fairly smooth and easy). the lady who helped her with her checkin process was very courteous and helpful

Staff at the check-in counter were friendly, happy and helpful. They tagged our bags and sent us to “bag drop off” but were not very clear about where that was. The airport was busy we headed off in what we thought was the right direction until a gentleman waved us down and actually came after us. He was the baggage handler for Delta and recognized our “deer in the headlights “ look-he brought us to the right area (which was marked as the Southwest Airlines Drop Off) and sent us on our way. Wonderful guy, low key and working with a big smile on his face. Loved it. Loved him.

Arlene was a great flight attendant. I also liked how one of the other flight attendants gave us a heads up about snacks and asked everyone to remove their headphones when it was their turn to order. Good idea.

I haven’t flown economy in over 20 years but it was not bad. Room by my feet for my bag and seat was roomy enough. Surprised in a good way.

Seat pitch is horrible especially on the 15 hour flight. Gate crew at SFO was Outstanding. The flight crew was also great.

6 1/2 hours from Tampa to SFO on a Boeing 737. Cramped. No Service. No real food. One pass for coffee at the beginning and a second pass THREE hours later. And check-in in Tampa was nasty even by United standards. And I am at almost TWO million miles on United. It's a non-stop. But terrible service.

First class ticket gets you no seat back entertainment? I have to bring my own laptop to see a movie? And most of their movies have ADS? No thank you. Worse: Tiny snacks only on a 2 hr flight?

Late plane. Only one crew on the ground so we b had to wait for Denver flight to come in, board, and depart. At 78 yrs of age I was not pleased trying to get my connection. What really made me angry was the notification you sent me to hurry up or I would miss my connection. Why tell me to hurry up when you got me in late. It was not a good way of treating customers.

No complaints other than luggage carousel was incorrectly guiding passengers to the wrong carousel on the screen.

Outstanding service, efficient & friendly crew, flight was safe, comfortable & on time

The crew was great. Very friendly and responsive. The plane was old, small and tight. We ran out of overhead space and I had to check. Middle seat was particularly tight.

The flight was delayed from take off because only one runway was operational in San Francisco.

Several missed and almost missed connections. It felt like everything was being patched together last minute without enough resources and it ended up being an extremely stressful experience that basically ruined our weekend on the west coast. What a waste.

Packed in plane small uncomfortable seats elbow to elbow nobody wants to be in that situation for the money they paid

There weren't enough employees at check in took awhile to get bags checked. There wasn't a wheel chair for me, I was sent to someone who turns out to work for a different airline, if My flight hadn't been delayed I probably would have missed my flight as it was, by the time I arrived at my gate, they started boarding in about 15 minutes. I don't know who took me to my gate, definitely was not the normal people who take passengers to the gate. I'm guessing she may have been in a management position. I wish I knew her name, she went beyond to help me. With that said everyone was kind, and were doing the best they could. So, I choose to say it was an Adventure, stressful start, but good. In the end went well. The situation was not only difficult for passengers but the employee's.

The staff at the check in counter was so rude. Made you feel Incompetent

Frontier scheduled a 40 minute connection in DEN. What they failed to mention was that they “close the doors” 20 mins prior to departure, which means you only have 20 mins. Not enough time. Possibly against DOT regulations. Filing complaint.

Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

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 knew going into this that Frontier, being a low cost carrier, would be pretty bare bones and charge for most extras but this was made up for by the fact that the airplane was a reasonably new Airbus, every employee was great and best of all, Everett Washington is an amazing airport - thanks Frontier for flying there!!!

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.

Everything you need to know for your flight to California

Cabin class types available on flights to Washington

Cabin classes available on flights to Washington. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.