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 $120 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 $120.

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

The cheapest time of day to fly to Orange County is generally in the afternoon, when round-trip flights cost $353 on average. Morning departures are around 101% 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 $395, 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 $189 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and December, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $528 and $400 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 5 weeks before departure, which saves you about 24% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 19 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

August
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 7% increase in price.

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 39m. The most common departure time is 2:00 pm and most flights take off in the afternoon. 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.
7.9
SouthwestOverall score based on 4213 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
7.0Food
7.4Entertainment
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

It’s too cold like fridge and they don’t offer a blanket with expensive price

6.0 GoodJiana, Oct 2026
Read more Southwest reviews

It’s too cold like fridge and they don’t offer a blanket with expensive price

A List preferred boarding was nice Asked for a mask and cheerfully received Denver bag check-in is tricky. Not near other checking desk. Have to navigate to east security and up to level six for bag checkin. TSA busy and 20 minutes process thru pre lines Denver train to gates quick but one more thing to plan time for and long concourse walk to gate

Not exactly Southwest’s problem, but the new Burbank airport is not great. No restaurants open and tons of work still to be completed. Can’t believe they opened the airport in that condition.

Southwest has lost most of what made it special. The flight attendants all used to seem fun and like they were having fun. Now they seem just miserable. They do NOT seem happy to give you your pretzels and drinks. They stick it in your hand or on your tray like it's an annoyance. They bark safety instructions at you. It's not just this flight but the last few SW flights I've had to SNA and SAN as well and it's not just me. I've informally surveyed my colleagues (business and leisure travelers) and these feelings are consistent. The tickets are similarly priced to other carriers and the seat assignments make boarding slower. The free luggage and free ability to change flights is still a differentiator. You lose that and there's virtually nothing special left.

Overall good experience...exception: very cold temp in teh cabin.

I liked how it boarded fast. I do not like how the seats are just too narrow, and I’m not a big person.

Despite paying for an ‘upgraded’ seat in row 1, I had to put my luggage in the middle of the plane. Snacks were bleh and seat was small and uncomfortable and I am not large. Attendants were fine but not super helpful. Plane just seemed outdated.

Delayed for no reason at all originally. Then they said it was due to weather conditions. Communication between kayak and Southwest was terrible because both displayed different delays and departure times for HOURS throughout the day. The plane then had technical issues which delayed us from taking off even longer. Didn’t actually take off until 11:45pm when the original departure time was 7:35pm. I didn’t get home until 1:30am the next day. I was exhausted and pissed off. I am not confident if I’ll fly southwest in the future or use kayak to book.

Flight was fine. Only thing was flight was delayed nearly 2 hours. Flight was originally scheduled to depart at 7:50pm but didn't depart until 9:50pm. I got home around midnight. It was later than desired and I had to get up early next day to take kids to practice. I have noticed that last flight of day on West Coast for Southwest always tend to have delays.

Terrible delay today. also, waited 90 minutes for baggage to unload in Seattle earlier in the week.

It's not United, but TSA security at Terminal A in Newark is a disaster and seriously makes me consider switching to flying out of JFK. The touchless TSA pre-check had a line of over 50 people and the bag screening was so slow that it limited the flow of people through the facial recognition process. It is the only airport that I frequent that has this issue and makes me reconsider whether I should fly out of Newark given the wasted time and frustration it causes. As I said, it is not a United issue but will impact United if people choose to stop utilizing Newark airport because of the poor experience.

The food could be much better. Also very unfortunate that most of business class seats were empty but I could not upgrade.

Bag got checked but I thought one personal item was guaranteed.

The seats are very small, that is all the staff did a good job.

The flight was for my mom in wheelchair the staff in Newark wer not friendly took a long time to even get a wheelchair she almost missed her flight because they finally got a chair few minutes before boarding they had to rush her to the gate. They took her carryon and checked it as a bag told her don’t worry free of charge but they charge the credit card anyway. She also told me the seats are not comfortable at all as if they were broken she could feel the bars in the seat SFO staff was much better overall she had the worst experience

First class flight crew was barely available. They came through 3 times while we were on the plane for nearly 4 hours.

The food was horrible. There was no. Wifi, and it was just terrible from bangkok to d. C

My flight got cancelled. Couldn’t get my luggage. It arrived at my destination ahead of me. I didn’t get my preordered meal. Had to spend the night in the airport.

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.

Terrible. We needed to change return flights due to an incoming hurricane. They would not refund our return flight.

The employees at Sioux Falls airport were friendly and helpful. As a veteran/retired military Allegiant allows two checked bags, one carry on bag and a seat on the plane all at no cost. The flight crew and pilots were friendly and very competent.

The check-in and flight crew employees are excellent. The flight was good and the seats were adequate.

The flights to and from Cincinnati were great at being on time for both, departures and arrivals. The planes could use some updating.

It was a dismal experience. The flight was delayed for 4 hours, and we spent hours in the plane, without air, during the summer. We were not provided with water, and the medical assistance was inadequate when it arose.

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 😏

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! 🙂

Too little snack and drink for almost 6:00 hr flight. Should have serve some food.

Everything was fine except they changed the gate number and we ended up running all over LAX because of it.

The crew in the Vegas airport clearly was having a bad day … they moved on and the crew that checked us in for boarding was great, as was the flight crew. I did get the wheel of my carry on stuck in the overhead bin. Amazing team effort to include the flight attendants, the pilot, and another pilot who was on the flight as a passenger. Finally got it unstuck ✅

Staff are polite,and even offer us to tag our baggages upon seeing us from the entry

The guy sitting in front of me kept pushing hard his sit against my legs… very uncomfortable

Food was horrid. In my opinion inedible. They did offer some sorbet and one small dish of fruit. Stewards were super stingy with water, coffee, etc.

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.

More options for your flight to Orange County

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