$56 Find Cheap Flights to Ames - Compare and Save

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Ames departing on 7/17. 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.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$86
Typical prices: $171-$307
Allegiant Air
Fri 8/14Mon 8/17
HOU - DSM • Non-stop
Cheapest one-way
$56
Typical prices: $80-$350
Allegiant Air
Fri 7/17
HOU - DSM • Non-stop
Arrival airport
You can't fly directly to Ames. It is served by Des Moines (DSM), located 34.3 miles from Ames.
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We hope you love your trip to Ames!
Flight Deals
Useful Info
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights to Ames

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

Fri, Aug 14 - Mon, Aug 17
Allegiant Air Logo
3:58 pm - 6:15 pm
HOU
-
DSM
2h 17mnonstop
Allegiant Air Logo
12:37 pm - 3:08 pm
DSM
-
HOU
2h 31mnonstop
$86Allegiant Air
Fri, Aug 14 - Mon, Aug 17
Allegiant Air Logo
3:58 pm - 6:15 pm
HOU
-
DSM
2h 17mnonstop
Allegiant Air Logo
12:37 pm - 3:08 pm
DSM
-
HOU
2h 31mnonstop
$94Allegiant Air
Wed, Aug 5 - Fri, Aug 7
Frontier Logo
10:46 am - 1:34 pm
DEN
-
DSM
1h 48mnonstop
Frontier Logo
2:19 pm - 3:23 pm
DSM
-
DEN
2h 04mnonstop
$155Frontier
Mon, Aug 10 - Wed, Aug 12
Frontier Logo
10:46 am - 1:34 pm
DEN
-
DSM
1h 48mnonstop
Frontier Logo
2:19 pm - 3:23 pm
DSM
-
DEN
2h 04mnonstop
$156Frontier
Mon, Aug 17 - Thu, Aug 20
Delta Logo
5:36 pm - 8:39 pm
BWI
-
DSM
4h 03m
1 stop
Delta Logo
5:40 am - 1:05 pm
DSM
-
BWI
6h 25m
1 stop
$311Delta
Tue, Aug 4 - Sat, Aug 8
Southwest Logo
5:15 pm - 9:55 pm
BWI
-
DSM
5h 40m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:30 am - 1:35 pm
DSM
-
BWI
7h 05m
2 stops
$316Southwest
Tue, Aug 18 - Tue, Aug 18
Delta Logo
6:05 am - 10:18 am
BWI
-
DSM
5h 13m
1 stop
Delta Logo
2:54 pm - 9:27 pm
DSM
-
BWI
5h 33m
1 stop
$317Delta
Wed, Aug 12 - Wed, Aug 19
Southwest Logo
7:25 am - 11:50 am
LGA
-
DSM
5h 25m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
7:15 am - 2:30 pm
DSM
-
LGA
6h 15m
1 stop
$351Southwest
Thu, Aug 6 - Sat, Aug 8
American Airlines Logo
7:50 pm - 11:44 pm
LGA
-
DSM
4h 54m
1 stop
American Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 1:15 pm
DSM
-
LGA
5h 15m
1 stop
$375American Airlines
Tue, Sep 15 - Tue, Sep 22
American Airlines Logo
6:30 am - 1:59 pm
JFK
-
DSM
8h 29m
2 stops
American Airlines Logo
7:05 am - 2:59 pm
DSM
-
JFK
6h 54m
1 stop
$380American Airlines
Useful Info

Good to know - Book Cheap Ames Plane Tickets

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flight$56
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 15% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 2% lower on average.
Flight from Houston Hobby Airport to Des Moines

FAQs - booking Ames flights

  • How long is the flight to Ames?

    Flights from New York6h 10m
    Flights from Denver1h 35m
    Flights from Boston3h 03m
    Flights from Los Angeles3h 36m
    Flights from Phoenix Sky Harbor Intl Airport2h 40m
  • What is the cheapest flight to Des Moines?

    In the last 5 days, the cheapest flight deal to Des Moines was found on the route from Houston, at $86 return. The most popular connection is from Denver to Des Moines and KAYAK users have found round-trip deals for as low as $155 in the last 5 days.

  • Which airlines fly to Des Moines?

    Many airlines fly to Des Moines, the most common ones being American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta. See the amount of flights per week for popular airlines flying to Des Moines.

  • How to fly to Ames?

    You cannot fly directly to Ames. KAYAK recommends you fly to Des Moines (DSM) (34.26 miles from Ames). From there you can rent a car or get a taxi.

  • What airports are near Ames?

    The closest airport is Des Moines (DSM) (34.26 mi). Other nearby airports are Fort Dodge (FOD) (46.12 mi), Waterloo (ALO) (71.97 mi), Mason City (MCW) (78.58 mi) or Cedar Rapids (CID) (98.57 mi). KAYAK recommends you fly to Des Moines.

  • How far is Des Moines Airport from central Des Moines?

    The city center of Des Moines is 4 miles from Des Moines Airport.

  • What is the name of Des Moines’s airport?

    Des Moines is served by Des Moines Airport, also commonly referred to as Des Moines or Des Moines Intl. The airport code is DSM.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to Ames?

    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 to Ames.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Ames is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Ames?

    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 Ames 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 to Ames?

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

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Ames

  • There is no major airport in Ames. It is instead served by Des Moines Airport.
  • Looking for cheap airfare to Ames? 25% of our users found round-trip tickets to Ames for the following prices or less: From Fort Lauderdale $110, from Boston $146, from Los Angeles $290
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Ames flight deals.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines flying to Ames

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from the United States to Ames? 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 4250 reviews
8.6Crew
7.0Food
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.5Entertainment
Airline reviews

My experience will Southwest was good. I wish there was more entertainment and the boarding process was slow at time but other than that my experience was great definitely will be flying with SouthWest again.

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jul 2026
PHL - BNA
Read more Southwest reviews

My experience will Southwest was good. I wish there was more entertainment and the boarding process was slow at time but other than that my experience was great definitely will be flying with SouthWest again.

Flight was delayed by 2 hours, meaning that a flight to Dwnver which should have arrived at 11pm came into the airport at 1 am. Made for a very long day.

I think Southwest is the number one airline that anyone can fly I have flown for the first time Frontier and what a joke and their customer service United was a very strange experience I'm only sticking to Southwest from here on out for sure

Great job! My family doesnt fly often but we felt safe 100%

Great job Southwest! My family doesn't fly often but we felt safe the whole time.

SW can't get their wifi right. I upgrade to insure wifi service but the last two trips had intermittent service. Not worth the extra costs.

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

Crew was rude, flight was late, wifi didn't work, no food, basically 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.

Love Southwest! Always a good trip with a happy crew who goes out of their way to be kind and fun.

Everything about this flight was good except for the very end when I reached my destination. Everyone from the tune to the wheelchair escorts were great with the case were great but I miss you with people at the check in this at the very end. I need help from the chicken desk because I forgot my pillow on the plane The female worker at the chicken desk said that they found my pillow and she was going to retrieve it for me. She left a 30 minutes without any update and her so she saw me walking back and forth waiting for her and they didn't even bother calling her or radioing her for any updates. They were busy because they were behind schedule and they were overwhelmed but thanks because at least glanced me and try to give me an update just a quick radio check or phone call. I don't care about the pillow but if you tell me to wait, I waited for at least half an hour before I said something and I just left because they wouldn't bother talking to me so I could, so everything's going in the review. I took pictures of the two men that were left working at the check-in counter. The totally ignored me despite the signals I've been giving them. I don't see any offers in the kayak review to add pictures or screenshots so I'm going to post another review I don't know their name but I'm pretty sure Delta will find other names when they see the review. Google with pictures. There was another guy at the chicken counter bring an orange workers vest who finally left after telling me that the girl that was retrieving my pillow is working the gates now. That would have been if they just told me that's what happened. But I had no update. Make me wait for nothing. Thank you Delta airlines!

We had a great experience with Delta. They helped us from the start at the kiosk all the way to our final destination, including help reassigning and upgrading our seats free of charge at the gates, escorts with the wheelchair for my brother and even getting our luggage at baggage claim for us. I also had special help because I forgot my pillow on the plane. The wheelchair escort contacted for associates at the check-in desk all the way back to the plane and retrieved my pillow for me.

Crew was real good, flight was smooth and came in early.

The CRJ-900 was clean but the overhead air vents were broken in our First Class row, making the cabin very hot until about 30 mins into the flight. The flight attendants were both extremely apologetic and accommodating though so that is why I rated the flight as very good. They checked on us many times and truly showed they cared. The snacks for an hour and a half flight could be better. Would be nice if there was a small plated meal over convenient store snacks. WiFi also was not working. And it would be nice if Delta had adjustable headrests on these planes.

New high end luggage ruined/zippers broken, items missing. All happened on return flight from msp to mso. Do better! Not store bought luggage but high end personalized ogio custom embroidered luggage. Total slap in the face ontop of an extra luggage fee that took me 3 hrs on chat to resolve.

It was as good as it could be. Flying is not a pleasant experience these days.

The plane was old and thus the seats were not good. No cushion left whatsoever, and it all was a bit worn out.

I was in Comfort and we didn’t get any drinks, chips or anything! First Class got full service on the flight and Comfort got nothing. Seat was horrible and uncomfortable

My flight was delayed by 4 hours in 30 minute increments. The gate agents were amazing but the communication was not. We were told that there was a maintenance issue but they didn't know what it was. That didn't inspire confidence. Then they said they found it and it was fixed and the pilot just needed to sign off. Then the pilot needed to talk to the other pilot from the arriving flight and we'd be fine. Then we were waiting for the pilot to call back. Then the maintenance issue wasn't fixed. Then they decided we were getting a new plane (why didn't they decide this earlier??). Fine. But then they announced we were changing gates AND terminals. And we were boarding in 20 minutes. So we all had to run to the new terminal gate. We could have taken off at that time, but we then had to wait for all the people who rebooked on a different flight to book this flight again. That took 30+ minutes because there was only one gate agent. When everyone ditched this flight, I saw it as an opportunity to upgrade to comfort. Delta, the greedy jerks they are, charged me $121. After their delay, their fault, their issues, couldn't even discount an upgrade. They only handed out $12 meal vouchers for the delay. I can't even get a snack from starbucks for that.

The crew was very inconsiderate and rude. My flight was scheduled to depart at 6:00am. I received a call from the crew at 5:40am, asking if I was going to make the flight because I was the only one that hasn't boarded yet and boarding ends at 5:50am. I let them know that I will be at the gate in a few minutes, before the 5:50am cutoff. When I arrived at the gate at 5:45am the gate was closed. Departing early on last minute notice without having all passengers on board is inconsiderate and unprofessional.

The flight was delayed by a hour and I wish they had communicated it sooner. No issues on the plane, it did take a while for food to come.

Know that the movies that you are going to be offered are the oldest be rated movies they could possibly get. They may have one or two new movies that they keep advertising but when you’re flying 15 hours, there is nothing to see past the first new movie.

Great staff. Clean plane, but we were delayed for more than an hour due to maintenance issues and had to board another plane.

I was exhausted from a long day. The flight was smooth. The first flight during my 3 week travel that took off on time.

1 flight cancelled Had to fly out of different city Flight at new departure city was delayed 3 hours causing us to miss connecting flights. By the time we did make it to Prague our luggage did not. Had to wait day and a half for luggage to be delivered. Customer service was not good. Agents did not arrive at gate until 5-10 minutes before boarding

A long delay. Don't travel late in the day.

The seat was comfortable. There was a lot of turbulence. If it weren't for that,it would have been okay.

It was great, I’m very grateful for the pilots and crew flight attendants for everything.

Flight was great. Efficient boarding. Short flight. Early arrival. Friendly flight crew. The entertainment system did not work well. Could not access it until the aircraft reached 10K feet or more. Lots of glitches.

No food service almost missed because of first flight delays

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.

A three hour delay to board and then another hour on the tarmac because they couldn't get a tractor? Ugh.

Allegiant canceled the flight. The flight the next day was full. Allegiant did not provide any compensation besides a refund. Last time on Allegiant.

Seats were very uncomfortable and being charged for snacks and water.........

Allegiant actually impressed me, original inbound flight from PBG was so late they gave us a bird inbound from Des Moines and only left 1h late and gained 40 minutes back in the air. Comfortable flight with no frills but no complaints.

Flight was delayed. Crew was good but hot coffee was not available.

Great. No choice for n/a. No food or entertainment options

No food is available without purchasing it and there is no in-flight entertainment. Both of these are OK because we got an inexpensive flight from Allegiant and, otherwise, our experience was excellent.

just had water and there was plenty of leg & seat room. But then i don't weight 220#s!!

Not totally their fault- screaming kids that had zero parent intervention.

I found the seats ergonomically uncomfortable forcing the body to seat slightly hunched. For a short flight I worked on adjustments but for a longer flight, it would be difficult.

The seat was not even cleaned. It has full of cookie crums probably from last flight's passenger. Its basic expectation that, seats are clean.

The planes can use an actual cleaning. The armrest and seats do not appear to be cleaned on this one and most other planes.

The flight attendant was very polite and attentive. The food was good.

For some unknown reason, my checked bag didn't arrive at the same time. I got to my destination about 30 minutes late (5pm) and my bag was delivered to my hotel at 2:06am.... in the past 4 flights with AA, they been delayed and I've missed connections and my bags. Poor service.

The boarding by groups is pointless. The first two groups worked fine, but almost Noone boarded in goups three thru five leaving the vast majority boarding when group six was called. It defeated the purpose of spreading out the crowd.

I blame kayak for my last trip to dca. Kayak cancelled my direct flight and put on a one stop flight and made lost whole day from my vacation and had not even refunded my ticket.

delayed multiple times. no resolution on anything from AA customer service. was put on hold in chat to talk to manager. was 6th in line to talk to manager for more than TWELVE HOURS - from sometime around 9AM until well after I had gone to bed that evening. no explanation, no attempt to make it right. just a five hour delay because of repeated maintenance claims

Was the most uncomfortable I ever had in the air. Felt like I was trapped in the seat legs cramped and was just horrible. The flight to DSM was a lot better. Even being on a smaller plane was better. Staff are outstanding. No complaints about the people.

It was exactly as I expected, on time, smooth flight, courteous staff.

Everything you need to know for your flight to Ames