DSM - SMF

$127 Find Cheap Flights from Des Moines to Sacramento

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 Sacramento departing on 8/28. 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 Sacramento

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Des Moines to Sacramento, 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 Sacramento, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Flights Deals

Cheap Flights from Des Moines to Sacramento (DSM-SMF)

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

Wed, Sep 10 - Sun, Sep 14
American Airlines Logo
4:09 pm - 10:40 pmDSM-SMF
8h 31m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
12:42 pm - 12:15 amSMF-DSM
9h 33m1 stop
$297American Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 10 - Sun, Sep 14
American Airlines Logo
9:34 am - 7:00 pmDSM-SMF
11h 26m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
4:29 pm - 12:18 amSMF-DSM
5h 49m1 stop
$302American Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 10 - Sun, Sep 14
Delta Logo
2:49 pm - 11:20 pmDSM-SMF
10h 31m2 stops
Delta Logo
7:03 pm - 10:14 amSMF-DSM
13h 11m2 stops
$307Delta
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 20 - Sat, Oct 25
United Airlines Logo
3:25 pm - 10:43 pmDSM-SMF
9h 18m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
8:45 am - 4:17 pmSMF-DSM
5h 32m1 stop
$336United Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 20 - Sat, Oct 25
United Airlines Logo
3:25 pm - 10:43 pmDSM-SMF
9h 18m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
8:45 am - 4:17 pmSMF-DSM
5h 32m1 stop
$344United Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 20 - Sat, Oct 25
Southwest Logo
11:45 am - 5:25 pmDSM-SMF
7h 40m2 stops
Southwest Logo
6:15 am - 3:05 pmSMF-DSM
6h 50m1 stop
$367Southwest
Find Deal
Wed, Sep 10 - Sun, Sep 14
Southwest Logo
3:25 pm - 8:25 pmDSM-SMF
7h 00m1 stop
Southwest Logo
2:25 pm - 11:50 pmSMF-DSM
7h 25m1 stop
$368Southwest
Find Deal
Fri, Oct 10 - Sun, Oct 12
Delta Logo
2:40 pm - 11:43 pmDSM-SMF
11h 03m2 stops
Delta Logo
6:30 pm - 10:21 amSMF-DSM
13h 51m2 stops
$378Delta
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 20 - Sat, Oct 25
 Logo
8:30 am - 4:17 pmDSM-SMF
33h 47m3 stops
 Logo
5:12 pm - 9:51 amSMF-DSM
14h 39m2 stops
Mon, Oct 20 - Sat, Oct 25
 Logo
8:30 am - 3:22 pmDSM-SMF
32h 52m3 stops
 Logo
4:22 pm - 9:51 amSMF-DSM
15h 29m2 stops
Booking Insights

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

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Des Moines to Sacramento 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 Sacramento?

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

If you are looking for a flight deal from Des Moines to Sacramento, look for departures on Fridays and avoid leaving on a Sunday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from Sacramento, Saturday is the cheapest day to fly and Sunday is the most expensive.

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

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Des Moines to Sacramento, 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 Sacramento is October, where tickets cost $370 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and February, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $636 and $500 respectively.

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

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 Sacramento, 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 Sacramento, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 43% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 5 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJune
Cheapest flight$127
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 12% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 13% lower on average.
Flight from Des Moines to Sacramento

When to book flights from Des Moines to Sacramento

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Des Moines to Sacramento 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 Sacramento

  • What is the cheapest flight from Des Moines to Sacramento?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Des Moines to Sacramento was $127 for a one-way ticket and $297 for a round-trip.

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

    No

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

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

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

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

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Des Moines to Sacramento?

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

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Des Moines to Sacramento, Southwest or United Airlines?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Des Moines to Sacramento are Southwest and United Airlines. With an average price for the route of $516 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. United Airlines is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $458 and an overall rating of 7.4.

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

    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 Sacramento.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Sacramento 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 Sacramento?

    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 Sacramento with an airline and back to Des Moines with another airline. Booking your flights between Des Moines and SMF 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 Sacramento?

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

Reviews of the top 3 airlines serving from Des Moines to Sacramento

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Des Moines to Sacramento. 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 Sacramento? 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 4241 reviews
7.0Food
8.6Crew
8.1Boarding
7.5Entertainment
8.0Comfort
Airline reviews

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

10.0 ExcellentGordon, Jul 2025GEG - OAK
Read more Southwest reviews

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

First time traveling on Southwest since bag fees were implemented. Usual good service. Just more expensive now.

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.

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

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

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

We were given vouchers we couldn’t use with a 5.5 hour delay

Really good 😊 the woman at the gate entrance was a little rude checking in our carry-on but i dont think she worked for the airline, she worked for the airport at sacramento, other than that amazing.

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

Amazing food, great staff, with one noticable detail missing ...but no seat entertainment in any of aircraft ...I am not a fan

Boarding gate in Honolulu was staffed with a great clerk with a soothing voice despite the flight delay of over an hour. Flight attendants in the plane were all grumpy, not pleasant looking bunch. Their sour attitude showed throughout the flight. Inly able to get a select few movies started. Most of the movie links in the “free entertainment” did not work.

This was a horrible experience. For a first class experience, my chair was held together by 3M tape - and I have a photo. The crew weren’t very attentive, somewhat dismissive and forgot my drink and snack, the chair reclined about 3 inches on a 6-hour cross country flight. I was also not informed that there was no lounge available in Newark airport because of renovations, so all around this was one of the worst experiences and I would actively avoid both American and Alaska Air going forward.

Boarding was very efficient. Everyone got on board and we got on our way very quickly. It was frustrating that the entertainment app was not functioning properly. I was not able to activate some of the movies offered. The crew on this flight appears to be pretty grumpy. They had no smile on their faces. I felt like they were doing us a favor for being there.

Loved the staff, boarding and drink options! Wish the comfort of the seat could have been better nevertheless

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.

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

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