$632 Find Cheap Flights 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 New Zealand to California departing on 14/7. 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

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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Cheap Flights to California

Cheapest return prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$1,220
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$1,313
San Diego
San Diego3 stops$2,754
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$2,088
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$1,220
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$1,313
San Diego
San Diego3 stops$2,754
San Jose
San Jose2 stops$2,088

Book Cheap California Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights 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 return flight deals to California

Mon, 13 Jul - Thu, 27 Aug
Fiji Airways Logo
13:05 - 13:05
CHC
-
LAX
19h 00m
1 stop
Fiji Airways Logo
23:55 - 12:05
LAX
-
CHC
17h 10m
1 stop
$1,220Fiji Airways
Sat, 18 Jul - Tue, 28 Jul
Fiji Airways Logo
16:10 - 13:05
WLG
-
LAX
15h 55m
1 stop
Fiji Airways Logo
23:55 - 15:10
LAX
-
WLG
20h 15m
1 stop
$1,255Fiji Airways
Tue, 21 Jul - Tue, 28 Jul
Qantas Airways Logo
06:00 - 06:00
CHC
-
LAX
19h 00m
1 stop
Qantas Airways Logo
21:30 - 14:25
LAX
-
CHC
21h 55m
1 stop
$1,432Qantas Airways
Thu, 30 Jul - Wed, 12 Aug
Air New Zealand Logo
11:00 - 06:50
CHC
-
SFO
14h 50m
1 stop
Air New Zealand Logo
22:05 - 22:10
SFO
-
CHC
29h 05m
1 stop
$1,504Air New Zealand
Tue, 1 Sep - Tue, 8 Sep
Air New Zealand Logo
09:00 - 12:55
CHC
-
SFO
22h 55m
1 stop
Air New Zealand Logo
22:05 - 10:50
SFO
-
CHC
17h 45m
2 stops
$1,513Air New Zealand
Wed, 19 Aug - Mon, 14 Sep
Qantas Airways Logo
06:20 - 16:00
CHC
-
SFO
28h 40m
2 stops
Qantas Airways Logo
13:27 - 14:25
SFO
-
CHC
29h 58m
2 stops
$1,520Qantas Airways
Tue, 6 Oct - Tue, 3 Nov
American Airlines Logo
06:00 - 16:45
CHC
-
SFO
30h 45m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
11:15 - 15:25
SFO
-
CHC
31h 10m
2 stops
$1,546American Airlines
Wed, 29 Jul - Wed, 5 Aug
United Airlines Logo
06:00 - 08:05
WLG
-
SFO
21h 05m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
23:00 - 00:10
SFO
-
WLG
30h 10m
1 stop
$1,597United Airlines
Thu, 30 Jul - Sun, 27 Sep
United Airlines Logo
13:50 - 22:37
AKL
-
ONT
27h 47m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
13:52 - 06:00
ONT
-
AKL
20h 08m
1 stop
$1,771United Airlines
Mon, 27 Jul - Sun, 23 Aug
American Airlines Logo
16:25 - 10:58
AKL
-
SNA
37h 33m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
16:31 - 14:05
SNA
-
AKL
26h 34m
2 stops
$1,962American Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to California

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

What is the cheapest flight to California?

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

The cheapest ticket to California from New Zealand found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $1,345 return. The most popular route is Auckland (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest return airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $1,345.

What is the cheapest month to fly from New Zealand to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from New Zealand 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 New Zealand to California is August, when tickets cost $532 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are May and February, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $8,842 and $1,510 respectively.

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

The average price for all round-trip flights from New Zealand 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 evening, when retur flights cost $2,040 on average. Morning departures are around 100% cheaper than evening flights, 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 $2,142.

How far in advance should I book a flight from New Zealand 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 a flight from New Zealand to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 18% compared to booking last-minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 26 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 San Francisco Airport (SFO), with an average flight price of $1,420.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$632
Best time to beat the crowds (13% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 2% lower on average.
Flight from Auckland to Los Angeles

Flights to California: the best tips from KAYAK users' own experiences

Insights shared by verified travellers who flew to California 
Verified travelerFlew with Air New Zealand
AKL
-
LAX
Nov 2024
If you can, and you’re a grown adult, pay the few extra dollars for premium economy. You won’t regret it
SidFlew with United Airlines
AKL
-
SFO
Jan 2024
wear layers as our flight over was freezing and return flight back was back sweat hot

FAQs - booking California flights

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from New Zealand to California is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from New Zealand to California?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly from New Zealand 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 New Zealand 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 New Zealand 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 Tuesday when return tickets can be as cheap as $2,040. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Saturday, when return prices are $2,248 on average.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Looking for cheap airfare to California? 25% of our users found return tickets to California for the following prices or less: From Auckland $4,105
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest California flight deals.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying 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 New Zealand 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 New Zealand 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.
8.1
Fiji AirwaysOverall score based on 244 reviews
8.2Boarding
8.5Crew
7.5Food
7.5Entertainment
8.1Comfort
Airline reviews

Poor food options for vegi folks n not enough food quantity. Fiji really needs to improve on it. Flight crew is very warm and respectful but don’t know how to cater towards vegi folks n items despite so many Indians staying in Fiji

6.0 GoodNeeta, Jun 2026
NAN - DFW
Read more Fiji Airways reviews

Poor food options for vegi folks n not enough food quantity. Fiji really needs to improve on it. Flight crew is very warm and respectful but don’t know how to cater towards vegi folks n items despite so many Indians staying in Fiji

Roomy seats and crew is pleasant. Vegi food can be a lot better in terms choices. Inflight entertainment needs to have more options especially for 13+ hour flight. Very nice and warm blankets and seats are roomy than other A350 aircraft’s. Swift boarding and crew is pleasant to deal with.

Boarding had poor communication. Passengers didn't get clear directions to prepare for Boarding. The plane was an older model which had some issues with operating the seats (the staff was great). Due to age the seat cushions were compressed and less comfortable than expected.

I thought Fiji and Fiji Airways was great. Looking forward to the next trip. Baggage claim at the end went to sh...t

Fiji Airways always goes above and beyond. If anything I'd say the food was less enjoyable than in the past. But that in no way lessened the experience with the cabin crew or the excellent attentiveness and service they provided throughout the entire trip!

Left on time , arrived on time. Staff was awesome!!!!! Great flight!!!!

Great food, wonderful staff made a long flight seem short

Everything was great . Arrived on time was smooth plane was clean. Crew/Staff was friendly and helpful.

Everything from the staff to the comfort of business class was excellent. This is one of my new favorite airlines.

Ticketing said dinner for the almost 14 hour flight and we were delayed an hour. However, onboard we were only served a sluce if pizza bread and a cookie. Not at all dinner and insufficient for a long international flight. Breakfast was good.

Great first time experience with ANZ. Such a great customer service. The crew was very friendly and welcoming

Great first time experience with Air New Zealand and loved it. The flight crew was extremely friendly and provided great service.

Needed more leg room. Leg rest and entertainment system box took up a lot of space and I'm not tall. Breakfast was good. Poor quality of the entertainment options.

Boarded on time, smooth flight and "gentle" landing in Palmerston North. Ahead of time due to a tailwind

Time to upgrade those planes so you can provide first class.

The flight was smooth and on time. Entertainment options were lacking and there was no food, other than some very boring snacks.

A better selection of entertainment would have been nice. I found nothing that appealed to me as a middle-aged traveler. The flight attendants were gracious, helpful, and attentive. It also would have been nice to have more bathrooms as the flight was full and the plane was big.

Appreciated the ability to get an earlier flight home after flying in from in from Japan. No problem with boarding or crew service. The limited choice of snacks, compared to previous years. Aircraft seats seem to be getting harder and more uncomfortable all the time. Overall, happy to be home

The Air New Zealand product is terrible, it's as expensive as a Jetstar ticket with add ons but with surely staff and old aircraft.

Wonderful trip. Everyone from checking in to the gate to the flight itself was amazing - kind, helpful, and has a beautiful smile.

I want a refund. I had to switch flights and buy another airline ticket because this one was delayed.

It was ok, but not what it was like 20 years ago

We had a cancellation due to weather, but the American Airlines staff was very helpful. Once we got on a plane, the trip was great.

Great food and good entertainment options for the long flight.

We had a medical emergency, needing to get to an emergency room upon landing at LAX. I let the back flight attendants know the situation. One, David, contacted the pilot, who made arrangements for EMT's to be there when we got off the plane. They went above and beyond for us. We didn't have to go through customs, as a customs person came to us and checked us right at the exit of the jet way. Another wonderful woman, a United employee at LAX, perhaps a customer service liaison, took care of our luggage situation, as we weren't going to make our connection to Bozeman. When we came back to LAX to see when we could get a flight to Bozeman, the personnel are very accommodating and booked us on the next flight out, and assigned good seats. It was a horrible flight, physically, from Sydney to LAX, , but the professionalism of all involved was excellent! We are very grateful fir the way they all stepped in and helped during a very unpleasant medical situation. Thank you!!

Loved the food and beverages available, spacious economy class, excellent entertainment

Very good overall. Highly recommend for all flying to Australia

Very good overall. However, your choices of free movies was limited and there was no music Channel???

We had bulkhead seats in a A380 in the upper deck in seats 31 D and E. Storage was very limited other than in overhead bin - which is not within reach when in seat. Yet paying same price as others in premium economy who have a lot more storage within arm’s reach. Seems very unfair.

On the Qantas flight, I could barely hear some of the announcements. It was better when I could read them on the screen.

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.

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.