$73 Find Cheap Flights from Des Moines to Orange County - Compare and Save

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KAYAK's insights & trends for Des Moines to Orange County flights

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

What is the cheapest Des Moines to Orange County flight route?

The cheapest ticket to Orange County from Des Moines found in the last 5 days was to John Wayne (Santa Ana), at $141 round-trip. The most popular route is from Des Moines (DSM) to John Wayne (Santa Ana) (SNA), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 5 days was $141.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Orange County?

The cheapest time of day to fly to Orange County is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $331 on average. Morning departures are around 105% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Orange County is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $868.

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

No, with an average price for the route of $389, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Des Moines to Orange County?

The cheapest month for flights from Des Moines to Orange County is January, when tickets cost $177 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and November, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $528 and $427 respectively.

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

For Des Moines to Orange County, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Sunday is the most expensive. Flying from Orange County back to Des Moines, the best deals are generally found on Tuesday, with Sunday being the most expensive.

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

To get a below average price on the flight from Des Moines to Orange County, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 6% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 10 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

August

Cheapest flight

$73
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 7% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 4% increase in price.
Flight from Des Moines to John Wayne (Santa Ana)

FAQs - booking Orange County flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Des Moines to Orange County?

    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 Orange County.

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

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

    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 Orange County 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 Orange County?

    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 Orange County up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • How many flights are there between Des Moines and Orange County per day?

    There is a maximum of 1 nonstop flight a day that takes off from Des Moines and lands in Orange County, with an average flight time of 3h 37m. The most common departure time is 7:00 am and most flights take off in the morning. Each week, there are 2 flights.

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from Des Moines to Orange County

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Des Moines to Orange County? 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 4191 reviews
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.5Entertainment
8.6Crew
7.0Food
Airline reviews

Seated at front bulkhead for a smidge extra leg room away from home and on flight back home. Away crew was very proactive about assuring our carryons had space close behind us (because no seat in front of us our personal items had to be in a small bin overhead). They actively required passengers place overhead luggage on its side so more items could fit in bins. Home crew made no such efforts. I had to struggle back rows to get overhead bags upon landing, no crew help then either, and some disgruntled passengers as I and others retrieved our bags. There was a system that worked pretty well. The home bound crew just didn't feel like working.

4.0 OkayMather, Aug 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

Seated at front bulkhead for a smidge extra leg room away from home and on flight back home. Away crew was very proactive about assuring our carryons had space close behind us (because no seat in front of us our personal items had to be in a small bin overhead). They actively required passengers place overhead luggage on its side so more items could fit in bins. Home crew made no such efforts. I had to struggle back rows to get overhead bags upon landing, no crew help then either, and some disgruntled passengers as I and others retrieved our bags. There was a system that worked pretty well. The home bound crew just didn't feel like working.

Flight left on time and was early landing. Seats not comfortable and not enough space…

It would have been better if the flight was on time

No wifi, seems to be very common with Southwest currently. Everything else was normal.

Poor customer service, no accommodation for passengers when the flight was delayed over 5 hours.

The flight was late. The crew was rude. There was no food. Cramped and uncomfortable. Nothing about this flight was good.

It was just okay, no frills, basic transportation with no luxury. No screens on the seats, no water or drinks on a short flight. Full flight but at least it was on time.

The first time I flew in the extra legroom section. It was difficult to notice a difference. I had bad luck with my neighbors. The crew was okay. Southwest has reduced the live TV options.

No gluten free snacks. Seats felt worn or bare bones even though it was a new 737 MAX 8.

Plane was clean and comfortable. Flight attendants and gate staff were professional, friendly and efficient. Boarding and deplaning were orderly and efficient. All in all, the typical excellent Southwest experience.

Airplane is not very clean, food quality and taste was not good. Lufthansa used to be good but nowadays went down. Overall experience is just okay, wouldn't fly again, prefer Turkish airlines.

I did bought anything… I don’t understand how this book appears to me . Ridiculous

My flight from Honolulu (UA 1221) was on a very old 757, no video monitors anywhere. If you wanted to watch a movie, you needed to do so using the United app on one’s phone. WiFi was $8 for Mileage Plus members; I demurred, choosing to spend my time reading a novel using the Kindle app on my Samsung S26. The meal was okay … Breakfast on any domestic airline is so-so as a rule and this one was no exception. The best part of the meal was the fruit plate and the warm croissant. The highlight: The flight left on time and arrived early.

The plane left over an hour late. I missed my connection going to Tokyo. They haven’t sent my bag to Thailand, where I ended up. It took me over 32 hours to get here. Very bad experience so far. I hope they can fix this and get my bag to me, within 24 hours it doesn’t look good at this time.

The flight was excellent. Their was no service as we boarded, the flight attendants spent about 30 minutes just taking and not really caring that the cabin was about 80 degrees and did not offered any beverage to first class passengers or any passenger. The flight from DEN to ONT is not long but not under an hour, we received one drink and bag of chips if you were lucky. I was in first class…. I did leave my hat on the plane and it only took less than five minutes for a United rep to locate and bring it to me.

The app logs you out right when you are boarding requiring all passwords and reservation number for the flight. Super annoying

The pre-order only approach for fresh food is really challenging

the seat has a problem. the back had a hole.

Very rough getting into denver. my kid threw up it was so rough.

Liked that we left on time for each flight. Snacks not the best, but we're okay.

The landing the pilot was very smooth. The flight attendant was kind of rude.The boarding the plane in punta Gorda was not great made us wait out in the heat 😞

My exit seat was very comfortable Coffee was to be purchased but sodas free 😏

It was poor a four hour delay and no explanation for the delay. What’s a 35 dollars going to do. It also made me miss my car rental,

It was on time. Flight was comfortable. Staff was nice. It was the way a flight should always be.

The price was the only good thing about this flight. It was scary during takeoff when the plane tilted side to side. It made me feel very nervous as I have never had a take-off that unsmooth. There was no on-flight movie or music options and the only complimentary option was water. Other airlines offer trail mix or a caramel cookie and pop options as complimentary. This flight was a 2.5 hour flight. I understand for shorter flights not having options, but a flight 2 hours or longer should offer more complimentary options and in flight entertainment. Also the seats did not recline and for a longer flight reclining seats are a must for comfort.

A very pleasant flight but it would be greatly improved with wifi to help entertain kids

This is a no frills, get it done, efficient airline. The seat is a lawn chair. You better bring your own entertainment. If you want something other than water you need to pay for it. But they will get you to your destination quickly, on time, and then they will turn the flight around and go right back where they came from. Reliably. Couple times a week tops. If it fits into your schedule, you can’t get there cheaper or faster.

The flight was very delayed (in BOTH directions - outbound and returning). The flight was very very cramped. The plane taxi'd on the runway for a really long time, and I got claustrophobic being in such a tight seat. The pilot and crew both indicated that we were going to make up lost time due to the delay, but the plane arrived LATER than expected.

A foot rest for short legged people and a complimentary water would be nice.

The employees at the check-in counter said my disabled wife and I were going to be separated even though we picked seating together when we bought our tickets. They told us my wife would be seated in row 2 and I would be in row 8, because we bought our tickets from a third party. Fortunately the flight crew said: "No, you two need to be together, we'll fix this." Then they seated us together. We are 75 years old and flying is a challenge for us, so we appreciate all the help we can get. Your flight crew was awesome with us, and with the children on our flight as well. Thank You Allegent Air Lines! 🙂

The seats cushion on my seat (exit row) needs to be replaced. It felt like I was sitting on a bar rather than a seat cushion. Also, I was in the middle seat and I sat next to an oversized guy (window seat) and he took up about 25% of my space. Otherwise, the experience was good. :)

Worst experience ever, extremely disorganized airline with super rude crew for first class passengers. I have submitted feedback to AA customer care online that this was my worst experience traveling in over 30 years

The plane was late getting to Ontario by half an hour which makes it inconvenient when you have people waiting for you.

I have to sit in the middle for more than five hours because the first flight was delayed. Terrible experience. No more American Airlines.

The boarding process was slow and we had a delay on the tarmac, not the fault of the airline. They had ZERO food options available for purchase which shouldn't happen.

Once again the staff of American Airlines is kind, helpful, efficient, and professional.

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

Terrible. Internet/kiosk glitch prevented baggage checkin. Line at ticket co in Ter was under serviced and did not move. Agents did not call for flight but rather allowed time to pass. Then told each person as they reached the front if line that it was too late to check bags so they’d have to rebook flights. At least 15 people missed the flight as a result of this incompetence.

It was exactly what I expected, actually arriving sooner than scheduled.

Terrible, they canceled my flight due to an issue they had, couldn't fly me into the same place within 24 hrs so had to fly in 2.5 hrs away from my destination and spend even more money. The customer service was terrible (except at the airport in Charleston). Had to call to get my checked baggage fees reimbursed 2 wks later in which one customer service agent was very rude, wouldn't listen and then hung up on me. The second lady I spoke with was actually able to help me with that part thankfully. Would not recommend flying AA.

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