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DSM - SFO

Find cheap flights from Des Moines to San Francisco from $100

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco departing on 6/8. 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
Sat 6/8
Sat 6/15

Search hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Des Moines to San Francisco, 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 Des Moines to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
In the last 7 days travelers have searched 43,968,530 times on KAYAK, and here is why:

Save 21% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

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Cheap flight deals from Des Moines to San Francisco (DSM-SFO)

Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Des Moines to San Francisco 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 and deals for you by selecting your travel dates.
Choose your dates
9:42 pm - 6:59 amDSM-SFO
11h 17m1 stop
12:59 am - 3:15 pmSFO-DSM
12h 16m1 stop
$162Frontier
Find Deal
Mon, May 20 - Tue, May 28
9:48 pm - 8:10 amDSM-SFO
12h 22m1 stop
12:59 am - 8:19 amSFO-DSM
5h 20m1 stop
$180Frontier
Find Deal
Sat, Jun 1 - Tue, Jun 4
5:15 am - 12:09 pmDSM-SFO
8h 54m1 stop
5:55 am - 1:47 pmSFO-DSM
5h 52m1 stop
$340American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, May 30 - Mon, Jun 3
2:48 pm - 7:02 pmDSM-SFO
6h 14m1 stop
11:40 am - 11:02 pmSFO-DSM
9h 22m2 stops
$345American Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, May 29 - Tue, Jun 4
11:45 am - 5:50 pmDSM-SFO
8h 05m1 stop
6:30 am - 4:06 pmSFO-DSM
7h 36m1 stop
$353United Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Jul 5 - Thu, Jul 11
6:00 am - 9:39 amDSM-SFO
5h 39m1 stop
12:12 am - 10:24 amSFO-DSM
8h 12m1 stop
$375United Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Aug 1 - Mon, Aug 5
9:42 pm - 6:59 amDSM-SFO
11h 17m1 stop
11:57 pm - 11:36 amSFO-DSM
9h 39m1 stop
Mon, May 20 - Tue, May 28
9:00 am - 10:56 pmDSM-SFO
15h 56m2 stops
6:05 pm - 10:13 pmSFO-DSM
26h 08m2 stops
Fri, Jul 5 - Thu, Jul 11
6:21 pm - 12:50 amDSM-SFO
8h 29m1 stop
8:45 pm - 11:13 amSFO-DSM
12h 28m2 stops
$429Delta
Find Deal
Fri, Jun 7 - Tue, Jun 11
6:21 pm - 12:50 amDSM-SFO
8h 29m1 stop
8:45 pm - 11:13 amSFO-DSM
12h 28m2 stops
$433Delta
Find Deal
Fri, Jun 7 - Mon, Jun 10

Flights from Des Moines to San Francisco - Travel Insights & Trends

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Des Moines to San Francisco to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

The average price of all flights from Des Moines to San Francisco clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.
For Des Moines to San Francisco, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Monday is the most expensive. Flying from San Francisco back to Des Moines, the best deals are generally found on Wednesday, with Sunday being the most expensive.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, 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 Des Moines to San Francisco is October, where tickets cost $437 on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and June, where the average cost of tickets is $575 and $564 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

To calculate daily average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each day before departure over the last year for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each month.
To get a below average price on the flight from Des Moines to San Francisco, you should book around 1 week before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 78 days before departure.

Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from Des Moines to San Francisco?

The cheapest price for the route for each airline clicked by KAYAK users in the last 72 hours.
In the past 3 days, the cheapest one-way tickets to San Francisco from Des Moines were found on Frontier ($100) and American Airlines ($208), and the lowest round-trip tickets were found on Frontier ($162) and American Airlines ($340).

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

June

Cheapest flight

$100
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 9% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 13% increase in price.
Flight from Des Moines to San Francisco

When to book flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Des Moines to San Francisco based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

  • What is the cheapest flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco was $100 for a one-way ticket and $162 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Des Moines and San Francisco?

    A passport is not required to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    Des Moines and San Francisco are both served by 1 main airport. You will leave Des Moines from Des Moines and will be arriving at San Francisco.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam are the airline alliances operating flights between Des Moines and San Francisco, with SkyTeam being the most commonly used for this route.

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to San Francisco from Des Moines?

    Denver is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, Delta or United Airlines?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco are Delta and United Airlines. With an average price for the route of $501 and an overall rating of 8.0, Delta is the most popular choice. United Airlines is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $521 and an overall rating of 7.4.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    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 Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Des Moines 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 Des Moines to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco with an airline and back to Des Moines with another airline. Booking your flights between Des Moines and SFO can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco from Des Moines up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top 4 airlines serving from Des Moines to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Des Moines to San Francisco. 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 Des Moines to San Francisco? 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.
8.0
DeltaOverall score based on 10789 reviews
7.9Comfort
7.4Food
8.6Crew
8.2Boarding
8.0Entertainment
Airline reviews

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

6.0 GoodEliza, Apr 2024SAN - LAX
Read more about Delta reviews

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

Had a broken tray in business class. Crew just shrugged it off.

I didn’t like that I could not select my seat and was assigned a seat when I checked in at LAX

Great experience overall. Check in at Austin was congested as they only have about 6 check in kiosks, one was broken, and there was a lot of Spring Break travelers.

Bag drop off was slow and annoying. Only 2 agents at the entire delta desk, and no one directing traffic for what line to be in, many confused people slowed down the process. Boarding was fine. Seats in Delta comfort plus were fine. Snacks were great! Definitely a bonus. The entertainment system was awful — old, slow, not responsive, and completely unable to play games due to some kind of error. But on the other hand, thank you to Delta for the free WiFi. That made it better.

Everything was very good other than I had selected a specific seat when I booked the flight and they changed it once I checked-in the day before my flight. I was still in first class but lost my aisle seat for a window seat. Being tall, the aisle offers more comfort so I always select an aisle seat.

Flight diverted in SD. Later take off in Seattle by 1.3hrs

Crew was not friendly when I went to request a seat change.

Really impressive staff at airport and on plane, especially given how busy it was

Was a great smooth flight from Detroit to San Diego.

Should have video screens Plane audio was poor and without wired connection hard to understand crew. Should serve more than just cups of water and pretzels on six hour flight. Did not see crew rest of flight. Fix charging sockets to retain charging blocks.

Do not like the feeling of being in the basic economy. Everyone should feel good no matter what.

So so. Terrible aircraft choice for that leg of the flight.

delay several times and wait extra long to board. no entertainment service because there are problem for some rows. always encounter some delays for the last flight of the day.

This was a Lufthansa flight. Disappointing main meal. Very rough over Canada and arrival at FRA. IFE was almost unusable.

I was not able to buy food in the flight. They refer to include your Credit card in the APP, and if you are not from USA (i have a credit card form Canada) it is not possible

United airline kept delaying our flight back to Phoenix for 8 hours before they cancelled it! If they know that we are not flying out for whatever the reason is, why did they keep lying to us for hours. We could find another flight earlier or even find a hotel with a shuttle. But cancellation at about midnight was not fun. We stayed in the airport all night till the following morning when we bought an Alaska tickets to go back to Phoenix. Total of 14 hours in the airport.

Poor seating comfort, seat cushion too thin, very uncomfortable. My luggage didi not make the flight due to equipment change. At least. United had it delivered the next day. I was without my toilet items for one day.

My experience is based on one crew member. I had found my seat and sat down but there was a gentleman to claimed to the flight attendant I was in his seat. She then came to me and curtly said, "I need your ticket!" No hi, no excuse me may I see your boarding pass? NOTHING! I was taken aback by her attitude and she repeated herself, "your ticket?!?!" I calmly responded with ok, here you go. Only to discover the gentleman was looking at the wrong boarding pass. She gave me back my ticket with no apology. She then was curt with another man who was putting his coat in the overhead bin, already helped by another flight attendant who said it was fine. She realizes it's ok and then asks him if he drinks. The look on the man's face was priceless. She said she was going to comp him drinks. He gets offered a comp drink for a coat as well as an apology, and I got no apology.

Flight cancelled because of the grounded 737s. United was good about it and got us onto a later Alaska Airlines flight to Oakland (not San Francisco as originally intended). Had to go through security again and my wife dropped her MacBook Pro, which broke, a $2,500 whoopsie. But we made it home.

Somehow I got “offloaded” even though I had my boarding pass and was in transit Food is horrible Staff were nice and cheerful No headphones were provided on 11 hours flight

Fight crew was not very attentive and the bastions were gross!

Our flight was great we left Kona earlier and got into LAX almost an 1hour earlier as well. LAX AA is in repair so to get out and found our bus to get pick up was a bit confusing.

Plane was good but was delayed. probably not AA fault but caused a 1 hour delay. Seating was cramped.

The staff were very helpful with lots of refreshments on offer. The toilets were clean. The seats were comfortable and entertainment was good. No complaints, it was excellent.

5 hour flight - full flight - not enough room to use my computer - slightly delayed - Admirals club was excellent quality food, drink made up for flight seating. No food offerred on flight, you ahd to prebook.

We experience delays on departure and connecting flights resulting in 14 hour to our next departure. We were accommodated with a night's stay but was only provided a 12 dollar meals accommodation. The airlines rules state.at least 50 dollars. In any case, it can not make up for the whole day missed on our vacation in Sydney Australia.

I can say I will not be taking this airline again any time soon. Seat were uncomfortable and too tight. Lack of chair screen and little overhead space.

Plane felt so crowded and tightly packed. The chair itself was not comfortable.

They attended to my needs as I couldn't walk and they provided a wheelchair for me.q

I checked a bag because it was $5 less than carry on. They managed to lose my bag on a 2.5 hr direct flight! Frontier has no airport staff at baggage claim to help. As soon as I got home around 11 pm I tried to use their online system to file the claim for lost bag - system wouldn't take the # on my baggage claim ticket - said it was not the correct number. Also said that I had not checked a bag, which wasn't true - even my online boarding pass showed that I had checked a bag. Wasted about an hour on that process with no luck. Tried again in the morning - same thing. So tried online chat with Frontier bot - waited 35-40" twice to be connected to a baggage agent and it never happened. Eventually drove to PDX after work and waited 2 hrs for the Frontier ticket agents to arrive prior to the next Frontier flight out of PDX and FINALLY got some help from one of them, to take me to lost luggage area where I was able to retrive my bag. Probably took 4-5 hrs. of my time and endless frustration to get my bag. This was my first -- and LAST -- experience flying Frontier Airlines. Check-in was also extremely difficult and time consuming. The flight itself (and staff) were fine but everything else about the experience was a total disaster! The fact that Frontier literally has NO WAY to connect to a human voice for customer service (in this case for lost luggage) is the WORST!!!!!

Frontier is a crappy airline nothing about it is honest

I didn't get to do this flight l, hard to review

Not good 😐 Over priced baggage fees Small hard seats No wifi or entertainment options 😕

Didn't like anything!! Horrible flight. Small seating area and hard seats. Butt was sore after 2 hour flight to Seattle No entertainment or free refreshments No wifi or USB charging receptacles to charge phone entoute like other airliners Luggage rates were 3 times as much as competitors. Difficult to navigate online luggue process to pre pay before flight Overall bad experience WILL NEVER RIDE OR RECOMMEND FRONTIER TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS!!! THIS IS A SHAME!! MOST MESERIBLE FLIGHT OF MY LIFE!! AND I THOUGHT SPIRIT WAS 👎 YOU GOT THEM BEAD HANDS DOWN!!

Flight was a little late taking off. Seats are too upright, no ports to charge devices, no wifi, no entertainment

Six hour delay. Poor customer service. No voucher. Bad communication. Missed important appointments.

Our flight was delayed an hour, then when we got to board our flight finally, we were waiting in our seats for take off for 45 minutes before it was communicated that there was a maintenance issue therefore we waited on the plane for over an hour while that was resolved. We did not get to Phoenix until almost 3 hours after we were originally supposed to. This was the first and last time I will be flying Frontier.

Flight was canceled with little warning. Flight was rebooked through Ontario, California and connecting flight was delayed by over three hours. Frontier is living up to their Greyhound of the skies reputation for sure.

I purchased a carry on bag online…was supposed to cost $72 but after a whole slew of bs charges, the total was over $175.00. Because of these hidden charges, I will not even consider flying Frontier ever again. It’s just not worth the hassle. I’m scratching this company off my list forever.

Book cheap flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best one-way flight deals from Des Moines to San Francisco found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
6/8Sat
1 stopFrontier
11h 36mDSM-SFO
$100
5/15Wed
1 stopFrontier
18h 25mDSM-SFO
$105
6/14Fri
1 stopFrontier
10h 32mDSM-SFO
$106
6/8Sat
2 stopsAmerican Airlines
9h 18mDSM-SFO
$208
6/2Sun
1 stopAmerican Airlines
8h 27mDSM-SFO
$233
7/21Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
5h 39mDSM-SFO
$238
6/24Mon
2 stops
18h 12mDSM-SFO
$244
6/14Fri
3 stops
27h 57mDSM-SFO
$274
5/15Wed
2 stopsUnited Airlines
12h 37mDSM-SFO
$312
6/8Sat
3 stopsWestJet
31h 03mDSM-SFO
$523

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Last minute flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

 
These last-minute flight deals are the cheapest flights found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco that are departing in the next 10 days.
5/10Fri
multi-stopFrontier
28h 49mDSM-SFO
5/14Tue
multi-stopFrontier
17h 24mSFO-DSM
$388
5/11Sat
multi-stopDelta
7h 28mDSM-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopDelta
8h 37mSFO-DSM
$716
5/10Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
9h 09mDSM-SFO
5/14Tue
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
10h 42mSFO-DSM
$719
5/12Sun
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
7h 44mDSM-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
9h 46mSFO-DSM
$736
5/10Fri
multi-stopDelta
10h 03mDSM-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopDelta
10h 20mSFO-DSM
$738
5/12Sun
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
8h 27mDSM-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
8h 03mSFO-DSM
$743
5/11Sat
multi-stopUnited Airlines
7h 38mDSM-SFO
5/12Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 25mSFO-DSM
$806
5/12Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 03mDSM-SFO
5/12Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 25mSFO-DSM
$822
5/10Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 01mDSM-SFO
5/12Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 25mSFO-DSM
$828
5/10Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
11h 49mDSM-SFO
5/13Mon
multi-stopUnited Airlines
8h 25mSFO-DSM
$895

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Des Moines - San Francisco Flights

Departure:

Des Moines (undefined)United States

Destination:

San Francisco (SFO)United States

Return flight deals:

San Francisco - Des Moines

Cabin classes: