WAS - DSM

$80 Find Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines departing on 2/11. 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, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Des Moines

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines, 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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$222
Overall average: $628
Multiple Airlines
Thu 1/22Wed 1/28
BWI - DSM • 2 stops
Cheapest non-stop
$321
Typical prices: $443-$597
American Airlines
Wed 1/21Sat 1/24
DCA - DSM • Non-stop
Top airlines
Delta
Cheapest • from $293 (round-trip)
Southwest
Best reviews • 7.9 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Top routes
DCA-DSM
Cheapest
DCA-DSM
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
April
Cheapest • 9% price drop
May
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
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We hope you love your trip to Des Moines!
Flight Deals
Booking Insights
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines (WAS-DSM)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines 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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

Thu, Jan 22 - Wed, Jan 28
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 10:09 pm
BWI
-
DSM
17h 09m2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:14 pm - 5:27 pm
DSM
-
BWI
22h 13m1 stop
$222Multiple Airlines
Thu, Jan 22 - Wed, Jan 28
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:22 pm - 10:17 pm
BWI
-
DSM
28h 55m1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:14 pm - 5:27 pm
DSM
-
BWI
22h 13m1 stop
$223Multiple Airlines
Wed, Jan 21 - Sat, Jan 24
American Airlines Logo
8:10 pm - 10:11 pm
DCA
-
DSM
3h 01mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
1:16 pm - 4:44 pm
DSM
-
DCA
2h 28mnonstop
$321American Airlines
Wed, Jan 21 - Sat, Jan 24
American Airlines Logo
6:59 am - 11:12 am
DCA
-
DSM
5h 13m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
1:16 pm - 4:44 pm
DSM
-
DCA
2h 28mnonstop
$331American Airlines
Sat, Jan 10 - Sat, Jan 17
Delta Logo
5:27 pm - 8:54 pm
IAD
-
DSM
4h 27m1 stop
Delta Logo
10:59 am - 6:56 pm
DSM
-
IAD
6h 57m1 stop
$341Delta
Wed, Jan 21 - Sat, Jan 24
United Airlines Logo
1:00 pm - 5:47 pm
DCA
-
DSM
5h 47m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
7:50 am - 2:17 pm
DSM
-
DCA
5h 27m1 stop
$341United Airlines
Wed, Jan 21 - Sat, Jan 24
Southwest Logo
3:35 pm - 9:10 pm
DCA
-
DSM
6h 35m2 stops
Southwest Logo
6:45 am - 11:50 am
DSM
-
DCA
4h 05m1 stop
$346Southwest
Wed, Jan 21 - Sat, Jan 24
Southwest Logo
3:35 pm - 9:10 pm
DCA
-
DSM
6h 35m2 stops
Southwest Logo
6:45 am - 3:55 pm
DSM
-
DCA
8h 10m2 stops
$351Southwest
Sat, Jan 10 - Fri, Jan 16
Delta Logo
6:20 am - 12:15 pm
IAD
-
DSM
6h 55m1 stop
Delta Logo
5:16 pm - 11:37 pm
DSM
-
IAD
5h 21m1 stop
$381Delta
Thu, Jan 8 - Mon, Jan 12
United Airlines Logo
8:20 am - 2:33 pm
IAD
-
DSM
7h 13m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
DSM
-
IAD
7h 00m1 stop
$411United Airlines
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Washington, D.C. to Des Moines flights

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

How much is a round-trip flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

This analysis is based on the cheapest round-trip price found on KAYAK in the last 12 months by searching for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines departing in January.

What is the cheapest Washington, D.C. to Des Moines flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest return flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines costs $321 on the route between Washington, D.C. Reagan-National Airport (DCA) and Des Moines (DSM). It is also the most popular route.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

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

For Washington, D.C. to Des Moines, Thursday is the cheapest day to fly on average and Sunday is the most expensive. Flying from Des Moines back to Washington, D.C., the best deals are generally found on Saturday, with Sunday being the most expensive.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines, 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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines is April, where tickets cost $406 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and December, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $573 and $515 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 1 stop layover the cheapest option at $493 on average.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$80
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 9% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 5% lower on average.
Flight from Reagan Washington National Airport to Des Moines

When to book flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines 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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

  • What is the cheapest flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines was $80 for a one-way ticket and $222 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Washington, D.C. and Des Moines?

    Even though you are not required to have a passport, keep in mind that an official ID is needed to board the airplane.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    There are 2 airports in Washington, D.C. (Washington, D.C. Reagan-National and Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl.) and only 1 airport in Des Moines (Des Moines). The cheapest flights are generally found on the Reagan Washington National Airport to Des Moines flight route.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    American Airlines, and Delta offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the Washington, D.C. to Des Moines flight route.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    The Embraer 175 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Washington, D.C. to Des Moines flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

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

  • On which days can I fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    There are nonstop flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines, Delta or Southwest?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines are Delta and Southwest. With an average price for the route of $351 and an overall rating of 7.9, Delta is the most popular choice. Southwest is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $426 and an overall rating of 7.9.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Des Moines from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

    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 Des Moines with an airline and back to Washington, D.C. with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

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

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $331 or less one-way and $508 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines.
Find which airlines fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

Monday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Tuesday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Wednesday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Thursday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Friday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Saturday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Sunday

American Airlines

American Airlines

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Des Moines to Washington, D.C.

Monday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Tuesday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Wednesday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Thursday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Friday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Saturday

American Airlines

American Airlines

Sunday

American Airlines

American Airlines

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 4 airlines serving from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

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

They sent a notice that they were boarding an hour early. We had to leave the club and run to the gate. They said sorry, that came from corporate and was a mistake. They did not have enough seating because the flight before it had not taken off on time. They moved our gate and delayed it for an hour.

2.0 MediocreRobert, Dec 2025
LAS - TPA
Read more Southwest reviews

They sent a notice that they were boarding an hour early. We had to leave the club and run to the gate. They said sorry, that came from corporate and was a mistake. They did not have enough seating because the flight before it had not taken off on time. They moved our gate and delayed it for an hour.

The boarding and seat assignment system no longer works for me, but I know it is being replaced. Otherwise, I am good with the overall experience.

The lead steward kept singing about "San Francisco" and hotel California---more annoying than humorous....needs work. Flight was smooth and on time.

Still a fan of open seating. Flight was on schedule and arrived on time. The 737 MAX is very comfortable.

Airline travel is always too cramped to really be pleasant, but the cabin crew on this flight did a pretty good job of making up for it by putting on some music during boarding and sprinkling a few funny remarks into the safety briefing and announcements, and just generally being friendly and helpful. It definitely reminded me of why I prefer the in-flight experience on Southwest!

No delays and arrived to destination 30 min early. Staff was super friendly.

San Diego airport is brand new, spacious, airy and very smooth checkin at SW baggage drop.

It was rough. The staff was unprofessional, the choice of on board drinks terrible, it was cramped in space at every airport, they always ran out of overhead bin space so they pressured people to check bags for free or we couldn’t leave on the plane— so I did check my bag to help, and they nearly lost my bag. My bag did not arrive on the luggage belt, another man on my flight and I had to waste our time going to the baggage office to search for our bags. I would only fly southwest again if it was my last choice. Also, my flights were consistently delayed over and over again— at one point they straight up told us we were waiting for the pilot to arrive.

Crew could have been friendlier, maybe I'm spoiled by SW crews. In flight wifi was good. Would be nice to have more food offerings on a 4 plus hour flight

Had to get off plane from prior flight even though I had to reboard same plane to continue to my final destination.

Original flight was cancelled and when i was rebooked by the airline, they couldn't seat me in the same type of seat as I had originally booked (went from window/aisle to middle/middle and one was a bulkhead seat, and other wasn't in the same class)

Lady Pilot was perfect in every way wheels up to wheels down communication, professionalism, excellent on time departure and on time arrival, excellent communication! Fantastic job with Superb attitude!!

The food is terrible. The staff is wonderful. Comfort is good.

Left on time, a bit delayed due to headwinds most of the trip.

I fly Delta all the time, have Platinum Medallion status. But this route seems to have major problems with delays and seems to never leave on time! Have only taken it twice in the last two weeks, and each time it had delays of more than 1 hour... very disappointed!!!!

Good seats in Main cabin, excellent service and excellent landing

My flight was cancelled with no explanation after I had already cleared security. I was given 4 options to rebook, only one being non-stop like I had paid for. I grabbed it. It was 4 plus hours later and then took off even later. Biggest complaint is that I booked early and had an aisle seat. They gave me a "window" seat in front of the exit row, so the seat did not decline. I weigh all of 103 #s and it was tight for me! For what I paid, I feel I was kind of ripped off. I think they should have given me the empty comfort seat for the inconvenience. There was no apology nor any explanation as to why the flight was cancelled. My guess is it benefitted Delta in some way.

Very smooth, on-time, and pleasantly uneventful flight. The team at the gate and on board were professional and genuinely courteous. The pilot kept us well updated throughout, and both takeoff and landing were steady and enjoyable without any drama. Just a good, solid flight. Thank you! 💗

Staff was exceptional! Everyone was kind, professional and friendly making the trip very pleasant. Thank you!

No lunch on a x-country flight scheduled for 10:50 am departure, arrived 5+ hrs later. That requires a black box label before you pay for the tickets. Worst, when I checked in online, it's specifically said that lunch was served on his flight for economy Plus passengers.

Not great experience - we were super late boarding due to issues with aircraft. Then when we finally all got onboard and seated and they started taxiing out to the runway they just stopped then turned around and went back to the airport. Apparently the crew “ran out of time” to legally fly us. They mentioned that they were about 2 minutes away from taking off. I understand the rules and safety but kinda wonder why they would have bothered boarding us in the first place? Had to go all the way back and de plane and then wait in a HUGE line to get a hotel (this is somewhere around 2:30am) finally got to hotel by Uber (no shuttle after 20min so gave up) and they ended up putting us all back on the same aircraft at 10am next morning so got about 2.5 hours sleep. They did give us. $250 credit, but it was a São Paulo Brazil flight out of Dulles. The flight and everything was fine.

Starlink wifi on the Embraer E175 is an excellent experience. I was able to connect and work from IAD all the way to approach into BTV.

7 hours delayed due to operational issues on United’s end. Basically laziness.

Short flight but an "eager to help" crew made the journey more enjoyable!

During booking, I kept trying submitting my payment from the Mexican website and it didn't work. After I had the idea to change it to the Canadian website, it worked but I had to be charged the equivalent of 50 CAD more. I received the clear instruction that I would only be able to check-in at the airport and that it was impossible to select a seat 24 hours before departure, that I had to pay 144 CAD to do so, although not only was I able to check-in 24 hours before departure, but I could have selected my seats for free then. All in all, I almost threw $200 out the window due to misleading information. Besides, the app kept crashing, the information to get to the gate on the app was inaccurate, my gate was switched and I was only informed once in the air (luckily I had noticed the departure pannel), I was not addressed in my language beforehand and even if I tried I was immediately answered in English (which meant the crew understood but didn't want to answer accordingly), there was only one snack & beverage service on my medium haul flight and no beverage service on my short haul flight. To be fair, the planes were comfortable, the crew apart from the language issue was helpful, dynamic and engaging, the plane was clean and the directions were clear and direct. United has a lot of potential to be one of my favourite airlines, but the devil is in the details and a lot of them missed the target.

Better WiFi. I cannot understand that in 2025, United is so behind on a technology that is now a necessity and still painfully unreliable, slow and keeps disconnecting.

Great service on board. Boarding a bit slow due to process. Food was pretty average.

Very small cramped plane for an international flight. Everything else was good, but it was maybe the smallest comfort-wise I've ever been on for longer than 3-4 hours and the trip was 7.5

Flight was delayed 3 hours. No food and drink vouchers was provided. They offered a mini pretzel bag and water .

Staff was rude. Didn’t give water for 2 hours. Worst service

Gate was overcrowded. Gate agents performed very well. Flight crew was top notch! Efficient & professional & courteous. Both meals not thermalized well. Dinner main dish was actually cold in the center. Almost inedible. Breakfast sandwich was lukewarm.

The boarding was as always, the crew tried their best but not enough. The food was a disaster I had dietary restrictions that were half met because the company did not loaded the food for the flight. The entertainment screen was fine but content was not and also they removed the free messaging option from the flight and they charged 30 dollars for that crappy bandwidth. This flight is not worth the cost and the company is going down on quality.

Awful. They won’t help me with anything. I booked on American but they abdicated to Iberia. The ticket was overpriced. Everything negative

it was fine, decent flight... dont get food besides cookies or pretzels so not sure why you ask about food. same for entertainment..

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing and the care I received by Kayla? Keighly the flight attendant will be memorable for ever. Thank You

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing enough and the care I received on the flight was astounding.

Waaay too small plane. They also need to up the size of the overhead bins. I would love to keep me 3k with of camera equipment in my hard case baggahe instead of it being thrown into the belly of the plane

We were told the flight was delayed 5 times, then it was moved to the next day.

Flight delay was communicated before leaving for airport which caused it to be a non-event. Great flight and crew!

The flight attendant, a black woman with curly hair who sat near Row 21, was wonderful and kind.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines

Information on your arrival and departure airports