Cheap Flights from Los Angeles International (LAX) to Oakland Metropolitan Oak (OAK)

Flying from the urban sprawl of Los Angeles to the northern beauty of the Bay Area within California is worthwhile if only to experience the vast difference in cultures within the same state. Oakland is a hot tourist destination, and its active cultural life and functional public transit system put LA to shame.

What Airlines Fly This Route?

Delta, Southwest, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, American Airlines, and Boutique Air make regular flights along this route. All flights are nonstop, but they tend to be expensive year-round.

If you think that you’ll be flying along this route in the future, set up our price alert tool so that you can be the first to book a cheap flight.

What’s At The Departure Terminal At LAX?

The departure terminal at LAX will vary depending on the airline you booked with, but every departure terminal is connected, so you’ll have access to LAX’s hundreds of shops and restaurants regardless of who you book with. There’s free Wi-Fi, plenty of places to sit, and nearly every single amenity that a traveler could want at LAX, provided that you can pay.

What’s At The Landing Terminal, And How Far Is It From Downtown?

Once you touch down at Oakland Metropolitan Airport, you’ll find yourself 10 miles from downtown, but very well positioned to get there via a variety of methods.

First and foremost is BART, which is the Bay Area’s public transit solution. BART has good rail and bus coverage, so don’t be afraid to buy a weekly pass and hop on board the airport monorail that goes downtown.

You can also hail a ridesharing app car, which is likely to be very cheap in Oakland. Renting a car is probably not a great choice for Oakland, but there is a place to do so if you wish.

How Are Different Are LA and Oakland?

Oakland’s diverse cityscape and LA’s endless reaches may seem quite similar at first, but in fact, they’re very different. Oakland has far more cultural opportunities to take advantage of than LA, and there are far easier ways of accessing those opportunities via public transit. On the whole, Oakland is just as expensive as LA thanks to gentrification, though.

While you’re in Oakland, visit the Chabot Space and Science Center or the Oakland Aviation Museum for a glimpse into the past. If you prefer the modern or postmodern, check out the Gertrude Stein monument, Children’s Fairyland, and the Paramount Theatre.

Oakland also has a vibrant nightlife which includes many nightclubs, bars, and music venues which will play anything from rock to jazz. Most notable are Oakland’s hip-hop clubs, which are notoriously authentic and often located nearby some of Oakland’s finest 24-hour food trucks where all sorts of ethnic cuisine can be purchased cheaply.

Be sure to use our hotel finding tool if you’re planning on making a flight along this route—hotel rooms are very tough to find in Oakland due to high occupancy rates, which drives prices through the roof and also makes casual tourism much more difficult.