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Find cheap flights from Ottawa to California from C$ 226

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Ottawa to California departing on 20/8. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Sun 7/7
Sun 14/7

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Best California Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stopC$ 395
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stopC$ 492
San Diego
San Diego1 stopC$ 607
Palm Springs
Palm Springs2 stopsC$ 606
San Jose
San Jose3 stopsC$ 744

Good to know

Low season

September

High season

August

Cheapest flight

C$ 226
Best time to beat the crowds (15% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 2% lower on average.
Flight from Ottawa to Los Angeles

FAQs - booking California flights

  • Is it necessary for me to obtain a visa to fly from Ottawa to California?

    Unless you plan on flying from Ottawa to California and staying there for several months, you won’t need to secure a visa before your trip. You can stay in California for several days or even weeks without a visa. Just make sure you pack your passport or a valid NEXUS card for the trip.

  • Does Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport participate in the Verified Traveller program?

    Yes, the airport in Ottawa does take part in the Verified Traveller program. If you’ve signed up for this program, you’ll be able to make your way through security much faster than usual.

  • What are the common layovers on the way from Ottawa to California?

    There are several layover locations used on flights from Ottawa to California. Two of the airports you might find yourself in include Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).

  • What are the best ways to make a flight from Ottawa to California sustainable?

    If you’d like to help make your flight from Ottawa to California more sustainable, you can start by packing lightly. It’ll reduce the impact your luggage has on the weight of your plane. You should also look into flying with an airline like Air Canada that has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to California from Ottawa 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 Ottawa 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 to California with an airline and back to Ottawa with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Ottawa 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 to California from Ottawa up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Morning departure is around 30% cheaper than an evening flight, on average*.
  • If you would like to fly from Ottawa to California, Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW) will be the best place to start. There are a few airlines that fly from Ottawa to one of the airports in California, such as Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or San Diego International Airport (SAN).
  • While you will be able to fly from Ottawa to California, there aren’t any direct flights between these two places. More often than not, you will only have to make one stop while you’re on your way to California from Ottawa, but there are instances when you’ll have to make two or even three stops en route to California. Ideally, you’ll want to search for an airline that can get you from Ottawa to California in just one stop, since it could significantly trim your travel time.
  • Flying from Ottawa to California will take you at least 12 hours, in most cases, and sometimes even longer than that. Because of this, you may want to consider booking a first-class ticket for your flight. Before you do, though, you should book an economy ticket and keep your eyes peeled for emails from your airline. It might be willing to extend a discount on a first-class ticket if you’re willing to wait.
  • If you want to avoid getting hit with baggage fees when you arrive at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, you may want to limit the amount of luggage you bring. Airlines like Air Canada will charge you about $30 to check your first bag and $50 for a second one. By only bringing only a carry-on bag, you can save money while you fly to California.
  • It’ll be important for you to head to Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport about two to three hours before your international flight to California. Once you make your way through security, you can kill extra time by heading to one of the lounges in YOW, such as the Aspire Lounge. It’s open to all passengers regardless of which airlines they’re flying.
See more tips
*Average of the lowest prices shown in KAYAK’s search results for departures within the next 30 days

Top 5 airlines serving from Ottawa to California

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Ottawa 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
Air FranceOverall score based on 1720 reviews
7.5Boarding
7.1Food
7.4Comfort
8.2Crew
7.1Entertainment
Airline reviews

My only issue was my meal was inedible except for the sides.

8.0 ExcellentCarissa, May 2024LUX - CDG
Read more about Air France reviews

My only issue was my meal was inedible except for the sides.

The check in was horrible. I stood in line for 1 hour to check in with an Air France ticket. Then I was told I had to go to Delta counter onstead to check in instead. It made no sense.

Old cabine without flat bed in business for a 12 hour flight is not acceptable

Medíocre. The food wasn't good (although not bad, bad) and the staff wasn't kind. I asked for n extra blanket, the steward never came back, serving us roughly.

They wanted to close counter although they did not provide the wheelchair requested which ended by going alone to transit security and lost long time and they did not want to wait .

They charge me for luggage which is was included on the ticket

Business class in the second leg - CDG-EVN was a disaster.

No bording was given for next trip on same carrier, food was very moderate.

Lost luggage, 2 bags were badly damaged and one of the bags came open.

The line at boarding was not well organized and managed

The Priority check in in Toronto rivalled the poorest I've experienced. The young woman at the desk (7:30 AM, YYZ) was unfriendly and abrupt, behaving as though we were interrupting her day. Her inch long fingernails said it all....I really don't belong here. Other than that, WestJet personnel provided a good travel experience, especially in flight. I must say that the repeated announcements about the cabin being full and how folks should gate check their bags became tedious. WestJet should just offer free checked luggage and charge for carry on suitcases. It would save a lot of time and the voices of the gate agents.

It was fine. I had a lot of trouble trying to buy a seat. The Westjet website charged me and then didn’t give me my seat. I ended up keeping the seat I was assigned and hope that the charges didn’t go through.. they didn’t. But this problem with the website (trying to purchase a seat at check in) has happened a few times before. But overall the flight was good.

My wife and I had an uncomfortable experience with your WestJet ticket counter rep at the WestJet Priority Member ticket counter at YYC (Calgary) on May 15, 2024. I not knowing this individual’s exact name, however, in order to easily identify her, she was one (of only two at the time) ticket counter reps at your Priority members ticket counter check-in, upon our arrival around 12:15 p.m. She was a Caucasian woman with blonde hair, and wore spectacles, approximate age being probably somewhere in her 30’s or 40’s. Background: After arriving in to the West Jet terminal in Calgary (YYC), I asked a terminal employee where the West Jet check-in ticket counter was. He told me, “Column 16”. My wife and I continuing to walk through the terminal, we finally arrived at the Column 16 area, i.e. this woman’s ticket counter area, which we discovered later was the Priority Member ticket counter. However, I was simply going by the directions given to me by the previous employee, i.e. “Walk to column 16.” Standing in her line (my wife and I being the only people in her line at the time), I tried to get her attention, and I then gestured to her, motioning to her as if to ask her if I should then possibly leave the waiting line in order to then proceed to walk up to her ticket counter. She never really motioned me to come forward. I sort of had to figure this out on my own, as my wife and I then finally decided to walk forward to her station. From this point on, after I arrived at her ticket counter, never once did she ever look me in the eye. She was always looking at her computer screen, or down at the ground, as she and I occasionally exchanged conversation with one another in order for me to be able to acquire my boarding passes from her. Shortly after she began servicing us, she commented that her work section is for Priority members only. Fair enough. I did not realize this at the time. Wishing to be polite, I then mentioned to her that, if I should, I could then walk over to the regular West Jet check-in ticket counter in order to complete the check-in process. She remained quiet, never responding to this goodwill gesture of mine. She continued to work in order to print out my boarding passes, and then finally handed them to me, never at all the entire time looking at me. I told her, “Thank you.” Never once did she respond. My wife and I then walked away. Even my wife commented to me afterward that this woman absolutely never looked at us. I cannot say that this attendant was outright rude. However, she certainly was not at all warm, congenial, nor friendly. Additionally, … After getting on the plane, we then discovered that she had needlessly assigned us seats in the very last row of the plane, these being the seats adjacent to the restroom back wall, thus, unfortunately not at all reclinable. I think that the row number of this last row of seats was 30. [However, I am not sure.] How strangely awkward that we were assigned these uncomfortable row of seats when in fact the row immediately ahead of us, i.e. I think that was row 29, had two vacancies, which could have otherwise easily seated my wife and me. That is, my wife and I could have easily been assigned these more comfortable seats, which would be reclinable, and then row 30 could have otherwise had instead our two vacancies. After our flight departed, and the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off, my wife and I had hoped to “jump seats”, that is, to leave row 30 and instead sit in row 29 to utilize the reclinable seats. However, another couple apparently had the same idea as us. That is, these other two people, for whatever reason, decided to leave their previously assigned seats, and instead, seat themselves in row 29. Thus, my wife and I were stuck with these miserably cramped row 30 seats for the entire 3.5 hour flight. To reiterate, the WestJet rep we originally encountered, knowledgeable of the plane lay-out as it appeared on her computer screen, could have easily assigned us the more comfortable row 29 seats, instead of the non-reclinable row 30 seats.

It was very, very cold extremely uncomfortable almost unbearable I was sitting at the front of the cabin

Too many oversized carryon baggage. If carrier reduced checked luggage fee this could be avoided. The staff were friendly and helpful, very professional.

Nice smooth flight with pleasant stewards. Slept most of the flight, they could have slowly turned on the lights to make it more pleasant. Otherwise a good trip.

Great! No food was available during the flight due to the catering service strike but snacks were given throughout the flight which was nice.

I wish that seats closer to the front of the plan were available, but when I booked the flight the seats were VERY expensive so I did not book seats at that time. The day before flying only seats at the back of the plane were available. It takes so long to board the plane and empty the plane on arrival due to SO many roller bags.

Crew was rude.didn’t even say hi or welcome to board

Good flight. No I’m seat entertainment. But my phone worked just fine on the west jet app.

Flight was delayed due to the late arrival of the catering truck, which is quite unacceptable. There was a beverage service, but no pretzel, or cookie, or nuts were served in coach.

Flighty delayed on boarding - then group 1 had to check their carry on bags but groups 3 and beyond could carry bags on - very inconvenient for weekend business trip with no checked baggage. Then delayed on the runway - before take off. No communication from pilot on why or how long. Wifi/Entertainment didn't work for 4+ flight. Upon arrival, attendants announced wrong carousel for baggage claim - everyone was waiting at the wrong place for their checked bags. This was a mess united!

Everything was great except for one thing. I was sitting in seat 1L with plenty of windows. Because we couldn’t sit next to each other, my husband was in 2L with only one window that he had to almost turnhis neck around to look out. Therefore, the window position with 1/2 of the “window” seats in business class is not optimal

I was not expecting much as i was not in a premium cabin. I was pleasantly surprised that the seat in economy plus was spacious and food was ample. Party of 5 with 2 parents and 3 kids.

Outstanding in all respects. Early boarding left early arrived early. We were in business class, so was perfectly fine.

Dinner was okay but the breakfast was not eatable on the flight San Francisco to Zurich.

I really do not like the basic in basic economy.

Marked by flight delays on all segments of the trip. Food in first class cabin was mediocre and overhead cabin storage was not adequate. Overall, the premium charge for first class cabin was poor and over hyped. This will be our last flight with UA.

We enjoyed that we boarded and took off on time. We didn’t like that our connection flight was a twenty minute walk through the airport with only one hour in between flights.

Check in etc was very good. As for on the plane, it was like flying in a freezer. It was so cold, i have flown for years and never been so cold on a plane. Staff on board said its always cold when flying which is a load of rubbish. They wouldnt put any heating on and now i have the flu because of this .

My mother, 80years old, had arranged for wheelchair assist to and from the aircraft cabin and in the airport but, no one showed up for her to de-plane. Apart from Air Canada having a reputation of being late for every leg of its flight so nothing was new this time so this time they did worse by not assisting seniors. I guess our whole family is done with this airline

Seating for almost 3 hours in the plan before aircraft takeoff. Very exhausted .

The bathroom did not have hand soap. That is unacceptable.

Once again my complaint is how close the seats are together. Also, the bathrooms were not very clean by the second half of the flight.

Excellent in flight service, perhaps the best we've ever had. Business class feels tired and needs improvement to compete with other airlines. The food looked good but tasted terrible. Check in was quick, the flight arrived early and our luggage was on our flight with us.

Terrible quality wifi and they charge a lot for it. They nickel and dime you for everything.

Well you cancelled our direct flight to Austin from Toronto granted you got us on another flight but sent us to Denver then onto Austin delaying our arrival time in Austin by 7 hrs I was flying with 3 other people none of us were happy with our Air Canada experience

Of our SIX flights in my travel group, five were delayed, and all (except possibly one) were just company screwups. One traveler had her CARRY ON baggage put on another flight because Air Canada could not properly do "weight and Balance". Bags missing for a day. Another traveler never made it. Then, (humor here) the flagship airline of the socialist country has NOTHING FOR FREE on board. Expect to pay for pretzels, folks. How's that socialism working out for ya, aye? I might book air Canada in the future if I have a meeting that I REALLY want to MISS!

I don’t know if there were any snacks served on the 5 hour flight. I might have been napping when the attendants came around. But I usually wake up when they do.

Food offerings need to be more plentiful and beverages need to be more healthy.

The worst experience of my life and I have been flying for 33 years

We were very upset when we checked in for our flight to be charged 208,00 euro for luggage fees when the site clearly states we are authorized one checked bag each and one carry-on. We have never experienced anything like this with Lufthansa and are very disappointed. We should be reimbursed this erroneous charge. I can forward all receipts once I am able to scan the them.

Poor, we had 1 hour to grab our checked luggage, go through customs, recheck bags and run across terminals to make our United flight. Poorly planned connections.

Check in in Albuquerque was awful. The people were great but they were over loaded. The procedures were terrible. We got through fine but it took 90+ minutes.

The seats are much too narrow and the arm rests are hard and awkwardly high, resulting in shoulder cramps. I am an average sized person ( definitely not overweight). The seats are a similar size to car seats with the added discomfort of incorporating hard plastic arm rests, that force average height individuals (I'm 5 ft 7 (f)) to hold their arms uncomfortably for several hours. The seats are much too close to the ones in front and behind making it extremely difficult to allow fellow passengers to get out, especially when the seat in front is declined. The leg room also necessitates knees banging into passengers backs for the entire flight. This used to be a quality airline who now offer mediocre service for premium cost, coupled with charging exorbitant prices for basic needs, like a seat, or luggage. Blatant and unabashed gouging of clients.

Crew was very nice and helpful. It was a good flight experience.

Efficient boarding. Good flight but seats were quite uncomfortable considering we'd already been sitting on two flights, total 13 hours or so. Would have liked to have prices on the menu of amenities on the plane. We could have used more water. Restrooms and nonalcoholic beverages at no extra cost, not much else. I realize these were discount tickets, and the airline has to break even, so I can't say we were expecting amenities to be plentiful. Still, it's nice with long flights to discover a few. Very pleasant crew though.

Will try to not fly with them again. Delays because of weather but got redirected to an airport where I could not make connection.

Staff didn’t care in business class. Closed the door on my mom while she was on the jetbridge and flight attendant told me she would make it from the connecting flight. They lied. My luggage was damaged on arrival. No success in filing damage claim.

Crew was super rude in business class. Not friendly or helpful. Luggage was damaged and was told to file with United and that was unsuccessful.

Book cheap flights from Ottawa to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

30/8Fri
1 stopWestJet
10h 44mYOW-LAX
8/9Sun
1 stopWestJet
9h 47mLAX-YOW
C$ 395
8/10Tue
2 stopsWestJet
16h 37mYOW-LAS
16/10Wed
1 stopWestJet
8h 10mLAS-YOW
C$ 410
22/9Sun
1 stopWestJet
10h 48mYOW-LAX
1/10Tue
1 stopWestJet
9h 43mLAX-YOW
C$ 410
21/10Mon
2 stopsPorter Airlines
14h 14mYOW-LAX
26/10Sat
1 stopPorter Airlines
8h 12mLAX-YOW
C$ 415
21/10Mon
1 stopPorter Airlines
10h 03mYOW-LAX
26/10Sat
1 stopPorter Airlines
8h 12mLAX-YOW
C$ 416
24/9Tue
1 stopAir Canada
9h 19mYOW-LAX
27/9Fri
1 stopAir Canada
7h 45mLAX-YOW
C$ 436
30/8Fri
1 stopAir Canada
8h 07mYOW-LAX
8/9Sun
1 stopAir Canada
7h 45mLAX-YOW
C$ 439
10/9Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
9h 40mYOW-LAS
16/9Mon
2 stopsUnited Airlines
13h 12mLAS-YOW
C$ 457
15/10Tue
2 stopsUnited Airlines
12h 39mYOW-LAX
26/10Sat
1 stopUnited Airlines
10h 47mLAX-YOW
C$ 457
14/10Mon
1 stopLufthansa
9h 29mYOW-LAX
19/10Sat
2 stopsLufthansa
13h 26mLAX-YOW
C$ 710

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Recent one-way flight deals

20/8Tue
1 stopWestJet
10h 44mYOW-LAX
C$ 226
23/10Wed
2 stopsWestJet
12h 24mYOW-LAX
C$ 237
25/9Wed
1 stopPorter Airlines
9h 32mYOW-LAS
C$ 245
23/10Wed
1 stopPorter Airlines
10h 03mYOW-LAX
C$ 245
25/9Wed
1 stopUnited Airlines
13h 40mYOW-LAS
C$ 267
12/6Wed
1 stopUnited Airlines
9h 33mYOW-LAX
C$ 282
10/7Wed
1 stopAir Canada
14h 27mYOW-LAX
C$ 296
15/6Sat
1 stopAir Canada
14h 27mYOW-LAX
C$ 297
25/9Wed
3 stops
15h 49mYOW-LAS
C$ 309
14/8Wed
3 stops
29h 53mYOW-SFO
C$ 312

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Last minute flights from Ottawa to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

8/6Sat
multi-stopAir Canada
7h 30mYOW-LAS
12/6Wed
multi-stopAir Canada
10h 21mLAS-YOW
C$ 488
12/6Wed
multi-stopWestJet
30h 43mYOW-LAS
13/6Thu
multi-stopWestJet
15h 08mLAS-YOW
C$ 499
11/6Tue
multi-stopWestJet
17h 04mYOW-LAS
12/7Fri
multi-stopWestJet
24h 34mLAS-YOW
C$ 505
11/6Tue
multi-stopWestJet
14h 20mYOW-LAS
12/7Fri
multi-stopWestJet
24h 34mLAS-YOW
C$ 508
11/6Tue
multi-stopWestJet
18h 10mYOW-LAS
14/6Fri
multi-stopWestJet
15h 01mLAS-YOW
C$ 513
12/6Wed
multi-stopWestJet
17h 04mYOW-LAS
13/6Thu
multi-stopWestJet
22h 15mLAS-YOW
C$ 517
11/6Tue
multi-stopWestJet
17h 04mYOW-LAS
14/6Fri
multi-stopWestJet
15h 01mLAS-YOW
C$ 542
8/6Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
19h 04mYOW-LAS
12/6Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
12h 43mLAS-YOW
C$ 564
10/6Mon
multi-stopUnited Airlines
19h 48mYOW-SAN
17/6Mon
multi-stopUnited Airlines
15h 35mSAN-YOW
C$ 616
10/6Mon
multi-stopAir Canada
17h 12mYOW-SAN
17/6Mon
multi-stopAir Canada
7h 33mSAN-YOW
C$ 1,004

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