Find cheap flights from Iowa to South Africa
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— South Africa
Feb 16 — Feb 231
Round-trip
1 adult
Economy
From?
To?
Wed 2/16
Wed 2/23
Good to know
Low season | February |
|---|---|
High season | December |
Cheapest flight | $884 |
Average price round-trip | $1,170 |
Good deal round-trip | $575 |
Good deal one-way | $262 |
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 5% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 12% increase in price.
Flight from Des Moines to Johannesburg OR Tambo
(avg. price over the last 2 weeks)
or less
or less
FAQs for booking flights from Iowa to South Africa
Top airlines flying from Iowa to South Africa
Scores according to KAYAK customer reviews7.9
LufthansaOverall score based on 28167 reviews
8.0Boarding
7.8Comfort
8.4Crew
7.7Entertainment
7.6Food
Pros: "Great, patient crew!"
Pros: "Crew, food, and business class pods were super. In fact Lufthansa itself was great BUT read next..."
Cons: "...debarkation at SFO was dismal. The nearest bathroom upon debarking was closed for cleaning. The passport control signs were misleading and confusing (the term "residents" was misused). And there was no one at baggage claim to prevent bags from piling up atop each other on the conveyor. I received a bone bruise trying to get my bag off another one. Avoid SFO as an international destination if you can...horrible airport."
Pros: "Smooth and easy flight"
Cons: "Food and drinks served late"
Pros: "Crew was awful. Grumpy and not friendly. They hate their customers especially children."
Cons: "This was my worst experience on any Lufthansa flights. Worst ever!"
Pros: "I had a good seat with a large leg room area. The flight was really comfortable slept like a baby! The staff are really nice."
Cons: "Food was pretty terrible, however we got offered drinks more than once which was good. A better entertainment system or provide free WiFi"
Pros: "Crew was professional and competent. Seats were roomy and comfortable."
Cons: "I have a hard time sleeping in any seat that doesn’t fully recline."
Pros: "Nice crew members. Even though it was a short flight, they served a snack and drinks."
Cons: "No complaints. Good vegan food."
Pros: "Crew was OK, seat was comfortable"
Cons: "No choice for food, for the last rows only pasta was left, bad calculation on crew side"
Cons: "Delayed flight - but it’s ok since I got to my final destination safely. It wasn’t a very long delay."
Pros: "Same crew. Really nice flight smooth and professional"
Pros: "After the first flight on the incredible new plane, this was a disappointment. Plane seemed old and dilapidated."
Cons: "See above"
Pros: "Comfortable seat. Great service. Outstanding nothing"
Pros: "The service was outstanding!"
Cons: "Someone stole my phone charger :("
Pros: "I wasn't expecting free in-flight movies and meals, which were very welcome"
Cons: "Check in was very poor and took entirely too long"
Cons: "Didn't get meal of my choice. The crew was very friendly and responsive. Overall very good experience."
Cons: "THey denied me and I lost all tickets including back trips as well. Nobody helped me to change tickets, they just care about money and reselling my tickets to other passengers."
Pros: "Good"
Cons: "Standard"
Cons: "The gate was moved three times."
Pros: "The flight attendants were very attentive. It's clear they hire for people with high EQs."
Cons: "Not enough leg room. Media box under the seat in front of me so no room to put my carry on under the seat. Also, breakfast was skimpy. Some fruit and a muffin."
Pros: "Beautiful new plane — supremely clean"
Pros: "Great crew, extensive options for entertainment, comfortable even in economy"
Cons: "Weather delay -- but Lufthansa made all the connection corrections prior to landing!"
Pros: "New planes, friendly staff, decent space even for economy, great food"
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "Water was spilled on me by flight attendant. Luggage was left in Frankfort. Did not have clothes or medications, or daily necessities. Must wait 1 1/2 days to get luggage"
Cons: "We sat at a very very bad seats. No space for the legs. And when we wanted to go to the rest room it was so narow we couldn't get out or up."
Pros: "Clean plane.."
Cons: "I was very upset that from Kuwait to Frankfurt I paid in sir net but the speed was very bad . It's not fair to pay 15$ for that it's not fair. And I ask my money refund! And again they saying that speed is very good for watching YouTube and video streaming! Why Lie?? IT IS NOT FAIR!"
Cons: "Movie screen is outdated and touch screen didn't worked for me to select movie. Screen for flight status was showing flight from Mexico to Germany. We did fly from Germany to Chicago."
Pros: "Luftahnsa is great. I can’t seem to get our system to recognize the two Condor is abysmal"
Cons: "they were out of ginger ale again! every flight they just gave out the last ginger ale...so bring more of those tiny little cans!"
Pros: "Lost during the flight from LAX to Frankfurt, flight number 451 Lufthansa. Reward offered If found. Please email me if you have any information! Thanks Margot Strong"
Cons: "The on board entertainment sucks you need to upgrade"
Cons: "The cabin got a little hot during the night and made it hard to be comfortable. Also, the seats lean pretty far back so I had little room in front of me when the person sitting in front of me leaned their seat all the way back."
Cons: "for 3 years, 90% of my flights from Beijing were delayed or cancelled. Beijing International Airport is the worst airport ever. About my flight from Beijing to Munich this time, we were stranded on the runway INSIDE the plane for 5 hours w/o food and water for the first 4 hours!"
Pros: "Everything"
Cons: "Not a thing"
Pros: "comfortable seats, attentive attendants"
Cons: "not a fan of "cattle call" boarding. Tends to clog up the aisles really fast."
Pros: "This was still a Lufthansa flight. Meaning there was a lot of leg room, the food was nice and the staff was great."
Cons: "The only thing i did not like is that for such a long flight (5 hours), also being an international flight, i was expecting an entertainment center, but there was none."
Cons: "It was delayed by 9.5 hours!!!!!"
Pros: "Nothing"
Cons: "They cancelled my flight and I spent 7-8 hours on phone trying to resolve."
Pros: "I am a little bit disappointed with Entertainment for this flight. No update movies, more of them classic or old. Boarding are was not clean and crowded"
Pros: "Without the help of the attendants at the gate waiting to take us to the connecting flight, we would not have made it! So grateful for their help! Food was very good for airplane food and movie choices were excellent."
Cons: "Seats were quite uncomfortable due to inadequate leg room."
Pros: "Munich airport is convenient and boarding went smoothly"
Cons: "This was an SAA plane, not Lufthansa. I have only had excellent service on Lufthansa. This flight again did not have a functioning entertainment system. I asked for this to be addressed and the SAA crew ignored the request and in the morning looked surprised to find out that several of the TV monitors had not worked at anytime on the flight. Not impressed."
Pros: "Prompt; efficient."
Cons: "No issues."
Pros: "I will always try to fly Lufthansa in Europe from now on. You have courteous and capable employees and all of your systems are set up to be intuitive and straightforward."
Cons: "There was one flight attendant with a bad attitude. An African American who spoke German. She was saucy. I was scared to press the call button when My wine spilt from a bump in the flight cause I didn't want her to give me attitude. But everyone else was very nice and helpful."
Cons: "I started to get hungry between meals."
Pros: "Seats comfortable. Decent legroom. Crew pleasant. Food was very good especially for a very short flight."
Cons: "I did not know I had purchased economy light ticket. With this you can only carry on 18 pounds and must check and PAY to check any other bag. I looked at my reservation from Vaysms and did not see notice of this. Surprised that one hour trip at this price , well over $200, was in this category. Also trying to buy the option for the bag on phone was difficult. Whole page with options would not show and getting English version was difficult probably because page would not fit on screen."
Pros: "The food was very good, as well as the crew"
Cons: "The assistant to the handicap people is very poor l missed my flight from Frankfurt to Cairo because of the poor assistance it took them for ever to transfer me to my connection although I letting them know the timing of my flight"
Pros: "I loved the food for the flight and the service, it's always a pleasure to travel with Lufthansa. Awesome entertaining opportunities."
Cons: "Nothing really"
Pros: "When we fly Trans Atlantic, we always hope it will be with lufthansa! Sometimes they use united as a carrier and it us never as good as lufthansa!"
I know it’s been 2 years and counting ,BUT your folks need to get more aggressive having everyone cover their noses in tight spaces on the bus and in the boarding areas. There are always a few “smart asses” who refuse to cover up. I suppose it would be difficult to “deputize” passengers, and you guys know the rules better than anyone. But how selfish are these people ? They should Immediately be removed from the lines, and at least held out to board last as an example. If airlines did something like this, it might help keeping us all safe from this ongoing problem! Please send my highest regards to all your employees! I am sure they never thought they would be put in this position but they should remember it’s keeping them and their families safe as well! Otherwise , the flight was great!
The gate agent in Philadelphia when I landed from Bangor was rude and judgmental
Planes could have inflifbt entertainment that works with Fire Tablets
Lost luggage due to jammed pulley for luggage. Took over an hour to retrieve luggage.
Everything was ok , .
Flight attendant for first class is definitely not a morning person. Oh and the WiFi DID NOT WORK!
Pros: "Friendly and prompt attendants."
Cons: "I couldn't ask for anything more from American than what was provided"
Pros: "Crew was very friendly. Connections great"
Cons: "Seats very uncomfortable."
Pros: "Crew was very rude and did not follow actual baggage policies regarding a passenger’s batteries in their bag that fit just fine in the overhead."
Cons: "Crew could maybe re-read policy and use their logic to apply it correctly."
Pros: "Miserable all around experience"
Cons: "The flight delay was not reported correctly until 30 minutes before expected departure. The baggage carousel stopped running after already being more then a hour late. No members present to rectify. Absolutely terrible trip"
Cons: "Nothing evething is ok"
Pros: "The crew was incredibly attentive and helpful."
Pros: "The crew was great and I really appreciate how they accommodated a family with 4 young children"
Pros: "Whole row to myself. Greqt movie, in early and informative pro of a captain."
Pros: "Yes! They were helpful and nice as well on the flight."
Cons: "Mhm.. Nothing."
Pros: "Nothing really"
Cons: "WiFi on both ways was not working"
Cons: "Less passengers or bigger plane means more room. Everything was perfect except for being uncomfortably cramped."
Pros: "Everything was excellent"
Cons: "It would have been helpful if American Airlines would notify passengers when they have selected a window seat where no window exists. I am very broad shouldered and that extra 3 inch well the window creates is crucial for me. Terrible 4 1/2 hours in a very uncomfortable position."
Pros: "The crew was amazing, considering the late flight & full plane."
Cons: "Took forever to get the bags"
Pros: "Fast boarding and unloading."
Cons: "Flight leaving on time."
Pros: "Everything was perfect"
Cons: "Baggage was not that faster but was still okay Although improvements will be great"
Pros: "Would fly again- irritated at how does a flight manage to get overbooked"
Cons: "Flight was 3 seats overbooked, they had to wait until 3 people willingly took a later flight. Like a game of chicken between 100 people."
Pros: "We boarded early because of the security check, but that worked out fine. The food was good and the flight attendants were attentive."
Cons: "Spending 10 hours on a flight, but you can't do anything about that."
Pros: "They rerouted me so I at least salvaged some of my trip."
Cons: "They rerouted me for no reason making me miss my reunion."
Cons: "Flight was delayed by untold circumstances causing us to miss our connecting flight to Venice."
Cons: "Bought 2 tickets but seats weren’t together poor service"
Pros: "Despite numerous delays, we made it to Philadelphia. We were alerted to the delays in a timely manner. We were also treated to a snack cart and cupcakes to celebrate the first day of direct flights."
Cons: "A long delay. Patience is everything and the staff and crew were very friendly."
Cons: "This was an 8 hour international flight and there was no leg room, outdated amenities and no tvs! How can people take an 8 hour flight without individual air vents??? I have never had such an uncomfortable flight, and I will never fly with you again."
Pros: "Staff and Entertainment"
Cons: "Back row, but someone has to sit there :)"
Cons: "2 hour late departure. could not get there story strait on why the delay, finally they went with weather delay. steward reminded me of a bunch of people unhappy with there jobs. need to work on customer service"
Pros: "The friendly and attentive flight staff."
Pros: "The professionalism of the crew and the cleanliness was excellent!"
Cons: "The seats weren’t very comfortable!"
Pros: "Comfortable seats, good legroom."
Cons: "Not enough coffee for breakfast."
Pros: "Everything"
Pros: "The flight was on time The flight attendants were were very helpful and friendly. Food service was good. I am a vegan and they were very accommodating. The fact that we had 2free checked bags was great"
Cons: "Nothing. Everything was good"
Cons: "we were delayed almost 3 hours due to an error with the gate change not being relayed to the Plane nor the Cargo crew."
Pros: "Crew was very nice. Free snacks provided on plane."
Pros: "I booked a codeshare ticket through Alaska Airlines reward program. I was worried I'd be shafted when it came to seats. Not so. I had the row to myself on both flights and just 2 rows shy of first class! Very impressed."
Pros: "The view"
Cons: "3 hour delay - no compensation. Very old plane - no televisions, communal in-flight entertainment. Uncomfortable seats, dirty tables, loose arm rests. Food was outdated and terrible."
Pros: "The Staff was excellent"
Cons: "I cant believe you have a seat that is exactly parallel to the bathroom in addition to the seat being in am exit aisle so the seat didn't recline. Lastly there should be outlets on flights longer than 3 hours. There is no excuse American Airline"
Pros: "Movie options"
Cons: "2 hour delay was inconvenient. Like why?"
Pros: "Was appropriately warned that British Airways was having computer problems"
Cons: "2 hours late. Kept moving the boarding time by 10min"
Cons: "Plane was delayed due to a mechanical in Charlotte (Old USAir Airbus) then ground stop due to weather after it finally got to Baltimore. Loaded us up and then deplaned us. They brought out water and sodas while we waited. Then reboarded and got into Charlotte about three hours late. Lots of very unhappy people. They passed out 800 numbers to rebook. A lot of people missed connections."
Pros: "Very nice crew. Full meal"
Pros: "todo muy bien"
Pros: "The crew was friendly, energetic, educational and very helpful"
Cons: "Des moines airplanes seem to be the left overs. Old and outdated."
Pros: "Same as above."
Cons: "Same as above"
COVID-19 information
Safety measures for airlines flying from Iowa to South Africa
Airlines flying from Iowa to South Africa have enacted additional safety measures and adjusted policies to better accommodate travelers. Policies vary by airline.
Heightened sanitation
Daily cleaning, installation of cabin HEPA filters on flights from Iowa to South Africa
Mandatory masks
Masks required on board, masks provided on flights from Iowa to South Africa
Social distancing seating
Middle seats unavailable to book on flights from Iowa to South Africa
Pre-flight testing
Testing for antibodies, testing for symptoms for flights from Iowa to South Africa
Flexible cancellations
Waiving of change fees. Search flexible flights from Iowa to South Africa
Book cheap flights from Iowa to South Africa
Recent round-trip flight deals
1/29Sat
2 stopsMultiple Airlines
21h 07mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsMultiple Airlines
32h 39mJNB-DSM
$884
1/29Sat
2 stopsLufthansa
36h 22mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsLufthansa
34h 08mJNB-DSM
$889
1/29Sat
3 stopsLufthansa
36h 22mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsLufthansa
34h 08mJNB-DSM
$909
1/29Sat
3 stopsLufthansa
36h 22mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsLufthansa
34h 08mJNB-DSM
$916
1/29Sat
3 stopsLufthansa
34h 05mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsLufthansa
34h 08mJNB-DSM
$951
1/29Sat
3 stopsMultiple Airlines
31h 01mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
3 stopsMultiple Airlines
51h 45mJNB-DSM
$1,810
1/29Sat
3 stopsAmerican Airlines
36h 25mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
3 stopsAmerican Airlines
31h 24mJNB-DSM
$2,762
1/29Sat
1 stopMultiple Airlines
37h 26mDSM-JNB
2/11Fri
2 stopsMultiple Airlines
31h 48mJNB-DSM
$3,318