R10 282 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 South Africa to California departing on 17/9. 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

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 Angeles2 stopsR16 726
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stopR17 043
San Diego
San Diego1 stopR17 078
Fresno
Fresno2 stopsR21 444
San Jose
San Jose2 stopsR22 888
Los Angeles
Los Angeles2 stopsR16 726
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stopR17 043
San Diego
San Diego1 stopR17 078
Fresno
Fresno2 stopsR21 444
San Jose
San Jose2 stopsR22 888

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

Sun, Sep 21 - Wed, Oct 8
Virgin Atlantic Logo
20:40 - 19:47JNB-LAX
32h 07m2 stops
Virgin Atlantic Logo
10:13 - 19:40LAX-JNB
24h 27m1 stop
R16 726Virgin Atlantic
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 13 - Mon, Oct 27
Turkish Airlines Logo
17:55 - 11:45JNB-LAX
26h 50m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
19:45 - 10:50LAX-JNB
30h 05m1 stop
R16 779Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Sep 12 - Mon, Sep 22
United Airlines Logo
20:00 - 15:04CPT-LAX
28h 04m2 stops
United Airlines Logo
8:18 - 15:20LAX-CPT
22h 02m1 stop
R17 078United Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Sep 12 - Sat, Sep 20
United Airlines Logo
20:00 - 9:26CPT-LAX
22h 26m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
0:56 - 17:10LAX-CPT
31h 14m2 stops
R17 096United Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Oct 30 - Thu, Apr 9
KLM Logo
19:40 - 18:46JNB-LAS
32h 06m2 stops
KLM Logo
20:25 - 21:20LAS-JNB
39h 55m1 stop
R17 659KLM
Find Deal
Thu, Oct 16 - Thu, Oct 23
KLM Logo
7:45 - 19:19CPT-ONT
44h 34m2 stops
KLM Logo
7:05 - 21:30ONT-CPT
29h 25m2 stops
R17 659KLM
Find Deal
Thu, Feb 5 - Mon, Feb 9
British Airways Logo
19:35 - 16:10JNB-SAN
30h 35m1 stop
British Airways Logo
18:00 - 10:25SAN-JNB
30h 25m1 stop
R18 328British Airways
Find Deal
Thu, Feb 5 - Mon, Feb 9
British Airways Logo
19:35 - 16:00JNB-SAN
54h 25m2 stops
British Airways Logo
18:00 - 10:25SAN-JNB
30h 25m1 stop
R18 522British Airways
Find Deal
Mon, Dec 1 - Thu, Dec 18
Emirates Logo
18:50 - 12:50JNB-SFO
28h 00m1 stop
Emirates Logo
15:40 - 5:35SFO-JNB
27h 55m1 stop
R29 209Emirates
Find Deal
Sun, Nov 30 - Thu, Dec 18
Emirates Logo
18:50 - 12:50JNB-SFO
28h 00m1 stop
Emirates Logo
15:40 - 5:35SFO-JNB
27h 55m1 stop
R29 930Emirates
Find Deal
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to California

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

What is the cheapest month to fly from South Africa to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from South Africa 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 South Africa to California is February, when tickets cost R16 567 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and August, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is R21 744 and R21 409 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from South Africa 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 South Africa to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 8% compared to booking last-minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 6 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flightR10 282
Best time to beat the crowds (14% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly (3% more expensive on average)
Flight from Johannesburg to Los Angeles

FAQs - booking California flights

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from South Africa 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 South Africa 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 South Africa 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 South Africa 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 South Africa 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 R18 542. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Friday, when return prices are R20 120 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 retur flights cost R942 on average. Morning departures are around 1% 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 R1 304.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • 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 South Africa 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 South Africa 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.
7,8
KLMOverall score based on 1382 reviews
7,3Food
7,7Comfort
7,8Boarding
8,4Crew
7,1Entertainment
Airline reviews

Over 1 Hr delay. No APU so no AC on ground. Plane was hot during boarding and then they closed the doors over 20 minutes before engine start so interior of plane was steamy hot and stuffy. Could have been helped by opening doors until ready to depart.

2,0 MediocrePeter, Aug 2025SAN - AMS
Read more KLM reviews

Over 1 Hr delay. No APU so no AC on ground. Plane was hot during boarding and then they closed the doors over 20 minutes before engine start so interior of plane was steamy hot and stuffy. Could have been helped by opening doors until ready to depart.

Ad experience - been flying many years with them but they are losing out to other carriers with their service and bagage / seating policy. My 2 12-yo kids were not placed with the parent. Absurdity.

Short flight so it was okay. Nice crew, all very pleasant and professional. We were near the back in row 27 so just as we got our drinks, we started our descent so had to drink very quickly!

KLM remains a quality flag carrier airline which maintains its standards whilst all their competitors are lowering theirs.

Our first flight was delayed so we missed our connecting flight. However it was easy to book a later flight on their app.

Klm start boarding while somw air issue in the plan

The service was great. However the lounge only gets passing grade

Cabin crew professional, polite and friendly, boarding was seemless, but come on KLM surely you can do better than a pack of cheesy biscuits as an inflight snack

Cabin crew were excellent, very proffesional, polite and friendly, in flight snack was underwhelming, a packet of cheese biscuits, im sure KLM could run to a sandwich!

Legroom not all it could be, especially when the seat in front is reclined. Otherwise it was good, food and beverage were nice.

The flight was comfortable with the exit row and great service

Plane was crowded and even when we hit altitude, the plane was hot, not enough air flow.

1. when we went to check in, our 2 first class seats had been CANCELED and the flight was sold out. This was done without our prior knowledge. It was all we could do to restore one first class seat for my wife and I flew economy. 2, Our flight home was scheduled to leave at 10:30 pm. Due to tsunami warnings, the roads were closed and our flight status was uncertain as to whether it would leave as scheduled. It was announced that it would now leave at 11:20 pm and the roads were now open since the tsunami had come and gone. We made a mad dash to the airport and checked in. Delays were announced at 12:30 pm, 1:30 am, 2:30 am and at 3:30 am it was canceled. Since this was a flight due to natural (tsunami) causes, there was no compensation. We were told to return at 1:00 pm the next day and our baggage would be kept on the plane since the same plane was going to leave at 1:00 pm. We had to return to our hotel for the rest of the night. The same plane did not leave at 1:00 pm and our baggage was gone! All in all, it was a miserable performance by UA. Information was hard to obtain and no one knew what was going on and what was going to happen. Hundreds of passengers slept on the floor, chairs, etc. No food and no water was made available to the passengers. It was a situation where UA could care less what was going on. As a one million mile flyer, I had not experienced anything like this before and it was hugely disappointing!

I found the staff to not be very attentive at all. When paying for Business Class you expect a certain type of service and that was not found. They were almost rude even

Ok. Get a different kosher caterer. The food was odd.

Our experience on United Airlines was extremely poor. The plane was extremely cold throughout our entire flight- which multiple people complained about- and we had to wait 2 hours to get a blanket which was too thin and barely helped warm us up. As well as this, none of the entertainment features were working so we had to sit through a roughly 10 hour flight with nothing to keep our attention, including the actual flight path screen. It was an extremely disappointing experience and I would hope that this gets fixed if we ever choose United Airlines again.

I really enjoyed flying with United airlines amazing experience , good customer service and great food

1.It will be better if sandwich is warm. 2.The food is too salty. 3.Breakfast needs some vegetables or fruits.

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

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

These are one of the older seat arrangements facing away from the windows! Not particularly convenient sets. No storage spaces. NO COAT HANGING HOOKS. Inconvenient business class seat compared to any other airlines of similar class. Staff are excellent! Extremely professional, friendly. Food is good too.

Overall, flight was excellent but check in was very slow for Premium Economy. Economy queue was shorter but we weren't allowed to use it.

The staff was not very polite but the flight was very very nice and comfortable and the entertainment was great

Great crew - old style upper class seats on the older fleet now feels dated

Premium economy more comfortable than economy, but not by much. Did was awful, do not try the omelette. Flight crew were helpful. Flight was delayed by over an hour. Overall but bad, arrived safely and thank God.

Food was excellent. Service was very good. Staff was very helpful to all passengers.

The crew was excellent as ever on Virgin. The special meal was poor unfortunately. More significantly when we arrived at Manchester Airport there was no air bridge provided and we had to exit the plane down a rickety stair case. This is unacceptable for a transatlantic flight. Whilst I understand that this is the airport’s fault at the end of the day the airline is responsible for our transportation and needs to do something.

Super friendly and helpful staff, from check-in desk to cabin crew.

Following a paid seat upgrade for enhanced comfort, I encountered an unacceptable odor in my assigned area. It took three hours for the crew to relocate me, and the replacement seat was unacceptably close to the lavatory, offering no improvement.

Good overall. Cannot fault the airlines. I have had better entertainment systems before ie ice in Emirates but it was not too bad. Food was decent and staff were friendly.

We couldn’t fly to Chicago on our booked flight. The flight was overbooked.

Small seat space for 13 hours flight, they charged for baggage , very bad quality of food,

I was sitting almost in the back, the seats are very tight and there’s no legroom, it’s uncomfortable for a long distance

Absolute worst airline. Charged us $720 to check 4 bags (2 of which were carry-on). Entertainment systems didnt work. And on a 12 hour flight they served 2 meals and never once came around outside of those 2 meals with a beverage or cup of water. Will never fly them again.

Took forever to board. They made announcements without the loudspeaker and since the waiting room was full of screaming kids, no one could hear what they were saying. The business class sleeper seats were designed for tall skinny people. When partially reclined there was nowhere to rest my feet because they did not reach the footrest. and when fully reclined there wasn't room at my sides for my arms. Definitely one of the worst sleeper seats I have ever had.

About an hour delay but we made it to Chicago. I feel that the smaller connecting flights are the ones that cause the delays on the bigger planes that fly international.

Amazing trip! No delays, no broken or lost luggage, and amazing food.

The food we received during the flight was excellent. The service was very friendly. Definitely the best value for the money when flying across the Atlantic.

I use a wheelchair for mobility. Both in my flight from Houston and back to Houston from Istanbul, the Turkish airline staff asked that I claim my wheelchair at the luggage area. On arrival to Istanbul, parts of the wheelchair were in disarray at that time I raised no objection however upon claiming my wheelchair in Houston parts where outright missing. In both occasions, upon arriving in Houston and arriving in Istanbul, I asked multiple times why am made to pick up my wheelchair in the baggage claim rather than at the jet bridge. Getting the wheelchair at the jet bridge minimizes the probability of loosing parts because they can be hopefully reclaimed on the spot. I was told in Houston that a manager turned down my request to claim the wheelchair at the jet bridge in Houston. This is extremely frustrating because a wheelchair is not a set of clean underwear or a toothbrush- this is the way I move. A Turkish Arline staff took my complaint at the luggage claim area in Houston but as of the writing of this review the only contact I have received from the airline is because I initiated a claim rather than her as she told me she would.

The security at the airport was excellent. The one criticism is the boarding process just before entering the plane. There were only 2 boarding lines and there were no barriers thus leading to a mass rush to enter the plane. I suggest that they board by rows, eight or ten rows at a time to prevent the mass rush to enter the plane. Otherwise, I would highly recommend Turkish Airlines

Flight was delayed but my previous flight was as well so It worked to my advantage. This was my first time in first class. I don't think they ever stopped feeding us. The seating area was very spacious and comfortable. The attendants were wonderful, warm, friendly and very personable.

Some how my flight was canceled, neither BA or Justfly.com accepted responsibility. I only found out about this the day before when I tried to check in. I had to book another flight which due to the time ( day before) cost me $300 more. I was still receiving notifications about the flight even when I was on another flight from you. So no my flight to London was not good.

We had a pretty good experience. Enjoyed both the flights. Crew was very good and helpful.

They issued seat assignments and sat my 2 year-old in the row behind me, separate from me and my daughter. Communication/ customer service was terrible. They told me to change it in London, then in London, they told me to talk to the cabin crew, then a supervisor came and stuck us in the back of the plane when we were supposed to be in row 25. Overall, they need to really work on their customer service. Additionally the food was terrible and they ran out of meals and didn’t have any kid options. To top it off there was no in-flight entertainment for the first hour of the trip.

We missed the connection because we had to wait for a shuttle from the plane to the Terminal. Also, we needed assistance and none was available.

When we arrived at the airport - 1st step - printing out your boarding pass - no issue. Not long lines as these machines. 2nd step - processing your bag drop off. There was only one associate there to help 10 kiosks. We had a family in front of us for 20 minutes trying to work on the machine and figure out every step for 4 pieces of luggage. My husband alerted the associate who was able to assist the family. Highly suggest that there are more associates to assist in this process. Besides this issue, security check went very quickly. Our flight was direct to Philadelphia. We had to carry our bags down two flights of steps, then out to the tarmac to a bus, then carry our bags up two flights of stairs to the plane. No one on the flight was expecting that long trek. I could see some people were struggling a bit. All in all - great flight crew, plane was clean and food was great!

There were no gluten-free vegan options available, so food was very limited on this flight, and some of the crew weren’t especially helpful about it. To make matters worse, a passenger was sick on board, and although the area was cleaned, the smell lingered for the rest of the journey. On top of that, we ended up circling for an extra hour, which only made the unpleasant situation drag on even longer.

Checking in prior on line and wait time at Gatwick was terrible. I would rate a big fat ZERO.

There was a slight delay. Otherwise, everything else was satisfactory.

The company that I bought my tickets through, Cheapflightsfares, failed to provide my confirmation information in a timely manner, so I was unable to check on at the country and therefore unable to make my flight. As a matter of fact, I STILL have not received the confirmation. After having read more and more reviews about the company, Cheapflightsfares appears to have scammed hundreds of hopeful travelers out of thousands of dollars. Please look into this company and, for the sake of anyone planning their next trip, stop allowing them to do business through you.

Everything you need to know for your flight to California

Cabin class types available on flights to California

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

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