$55 Find Cheap Flights from Des Moines 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 Des Moines to California departing on 8/31. 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 in flight searches from Des Moines to California, 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 California, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Flights Deals

Best California Flight Deals from Des Moines

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$174
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$281
San Diego
San Diegononstop$116
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$208
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$323
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$229
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$314
Reno
Reno1 stop$223
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$243
Los Angeles
Los Angeles1 stop$174
San Francisco
San Francisco1 stop$281
San Diego
San Diegononstop$116
San Jose
San Jose1 stop$208
Palm Springs
Palm Springs1 stop$323
Fresno
Fresno1 stop$229
Bakersfield
Bakersfield1 stop$314
Reno
Reno1 stop$223
Sacramento
Sacramento1 stop$243

Cheap Flights from Des Moines to California

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Des Moines 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 round-trip flight deals from Des Moines to California

ons, jul 16 - fre, jul 25
Allegiant Air Logo
7:30 am - 8:36 amDSM-LAS
3h 06mnonstop
Allegiant Air Logo
7:25 am - 12:25 pmLAS-DSM
3h 00mnonstop
$84Allegiant Air
Find Deal
sön, aug 24 - fre, aug 29
Allegiant Air Logo
2:14 pm - 3:30 pmDSM-LAS
3h 16mnonstop
Allegiant Air Logo
5:46 pm - 10:42 pmLAS-DSM
2h 56mnonstop
$90Allegiant Air
Find Deal
tors, aug 21 - mån, aug 25
Southwest Logo
11:40 am - 12:50 pmDSM-LAS
3h 10mnonstop
Southwest Logo
6:05 am - 1:00 pmLAS-DSM
4h 55m1 stop
$167Southwest
Find Deal
tors, aug 21 - mån, aug 25
Southwest Logo
5:30 pm - 11:05 pmDSM-LAS
7h 35m1 stop
Southwest Logo
6:05 am - 1:00 pmLAS-DSM
4h 55m1 stop
$177Southwest
Find Deal
sön, aug 24 - fre, aug 29
American Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 1:15 pmDSM-LAS
8h 15m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
11:59 pm - 8:58 amLAS-DSM
6h 59m1 stop
$187American Airlines
Find Deal
mån, jun 30 - fre, jul 4
Frontier Logo
8:38 pm - 12:29 amDSM-LAX
5h 51m1 stop
Frontier Logo
10:55 am - 7:53 pmLAX-DSM
6h 58m1 stop
$200Frontier
Find Deal
tis, aug 12 - ons, aug 20
American Airlines Logo
3:49 pm - 9:50 pmDSM-LAS
8h 01m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
1:00 pm - 11:17 pmLAS-DSM
8h 17m2 stops
$207American Airlines
Find Deal
tors, aug 21 - lör, aug 23
Frontier Logo
3:23 pm - 11:34 pmDSM-LAS
10h 11m1 stop
Frontier Logo
12:59 am - 2:23 pmLAS-DSM
11h 24m1 stop
$276Frontier
Find Deal
tors, okt 16 - ons, okt 22
United Airlines Logo
5:13 pm - 11:41 pmDSM-SAN
8h 28m2 stops
United Airlines Logo
4:05 pm - 11:56 pmSAN-DSM
5h 51m1 stop
$330United Airlines
Find Deal
lör, sep 6 - lör, sep 13
United Airlines Logo
5:15 pm - 8:54 pmDSM-FAT
5h 39m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 5:14 pmFAT-DSM
8h 14m1 stop
$337United Airlines
Find Deal
Useful Info

KAYAK's insights & trends for Des Moines to California flights

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

What is the cheapest Des Moines to California flight route?

The cheapest price for flight routes found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks for round-trip flights from Des Moines to California.

The cheapest ticket to California from Des Moines found in the last 72 hours was to San Diego, at $101 round-trip. The most popular route is from Des Moines (DSM) to Los Angeles (LAX), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $313.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Des Moines to California?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of $358, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Des Moines to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Des Moines 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 Des Moines to California is August, when tickets cost $276 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and February, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $456 and $451 respectively.

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

The average price of all round-trip flights from Des Moines to California clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

Your flight ticket price will generally be cheaper if you fly to California on a Friday and more expensive on a Sunday. On your return trip to Des Moines, you should consider flying back on a Friday, and avoid Saturdays for better deals.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Des Moines 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 the flight from Des Moines to California, you should book around 3 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.


Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
High seasonJuly
Cheapest flight$55
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 5% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 1% lower on average.
Flight from Des Moines to Las Vegas

FAQs - booking California flights

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

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from Des Moines to California 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 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 from Des Moines 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 Des Moines 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 Des Moines 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 time of day to fly to California?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $188 on average. Morning departures are around 78% cheaper than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $888.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to California

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found tickets from Des Moines to the following destinations at these prices or less: Las Vegas $71 one-way - $186 round-trip

Top 5 airlines serving from Des Moines to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Des Moines to California. 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 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.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4285 reviews
8.2Boarding
7.6Entertainment
7.1Food
8.6Crew
8.0Comfort
Airline reviews

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Apr 2025LGB - SMF
Read more Southwest reviews

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Fine, but how to board on SW versus othrr airlines, is just lame. Goood staff though and all was solid otherwise.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a hell hole of an airport. It is the new LaGuardia. Everything Cobbled together. Security gates closed. Terri directional signage

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

The plane arrived 25 minutes late, and the Wi-Fi was slower than it usually is.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Great experience…left a bit behind schedule but made up fir that in the air and landed 10 minutes early 😁

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

The gate was too far away for the connecting flight

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

The agents was very rude and they charged me $50 for a carry-on bag saying that it was too big and then I saw someone going on a plane with the same size bag as me

For the most part united was a good experience, how ever when they came by with the snacks and water, they completely passed by my wife and I. As we were in separate rows. On a 5 hr flight we were not offered water

Fantastic crew. Flight was delayed at last minute but we were given updates every 20 minutes and the crew was so friendly and considerate. I miss the touch screens on the back of the seats, wish they would bring that back though.

Awful. Worst airline I have ever been on. Crew were among the rudest people I have ever dealt with. United staff members were rude and disrespectful. My flight was delayed, causing me to miss a connecting flight. I understand things happen, but when staff start lying about what actually happened, that is when I have an issue. Just be honest, really it isn’t that hard. I’m being very honest with this review and I don’t find this difficult what so ever. In fact, because of United Airlines, my Christmas holiday was off to a really rocky start. As someone who has traveled across the world, it has only been United that I have had a truly awful experience.

Tight! Seats are not designed for those of us who wear extra-large clothes.

The non-stop flight from Grand Rapids was excellent. I neither expected or needed a budget flight and Allegiant made the trip easy and for an affordable price, Arriving at the Mesa Airport (AZA) is a delight compared to the international airport. For our return flight, we were able to arrive 75 minutes before the flight, return the rental car, check our bag and make it to the gate in plenty of time. That would never happen at most airports.

Easiest flights I’ve ever taken. Plane was comfortable without overly crowded seating.

Terrible. Still have not received the refund from them. They sent it to some account that I don't even know. Spoke with costumer service and they are unable to help.

I didn’t like it at all. I miss my second flight because of the delay on Allegiant Air now I m stuck in MCO.

Good, but a bit late on take off after loading. Don't like charging for carry ons!

First time flying with them and will definitely fly again in the future. Crew was so nice and friendly, fought was seamless. They are simple planes, no entertainment, but it’s fine for a short flight or if you have personal devices Rates are competitive, and they did so well with keeping the flight on time after a tropical storm, where other airlines had delays and cancellations.

They boarded passengers that sat in the back of the plane first, making boarding very efficient.

I didn't even take this flight. My plans changed and I couldn't get ahold of customer service and the website kept breaking down during the attempt to change the flight. I wound up taking another airline entirely and eating the cost.

The worst flying experience ever 3 delays. No accommodations. Had to deboard the plane after being delayed.

Honestly, I haven’t flown American in years, probably due to the pandemic and my being unable to travel for certain periods in the last two years, but it was a good experience to dig out or obtain a new American Airlines account after many years of traveling for business with American in the past.

Long 5 hour and 45 min flight and only one drink service and cookie snack

In flight connectivity (via T-Mobile) was often not working.

One bottle of water and a package of cookies for comfort plus. We had to literally beg a flight attendant for an extra bottle of water later in the flight due to feeling dehydrated.

Flight boarded from Gate 39 at OGG, the farthest gate in the terminal. There were no Hawaiian themed amenities for the flight. The first class service was mediocre at best; I received not special welcome or recognition as an executive platinum member of American Advantage program. The flight attendants were more concerned with their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as we disembarked. Fortunately, the flight arrived at LAX a few minutes early.

Bigger seats. Board back to front! Disembark front to back!

Extraordinary service in business class, and very good breakfast and snacks. A really lovely flight.

This flight didn’t happen because AA agents didn’t let us board the flight

Plane was pretty clean, staff was friendly and helpful, flight left about on time arrived early. Took a long time to board and get off the plane - carry on items didn't have enough room so people had to move all around to find places.

The service and food needs to improve to catch up with other international flights

Cancelled flight after I arrived at airport after 75 min drive and parking. Next flight was 4 days in the future. Had to scramble and buy a much more expensive flight on another carrier.

Book with frontier airlines with the mentality that they'll cancel your flight, kick you off and lose your luggage. Anything besides that is a win. Compare prices with other airlines (to include luggage) and if frontier is still worth it, book it but know all of their policies.

You get what you pay for nothing essentially but a hard uncomfortable seat that doesn’t recline and kids screaming all around you and chaotic boarding and limited check bag weight allowance when compared to other airlines

I never got to experience the flight because they delayed my first flight and I missed this one. Then Frontier didn't want to help me rebook a flight to get me to my final destination.

The Boarding process in Denver was chaotic, and since the line was so long, we were lined up very far from the gate. If there were any announcements from the gate staff, we didn't hear them. The flight attendants were spectacular. The only negative part of the flight was sitting by a 2 1/2 year old who was unruly and unfortunately had parents that matched his behaviors. Also, the restaurants in Denver on the E concourse, they didn't have food (passengers could only order 1 item on the entire menu) or the restaurants had 12-14 people waiting for orders to be prepared and another 6 people waiting to order. If you have a layover in Denver and need to grab food, be prepared to visit the shops with pre-packaged sandwiches, or you can visit another concourse but it may take a while to transit throughout the airport.

I liked the turn-style feature at gate 209B at LAX. Very efficient process. The gate staff also made several, clearly directed announcements so I felt very informed.

Although an hour and a half early was told by staff at check in they had overbooked and could not check us in for the flight.

The crew was delayed because they came on another flight that was delayed due to weather 10pm flight left at 1.30 am The airline made no effort to align alternate crew

Plane was down graded and I lost my uncharged exit row with more leg room. No mention or offer of refund from podium. Flight attendant was nice to explain this happens often and that I could request a refund via online form submission. I did this and have heard nothing back.

Worst airline experience. They were rude and kept changing our seats and/or giving our seats away so our family didn’t get to sit with each other. Almost everyone we dealt with at both airports with this airline was rude. The app kept giving us wrong information making things take longer. Dealing with them before TSA can take close to an hour…longer than I’ve ever had to deal with before. Never using this airline again.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Des Moines to California

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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