$482 Find Cheap Flights from Zurich 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 Zurich to California departing on 9/18. 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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These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Zurich to California, 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 Zurich to California, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flights from Zurich to California

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$768
San Francisco
San Francisco2 stops$763
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$781
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$697
Fresno
Fresno2 stops$918
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo3 stops$953
Reno
Reno1 stop$827
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$768
San Francisco
San Francisco2 stops$763
San Diego
San Diego1 stop$781
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$697
Fresno
Fresno2 stops$918
San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo3 stops$953
Reno
Reno1 stop$827

Book Cheap Zurich to California Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Zurich to California 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 for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Zurich to California

Thu, Aug 27 - Mon, Aug 31
United Airlines Logo
9:25 am - 8:57 pm
ZRH
-
SJC
20h 32m
2 stops
United Airlines Logo
6:20 am - 7:45 am
SJC
-
ZRH
16h 25m
1 stop
$697United Airlines
Wed, Oct 21 - Sun, Oct 25
United Airlines Logo
11:20 am - 9:59 pm
ZRH
-
ONT
19h 39m
2 stops
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 7:55 am
ONT
-
ZRH
16h 55m
1 stop
$697United Airlines
Sun, Dec 13 - Fri, Jan 22
American Airlines Logo
11:15 am - 10:17 am
ZRH
-
SJC
32h 02m
2 stops
American Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 12:30 pm
SJC
-
ZRH
21h 30m
2 stops
$717American Airlines
Sun, Dec 13 - Sat, Jan 9
British Airways Logo
11:15 am - 10:17 am
ZRH
-
SJC
32h 02m
2 stops
British Airways Logo
11:47 am - 5:15 pm
SJC
-
ZRH
20h 28m
2 stops
$719British Airways
Fri, Sep 11 - Fri, Sep 25
British Airways Logo
11:50 am - 12:59 am
ZRH
-
SFO
22h 09m
2 stops
British Airways Logo
2:00 pm - 8:50 pm
SFO
-
ZRH
21h 50m
2 stops
$765British Airways
Fri, Aug 28 - Wed, Sep 9
SWISS Logo
1:10 pm - 4:15 pm
ZRH
-
SFO
12h 05mnonstop
SWISS Logo
7:35 pm - 3:50 pm
SFO
-
ZRH
11h 15mnonstop
$767SWISS
Fri, Oct 16 - Fri, Oct 30
SWISS Logo
1:10 pm - 4:15 pm
ZRH
-
SFO
12h 05mnonstop
SWISS Logo
8:25 pm - 3:30 pm
SFO
-
ZRH
11h 05mnonstop
$773SWISS
Mon, Nov 16 - Sun, Nov 22
American Airlines Logo
10:15 am - 9:39 pm
ZRH
-
SAN
20h 24m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:00 pm - 6:45 pm
SAN
-
ZRH
15h 45m
1 stop
$781American Airlines
Tue, Jul 14 - Tue, Jul 21
Lufthansa Logo
8:15 am - 5:57 pm
ZRH
-
LAS
18h 42m
2 stops
Lufthansa Logo
6:20 pm - 8:05 pm
LAS
-
ZRH
16h 45m
2 stops
$817Lufthansa
Tue, Jul 14 - Tue, Jul 21
Lufthansa Logo
1:15 pm - 9:59 pm
ZRH
-
LAS
17h 44m
2 stops
Lufthansa Logo
11:30 am - 12:15 pm
LAS
-
ZRH
15h 45m
2 stops
$824Lufthansa
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Zurich to California flights

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

How much is a round-trip flight from Zurich to California?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Zurich to California departing in August.

What is the cheapest Zurich to California flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to California from Zurich found in the last 5 days was to San Francisco, at $709 round-trip. The most popular route is from Zurich (ZRH) to San Francisco (SFO), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $709.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

The average price for all round-trip flights from Zurich to California depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $914 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $914.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Zurich to California?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 2 stops layover the cheapest option at $927 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Zurich to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Zurich 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 Zurich to California is February, when tickets cost $399 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are November and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,580 and $1,470 respectively.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Zurich to California?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Zurich to California clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

When flying from Zurich to California, you should consider leaving on a Sunday and avoid Tuesdays if you are looking for the best rates. For your return to Zurich, you’ll find the best rates on Wednesdays and the most expensive ones on Saturdays.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Zurich 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 Zurich to California, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 27% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 17 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$482
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 2% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 19% increase in price.
Flight from Zurich to Las Vegas

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

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from Zurich to California 
JanieFlew with SWISS
ZRH
-
SFO
Jan 2026
If you need to do an overnight layover, Grand Hyatt at SFO is perfect and has a 24 hour cafe!
Verified travelerFlew with SWISS
ZRH
-
LAX
Dec 2024
Don't pack too much, as the carry-on back size is smaller than most other airlines.
Verified travelerFlew with SWISS
ZRH
-
LAX
Sep 2024
Have Swiss app it keeps you updated pretty instantly of any delays or gate changes

FAQs - booking California flights

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Zurich 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 Zurich 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 Zurich 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 Zurich 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 Zurich to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Zurich to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Zurich to California. 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 Zurich 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.
7.5
SWISSOverall score based on 1971 reviews
8.3Crew
6.8Entertainment
7.1Food
7.4Comfort
7.7Boarding
Airline reviews

On time arrivals and departure, good in flight entertainment, courteous flight attendants, decent meals, reasonable seat space

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jun 2026
ZRH - DEL
Read more SWISS reviews

On time arrivals and departure, good in flight entertainment, courteous flight attendants, decent meals, reasonable seat space

Close was excellent. Comfort was very good. The food was marginal.

Didn't make the connection as my primary flight was 3 hrs late, I had to basically beg to be put on a different airline to continue my trip otherwise I would have been sitting on the airport for 8 hrs

Best service we’ve ever experienced! Special thanks to the crew member who took care of us throughout the journey. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We love Swiss Air!

The boarding of this flight was total chaos. For some reason, all passengers had to stand in a lengthy line at the gate to have our passports checked for the FOURTH time. No reason was offered for the necessity of the fourth re-check, and when we got to the end of the line, the check was perfunctory. There was little to no crowd control at the gate and in some cases, tempers were flaring. On the other hand, once we got on board, everything about this flight from start to finish, especially the quality of the food and the service, was probably the best I have ever experienced..

Boarding was very chaotic, we had to stand in two different lines that were not clearly marked, and the announcements were not understandable from the microphones, and we speak both German and English. We paid Kayak $120+ for seat assignments when we purchased our tickets but when we printed our boarding passes, suddenly we had been changed to 16 rows further back than our assigned seats we paid for. The seats we were assigned to on our boarding passes had no usable overhead bins and so we had to sit with our carry on backpacks underneath our feet in an already crowded space. One video/entertainment screen kept crashing and thus was useless for viewing anything. It was not an enjoyable flight.

The biggest plus point of this flight is that the crew was very friendly. Otherwise on European sectors, the Business class seats are a joke and there is no entertainment of any kind. The staff should be trained to greet the Star Alliance Gold members to make them feel special.

The seat and leg room is small on the 2 seated row. Otherwise, very good crew and service.

Entertainment sounds were not good. Otherwise everything else was good.

Business class seating in Swiss really is just Economy seating minus the middle passenger

The flight got delayed. They forgot to bring the drinks when I asked for it. The toilet is messy.

This was an overnight flight, and in the morning they did know coffee service. How you can throw passengers in a San Francisco airport at 5:40 a.m. in the morning and not giving them Coffee is a crime.

Our flight was delayed several Times due to mechanical issues. Although I understand this may happen at times, it was very inconvenient and we had to book a hotel for an overnight stay. We were traveling with my 3-yo grandson and waiting at the airport from noon until 6:30pm with no reassurance that our next rescheduled flight would depart, we had to decide what’s best for him. A day later, I found out that I may be able to demand compensation if my flight is delayed more than 4 hours. I will hav to read the fine print next time.

Service was professional and quick. Premium economy seat was comfortable given the class

Like: departed and arrived on time. Unlike: Food options for purchase allways bad, 1 of 2 of the crew members not very friendly at all. Seats and leg room aweful. At this point I am thinking on switching to AA.

The staff was extremely helpful and friendly at all times! They went above and beyond to get us into an earlier flight in San Diego to make our connection in SFO possible, because our original flight did actually not make it! I did so much appreciate the UA team and how they made this possible. We also didn’t have seats together on the long flight to Singapore, but they found us seats together last moment with no additional cost! Nobody sat next to us, so that we were able to sleep! Thanks to UA for improving their service and Underpricer for booking this trip! Please be careful: 1,5 hrs for transfer in San Francisco might not be enough time in the future

Crew was great! Good meals. Had room to stretch out

Packed flight, which makes it tough on crew and boarding staff (and the customers of course). But this was great boarding, clear instructions, etc. Traveling on the weekends are always fraught with danger as you have families and less frequent flyers thus more confusion. But this flight went as planned.

Destroyed my suitcase. Tired of talking about it. Cancelling my unite mileage plus account.

New plane was lovely. Crew customer service is always lax but expected. Kraft on time and arrived safely.

It was so much better than expected, Ohare is not such a pleasant experience but American Airlines with the new, clean aeroplane and free Wi-Fi was outstanding and the crew so pleasant and helpful.

This was my first flight on Aer Lingus and it was great. The plane wasn't full so I could move to a seat with extra room. The food was pretty good for airline food and the staff was nice and attentive. I enjoyed the media provided during my 10 hour flight. We arrived home early and it's always good to be home!

Was put into a seat right behind the toilet that had no entertainment possible but did have plenty of leg room over noisy part of plane.

The seat when "flat" was not flat and pad was too thin to cover it.

American delayed the flight for a crew rest period. The delay occurred late in the evening - the earliest i can find is 10:20 pm. With a 6 am flight anyone on the flight would have already have been asleep (unless you are insane, a vampire or on drugs) and at least for me i was already on the way to the airport at 445 am the next morning when i discovered they delayed the flight until 9 am. Given the incoming flight was in the air at 6 pm the evening before this should have been figured out a lot more timely that was there only crew to use. Just frustrating given there is no consideration for customer experience anymore in flying.

Flight: Started on time. Comfortable flight. Arrived on time. Crew: Very cordial and helpful. Drinks and snack was served with a smile. Overall enjoyed the trip. Regards, Hari Doss Chanchala Doss

To have arrived on time and not 3 hours late after having already spent $100 to change to an earlier flight, only to arrive back home close to the original flight time.

American Airlines is a miserable experience. It is predictably miserable, in the sense that every time I fly American, I brace myself for the certainty that it will be unpleasant and uncomfortable. But it is unpredictable in the sense that I never know if the flight will be on time or delayed nine hours (both happened to me this week). I never know if I will be able to sit in the seat that I selected when I purchased the ticket or if I will be told by Customer Service (!!!) that I must relocate from first class to a seat in the back of the aircraft with no explanation (both happened to me this week). Will the food be frozen and half defrosted, or scalding hot? Will the drinks be warm? Will the flight attendants be surly and mean? Will the toilets be cramped and foul? Will the seats be narrow and uncomfortable? Will there be a real electric outlet at the seat, or just an unreliable USB-2 port? Will there be enough seats in the boarding lounge or just a few? Will the boarding process be smooth and efficient, or will the gate agents mess it up and delay it needlessly for 30 or 40 minutes? Will the catering and cleaning crew be prompt or will they take an extra 30 minutes? Will the brakes on the aircraft work properly, or will the pilot delay takeoff for four hours while the ground crew attends to what can only be described as routine maintenance that should have been done the night before? I've eexperienced every one of these unpleasant things this year, 2026. The only thing I can reliably count on is that American will find a new way to make the experience of flying as miserable as they possibly can.

Wifi was spotty. Tray table was very dirty when I sat down.

The WiFi would not connect enough for me to do my actual work. It permaspooled, disconnected, said it was connected, then wouldn't open an email... it was frustrating. I am not a tall person, 5'4" - and I felt cramped with little room to reach into my bag under the seat in front of me. I feel sorry for anyone taller than me having to fly. the one positive thing I will add, is the overhead bins are roomy enough to manage more bags than other carriers.

I like the stripes, the more color the better I think you could even make more contrast with the stripes by filling in colors that create visual effect. The crew on both flights were polite well dressed, alert, good looking and very friendly. I never had a standing in line anywhere long for entering or exiting to my seat and it’s nice that people don’t bring too much luggage on the plane. The one thing I find is hard to manage is when a family or in general just being able to book a free seat if it is not for a dog, it shouldn’t be allowed. Since it is already very confined space on a flight overseas this can create slight conflict because there are sometimes free seats, which people then can freely use after cabin doors are shut. On the return flight, it was dark and by accident I stood on a paper bag with food in it that was placed on the floor in front of a seat next to me. I belong to the lady across the aisle and I felt terribly sorry once I found out there was still desired food in the paper bag. So I felt uncomfortable for getting into this situation. Otherwise I had a great time.

The food on this flight was better than what we had getting to Rome. The flight was comfortable and the staff was great. One of the staff members was a stickler about the blankets in the aisle, which I get, but still. Overall, great flight and will fly with them again!

Overall, we were satisfied with the Lufthansa flights to and from Rome/Zurich. Issue was the Frankfurt airport connection. It is HORRIBLE, but has nothing to do with the flight. Flight was very comfortable. Food was just OK. Staff was great and able to relax during the flight. Would definitely fly again!

Our screen kept turning off ...3 times...had to get crew attention to turn it on again

The legroom was lacking and the entertainment system lacked adequate selection of older films. Modern films are generally not very good.

Perfect airline, super friendly, great service, tasty food. Would fly again.

The flight attendants were wonderful - one man put my carry on in the bin for me. Very attentive service. Loved the blanket and pillow waiting for me in economy. Food was excellent which is a surprise given the reputation of any airline food. Wine was fine with the meals. Delighted with the new movies - flight went by very quickly. I would definitely fly Lufthansa again.

Flight was delayed by several hours and then cancelled due to weather. But Staff was very helpful getting me on a different flight. United should offer food coupons and tooth brush and paste for stranded passengers

Service was excellent. Flight was only about half full, which meant we had tons of room to stretch out. Boarding area was nice and well organized, flight attendants were super friendly and attentive and we loved the 3 snacks!

My flight was cancelled, but it was not Kayak's fault. Kayak did require me to pay for the ticket twice to two different venders who paid Lufthansa. Kayak/Lufthansa owes me for the first booking I made first was fraudulent on the part of the subcontracting ticket seller. There will be litigation over this issue under the current passenger protection laws.

Thanks to a delay of an hour of my flight to Philadelphia on American Airlines I missed my connecting flight to Amsterdam. On arrival at Philadelphia he crew on the delayed flight did not ask the passengers to let connecting passengers get off first and I arrived a few minutes after boarding was closed at the original time for the flight to AMS, this despite the fact that I had received a message from American Airlines that departure was delayed by 25 minutes. Overall very poor service, no effort from the part of American Airlines to accommodate the passenger, just rebook the flight for the next day.

Seats not as comfortable as I had hoped. Food was very nice, service was fine. Entertainment options very nice. Had thought the premium economy was a more plus 2-3-2 layout but it was a 2-4-2 with seats not as wide as I had expected.

I liked my seats on the return trip. Didn't like having to pay for luggage on an international flight. Also didn't like that it was on American airlines and not British Airways. I specifically selected a BA flight to experience that airline.

I flew four flights on British Airways within two weeks. I was unable to download the boarding pass to my phone for any of the four flights. I could check-in for my flight but the system would not give me boarding pass. I tried multiple ways and multiple times. I discovered many other passengers also had the same issue with their boarding passes. No explanation or acknowledgement by BA.

Lovely big plane. Excellent take off and landing. Cabin crew were so nice. Flight in time no delays

Because our ABZ-LHR flight was cancelled by BA for reasons they refuse to tell us--not weather--we did not make this flight and were booked on the following day. BA offered no assistance to us on the phone or in the airport, and we had to find a hotel at Heathrow on our own.

Horrible - flight was delayed by 6 hours - we boarded, were made to de-board due some technical fault; aircraft changed; special meals request on new flight - all went awry. Landed in Dulles airport; breezed thru immigration; as Business Class passengers or baggage was delivered almost 90 minutes after landing; air tags indicated the bags were just near the carousel but the unhelpful BA staff - Maria and Ghina refused to give any update - palming it off on some imaginary invisible “manager” despite air tags evidence showing it right there. So about 50-60 passengers waiting and getting infuriatingly impatient for their bags coz one container was not delivered. Finally after much argument by some other passengers Maria condescended to go to the “ramp” and within 5 minutes the baggage was delivered miraculously. Question is why couldn’t she have done it one hour earlier ? Poor poor experience once again on Business Class BA.

Cheap Flight Fares would not provide booking info. I canceled the reservation and we arbitrated with American Express. They provided erroneous info to Amex and it was determined that C.F.F. deserved the price of the ticket. Worse experience I've ever had.

Seating space is appalling. Seats and all surrounding area in "Economy" is built for individuals shorter than 4' 10" and below 120 lbs. Ridiculous. While I'm not expecting fine dining, the food was the worst airplane food that I can recall.

My luggage was lost at the airport but American Airlines contacted me and got it to me the next day.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Zurich to California

Information on your arrival and departure airports