$38 Find Cheap Flights from Washington to California

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Low seasonFebruary
High seasonJuly
Cheapest flight$38
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 6% increase in price.
Flight from Portland to Los Angeles

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

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Washington to California 
MarisaFlew with American AirlinesSEA-LAXJun 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 AirlinesSEA-ONTJun 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 AirlinesSEA-BURApr 2025
Don’t . Delta has all the gates together for easy transfers and much more food and beverage selection
RobertFlew with United AirlinesSEA-SFOMar 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 AirlinesSEA-PSPDec 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 AirlinesGEG-SANFeb 2025
Arrive early, the registration kiosks may not work and registration will take more than an hour.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSEA-ONTOct 2024
SeaTac lets you make an appointment to get through security. SpotSaver. No cost. Online.
ReidFlew with United AirlinesSEA-LAXOct 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 AirlinesSEA-LAXNov 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 AirlinesSEA-SNAJul 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 AirlinesPAE-LAXJun 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 AirlinesSEA-BURAug 2024
Burbank Airport is the best place to start your travels: small airport, short lines, and easy check in.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSEA-SJCAug 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 AirlinesSEA-SNAAug 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 AirlinesSEA-LAXJul 2024
LAX is a bit of a mess. Very long walk between terminals.
Verified travelerFlew with Alaska AirlinesSEA-FATMar 2024
Enjoy the flight. You can see Yosemite national park half dome and el capitan from left side window seat
LaurenFlew with DeltaSEA-LAXFeb 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 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 Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), with an average flight price of $138.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Friday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $260. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $369 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 afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $246 on average. Morning departures are around 19% 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 $329.

  • What is the cheapest flight to California?

    The cheapest ticket to California from Washington found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $44 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 72 hours was $44.

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

    The cheapest month for flights from Washington to California is February, when tickets cost $240 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are August and November, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $383 and $373 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. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 5 weeks before departure.

  • How long is the flight to California?

    An average nonstop flight from Washington to California takes 2h 31m, covering a distance of 796 miles. The shortest route is Seattle (SEA) to Medford (MFR) with an average flight time of 1h 22m.

  • What are the most popular destinations in California?

    Based on KAYAK flight searches, the most popular destination is Los Angeles (22% of total searches to California). The next most popular destinations are Las Vegas (17%) and San Francisco (14%). Searches for flights to Ontario (9%), to San Diego (9%) and to Santa Ana (8%) 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
Alaska AirlinesOverall score based on 10000 reviews
7.8Comfort
7.1Food
8.5Crew
7.1Entertainment
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

Original flight was canceled, and the automatically booked second flight was immediately delayed. I arrived about 4 hours later than planned with only a $12 meal voucher that didn't fully cover a sandwich at airport prices.

2.0 MediocreAlvin, Jul 2025SEA - SJC
Read more Alaska Airlines reviews

Original flight was canceled, and the automatically booked second flight was immediately delayed. I arrived about 4 hours later than planned with only a $12 meal voucher that didn't fully cover a sandwich at airport prices.

It was very good and comfortable, Crew was also great

Good experience, although it was a little cramped being a tall person. Otherwise everything went smoothly and professionally though

Delay of more than 3 hours I didnt recieve neither a voucher for food Attention disaster

Flight was very warm. It felt like there was no working AC.

Passengers were not informed timely of delays. The staff appeared like they didn't really care about the passengers.

Both flights were delayed going to our destination and leaving, and communication about the delays was not great by the airlines, now the crews were phenomenal and great to be around!!

Delayed. It's not our first flight with them either, it's actually our 3rd and all 3 were delayed by hours each time. It was a myriad of delays. On one flight we boarded after being delayed for a little over an hr, only to be told we were going to sit in the plane for another hour before departing. Once landed, we waited another 40ish min to get to our gate. On another flight, flight was delayed just under 3 hrs but atleast we got to wait it out at the airport terminal. Its just a bad experience overall flying with Alaska Airlines.

It is very bad they do not give you money back

The only problem was the time delay. Kudos to the counter agent in Seattle. Very helpful and gracious.

First time traveling on Southwest since bag fees were implemented. Usual good service. Just more expensive now.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Fine, but how to board on SW versus othrr airlines, is just lame. Goood staff though and all was solid otherwise.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a hell hole of an airport. It is the new LaGuardia. Everything Cobbled together. Security gates closed. Terri directional signage

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

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.

Great staff. Wifi is terrible. Signing up for skylines is a painstaking process. Had to call customer service just to get my flight itinerary and confirmation sent to me. Consistent delays. A well staffed company that is run so poorly. Upper management needs to be renewed.

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

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 😁

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.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

The gate was too far away for the connecting flight

We’ve all seen the YouTube vids of out of control passengers. But this was an instance of a highly aggressive, bully flight attendant. Yelling in the face of a vet with PTSD who was texting their family. And no , we had not yet been instructed to put our phones in airplane mode. My suggestion is that you should pay whatever difference there is in order to avoid Frontier airlines. Additionally, after 3hrs trying to get customer service frontier offered a $25 voucher. I declined. This experience was so traumatic. To be verbally assaulted and abused by a flight attendant that has the power to say “boo” and I miss my flight ( which was to a family member’s funeral ). Frontier is unsafe and I cannot impress enough how much I discourage anyone ( esp those with any kind of disability like PTSD ) flying on Frontier.

Very bad! No good service delayed my second connection flight

We had to wait in line over an hour just to check our bags. It's a good thing we were so early to the airport. Only one clerk was working and the line was around the corner and down the hall. No good. I felt bad for her. Not sure how she kept her sanity with all the upset people. Then we get to our gate and there is no seating. Everyone was standing. Then I realize it is not a gate at all, we still have to be shuttled to our airplane. Ugh. Then we were late taking off and missed a window of opportunity before the airport runways were shut down for some reason. (not frontier's fault the runway shut down.) The seats on the airline are crammed and there is no cushion. Never had a tighter seating arrangement while flying. My 6' 4" husband was absolutely miserable the whole time with knees digging in to the seat in front of him. You think you are getting a good deal on a ticket, and then wham! I had to pay 75 dollars for our checked bags and 75 dollars for a carry on. No other airline does that!!! And also, there is a 40 pound weight limit on checked bags... Would have been cheaper flying with another airline, and I would have at least gotten a snack and drink. Was thankful for the tiny cup of water at least.

They canceled flight. Hard to believe there was even a plane incoming for us to get on

No way to get boarding pass on my phone. In order to print the bag ticket a boarding pass is needed. Asked the agent to print me one, they said they typically do not due this as its so much work. I showed the email confirmation and I asked how i could do it my self the agent replied he did not know as there was no link. The flight was delayed due to an attendant forgetting to come to work. On the flight no drinks were offered only for purchase meals.

No way to get boarding pass on my phone. In order to print the bag ticket a boarding pass is needed. Asked the agent to print me one, they said they typically do not due this as its so much work. I showed the email confirmation and I asked how i could do it my self the agent replied he did not know as there was no link. On the flight no drinks were offered only for purchase meals.

Plane was down graded and I lost my uncharged exit row with more leg room. No mention or offer of refund from podium. Flight attendant was nice to explain this happens often and that I could request a refund via online form submission. I did this and have heard nothing back.

Horrendous. I do not recommend Frontier. The passengers lack manners and decency, and the flight attendants lack professionalism. If I wasn’t in a bind to fly with 48 hours notice for a job interview, I would not have selected a flight with Frontier and I never plan to fly with them in the future.

The seats were hard molded plastic covered in plastic vinyl. And the scam to charge people extra to sit together. Don’t they know we can just ask someone to trade seats. And watching the staff separate young children from parents… super classy. We had to guilt them into offering up our seats. This companies policies suck. Don’t give them your money.

I’ve never traveled on Frontier before. If you want basic, no frills, friendly service at great prices then give them a fly!

Book cheap flights from Washington to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

8/21Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 31mPDX-LAX
8/28Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 24mLAX-PDX
$71
8/14Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 31mPDX-LAX
8/21Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 24mLAX-PDX
$77
8/21Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 31mPDX-LAX
8/28Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 24mLAX-PDX
$78
8/20Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 12mSEA-SFO
8/23Sat
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 17mSFO-SEA
$126
8/20Wed
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 14mSEA-SFO
8/23Sat
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 15mSFO-SEA
$127
8/16Sat
nonstopDelta
2h 23mSEA-SFO
8/23Sat
nonstopDelta
2h 15mSFO-SEA
$137
8/23Sat
nonstopDelta
2h 23mSEA-SFO
8/24Sun
nonstopDelta
2h 10mSFO-SEA
$147
9/3Wed
1 stopSouthwest
5h 15mSEA-OAK
9/6Sat
1 stopSouthwest
6h 40mOAK-SEA
$156
8/22Fri
nonstopSouthwest
2h 10mSEA-SJC
8/25Mon
nonstopSouthwest
2h 15mSJC-SEA
$157
9/8Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
2h 12mSEA-SFO
9/10Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
2h 14mSFO-SEA
$179

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Recent one-way flight deals

9/27Sat
nonstopFrontier
2h 28mPDX-LAX
$38
9/11Thu
nonstopFrontier
2h 28mPDX-LAX
$39
8/23Sat
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 14mSEA-SFO
$61
9/30Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
6h 55mPDX-LAX
$64
9/1Mon
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 36mPAE-LAS
$69
8/18Mon
nonstopDelta
2h 12mSEA-SFO
$69
8/19Tue
1 stopSouthwest
4h 10mPDX-LAX
$75
8/7Thu
nonstopDelta
2h 28mSEA-SJC
$79
9/15Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
2h 19mSEA-SFO
$79
8/13Wed
1 stopSouthwest
4h 10mPDX-LAX
$80

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Last minute flights from Washington to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

7/7Mon
nonstopFrontier
2h 33mPAE-LAS
7/25Fri
nonstopFrontier
2h 45mLAS-PAE
$141
7/4Fri
nonstopFrontier
2h 32mPAE-LAS
7/11Fri
nonstopFrontier
2h 45mLAS-PAE
$149
7/4Fri
nonstopFrontier
2h 39mSEA-LAS
7/11Fri
nonstopFrontier
2h 52mLAS-SEA
$158
7/3Thu
nonstopUnited Airlines
2h 19mSEA-SFO
8/6Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
2h 04mSFO-SEA
$252
7/3Thu
multi-stopDelta
5h 12mSEA-SFO
8/6Wed
nonstopDelta
2h 20mSFO-SEA
$272
7/8Tue
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 17mSEA-OAK
7/15Tue
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 00mOAK-SEA
$287
7/8Tue
nonstopAlaska Airlines
2h 17mSEA-OAK
7/15Tue
multi-stopAlaska Airlines
3h 49mOAK-SEA
$297
7/8Tue
nonstopSouthwest
2h 10mSEA-OAK
7/22Tue
nonstopSouthwest
2h 05mOAK-SEA
$307
7/8Tue
multi-stopSouthwest
6h 10mSEA-OAK
7/22Tue
nonstopSouthwest
2h 05mOAK-SEA
$317
7/3Thu
multi-stopDelta
5h 03mSEA-SFO
8/6Wed
multi-stopDelta
7h 56mSFO-SEA
$327

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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.

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