WAS - DSM

$115 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 9/8. 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
$224
Typical prices: $612-$480
Allegiant Air
Sat 7/4Fri 7/17
IAD - DSM • 1 stop
Cheapest non-stop
$229
Typical prices: $429-$377
American Airlines
Wed 11/4Wed 11/11
DCA - DSM • Non-stop
Top airlines
Cheapest • from $224 (round-trip)
Best reviews • 7.9 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Nonstop flights
You can fly direct with American Airlines. Average duration is 2h 47m
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
+1
Direct flights
Direct flights
+1
Top routes
Cheapest
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
Top layover airports
Cheapest • Avg $246 (round-trip)
Shortest trip • 4h 25m (one-way)
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
Cheapest • 50% price drop
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Start a new search
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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

Sat, Jul 4 - Fri, Jul 17
Allegiant Air Logo
9:05 pm - 10:07 am
IAD
-
DSM
14h 02m
1 stop
Allegiant Air Logo
5:30 pm - 2:07 pm
DSM
-
IAD
19h 37m
1 stop
$224Allegiant Air
Wed, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 11
American Airlines Logo
8:10 pm - 10:09 pm
DCA
-
DSM
2h 59mnonstop
American Airlines Logo
6:00 am - 9:29 am
DSM
-
DCA
2h 29mnonstop
$229American Airlines
Wed, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 11
United Airlines Logo
5:00 pm - 9:17 pm
DCA
-
DSM
5h 17m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
8:00 am - 1:59 pm
DSM
-
DCA
4h 59m
1 stop
$244United Airlines
Fri, Jul 3 - Wed, Jul 8
Frontier Logo
7:00 am - 1:31 pm
DCA
-
DSM
7h 31m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
2:19 pm - 4:59 pm
DSM
-
DCA
25h 40m
1 stop
$250Frontier
Tue, Aug 18 - Fri, Aug 21
Frontier Logo
6:00 pm - 1:31 pm
DCA
-
DSM
20h 31m
1 stop
Frontier Logo
2:16 pm - 12:57 pm
DSM
-
DCA
21h 41m
1 stop
$252Frontier
Wed, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 11
Southwest Logo
3:35 pm - 10:05 pm
DCA
-
DSM
7h 30m
1 stop
Southwest Logo
6:00 am - 3:40 pm
DSM
-
DCA
8h 40m
2 stops
$258Southwest
Wed, Nov 4 - Wed, Nov 11
Southwest Logo
6:05 am - 2:10 pm
DCA
-
DSM
9h 05m
2 stops
Southwest Logo
7:05 am - 6:00 pm
DSM
-
DCA
9h 55m
2 stops
$263Southwest
Sat, Aug 8 - Tue, Aug 11
United Airlines Logo
3:30 pm - 9:22 pm
DCA
-
DSM
6h 52m
1 stop
United Airlines Logo
11:32 am - 5:09 pm
DSM
-
DCA
4h 37m
1 stop
$268United Airlines
Tue, Aug 11 - Sat, Aug 22
Delta Logo
5:25 pm - 8:39 pm
IAD
-
DSM
4h 14m
1 stop
Delta Logo
4:20 pm - 11:21 pm
DSM
-
IAD
6h 01m
1 stop
$273Delta
Sat, Aug 8 - Tue, Aug 11
Delta Logo
6:05 am - 10:18 am
BWI
-
DSM
5h 13m
1 stop
Delta Logo
2:45 pm - 9:29 pm
DSM
-
BWI
5h 44m
1 stop
$273Delta
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 July.

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 $351 on the route between Washington, D.C. Reagan-National Airport (DCA) and Des Moines (DSM). It is also the most popular route.

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 November, where tickets cost $108 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and February, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $381 and $312 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.

No, with an average price for the route of $521, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

Good to know

Low seasonMarch
Cheapest flight$115
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 21% increase in price.
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 5 days, the lowest price for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines was $115 for a one-way ticket and $224 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 Canadair (Bombardier) Regional Jet 900 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?

    SkyTeam, Star Alliance, and oneworld are the airline alliances operating flights between Washington, D.C. and Des Moines, with SkyTeam 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 $385 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 $379 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 $284 or less one-way and $482 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 5 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 4235 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
7.0Food
7.5Entertainment
8.1Boarding
Airline reviews

Flight was delayed over 3 hours. Planes were dirty. Staff indifferent. And they serve vegan pretzels as snacks.

2.0 MediocreMatthew, Jun 2026
CVG - MDW
Read more Southwest reviews

Flight was delayed over 3 hours. Planes were dirty. Staff indifferent. And they serve vegan pretzels as snacks.

It was great. The gate staff were very helpful in Portland when my son forgot his rolling bag and had to go back to get it just in time to make it on the plane. We really appreciate that. Great job!

Airline is not very senior friendly. Flights are late, forcing us to run to the connecting flight. Food is awful. Wish they would go back to pretzels and peanuts. During flight, pressurization isn’t quite right and all of our ears get plugged. Everything is nickel and dime, charging for boarding, seat selection and legroom. While a screen at the desk in the gate area says check your roll on bag now for free due to space limitation, the employee at the desk will not check the bag without a $100 fee. Insane.

Kayak could’ve posted the correct gate number. Almost missed my flight.

Slow boarding, limited food and drink portions. Bad delays and turbulence

there were two flight attendants that were up front...that were the best! They get KUDOs for making my trip only fantastic. Tell them Jeff said that!

OKay. I sat in the back of the plane and it was really loud between babies and little kids, and adults who.like to talk a lot and loudly most of the flight.

Flight coming out of Buffalo was delayed, so we had to be rescheduled on another flight from Baltimore to Phoenix which means we had a long layover and got home 3.5 hours late. Shuttle to parking stopped at 10pm, so we had to pay for an Uber to the parking lot and got charged an extra day of parking since it was after midnight. Not the best experience. Long day!

Was fine, delayed and feels like southwest is always late

I don't know why flying out of Sarasota requires two plane changes.

Be on time? When not on time a circling for over an hour offer more than 1 bag of chips to the passengers? It was a 7 hour flight by the time we got done.

Five hour delays every hour, I wish it were all at once

Flight delayed four separate times. I’m now one hour hours late to landing.

worst flight ever from Delta, it got delayed and kept on delaying..

Should never have had to go to Detroit from Orlando back to Tennessee!

Got rerouted from a straight flight from Orlando to Atlanta to Knoxville to a flight from Orlando to Detroit to Knoxville! Seriously!! Flight delay out of Detroit! Long day for what should have been a pretty easy travel day!

Two delays on two separate planes with parts they could not easily find and replace.

Checkin was good, fllight ws good. Onlly complaint is lack of foot on 6 hour flight from Seattle to Boston. Snacks were flimsy - chips and cookies. could have offered something more substantial for such a long flight. I know you can buy food in airport but for the price you pay for a ticket, they should step up for the passengers.

Only beverages were offered to first class and I thought the flight attendant could have also served the Delta Comfort as well instead of sitting down and staring at her phone and walking past all of us to the back of the plane to charge her phone more. There was a complete lack of turbulence and was safe enough for flights attendant to walk around in the front of the plane, collect trash and serve a few people water and turn off the seat belt light. Also didn’t enforce people putting their seats into the upright position and allowed two passengers to remain reclined during landing. They seemed out to lunch completely. Usually my experience on Delta is much better.

Long story short, it was one of the better flight experiences I've had in some time when compared with other airlines.

Like: departed and arrived on time. Unlike: Food options for purchase allways bad, 1 of 2 of the crew members not very friendly at all. Seats and leg room aweful. At this point I am thinking on switching to AA.

Over 5 hour delay with minimal updates or ability to standby for alternative flights. During boarding and 1 hr+ wait for takeoff, seats were drenched w water from air conditioning condensation and always leftover crumbs on carpet and seats

Our flight was canceled same day and we were never informed. Had to pay more and worse seating on another airline.

Did not like that we couldn't complete check in on-line without providing pictures of our passports. Worry about identity theft. We had no delays and boarding was handled In an efficient manner.

Excellent! I got to Munich and was transferred to my Lufthansa flight quickly, in 15 to 20 minutes, so I did not miss my flight. However, I had checked my overhead bag at the boarding gate in Tampa. That got to Tunis the next day. That is to be expected.

WiFi didn’t exist , seats were super cramped, lights stayed on near my seat for a long time while others were dimmed, the food/trash/drink cart hit my shoulder at least a couple of times while moving, food options were down to just one option by the time it got to my row, the utensils were garbage (knife bent at a couple of places by the time I was done eating) the spoon was very flimsy plastic

Vegetarian selection could be better. Bread was too hard to chew.

Crew was friendly and competent. Food, wine, and entertainment were excellent except the raw tuna on the flight to Split. Recommend against serving that - at least as the only option. Many medical conditions do not allow people to eat raw fish.

After arriving in Chicago, we were taxiing for 1.5 hours with infrequent and untruthful updates about the amount of time it would take to arrive at the gate. Minimally, the team could have provided timing expectations that were more truthful, especially one their original expectations were not met.

United didn’t even try to hold the flight for me. They knew I had a tight connection and when I arrived at the gate less than 10 mins after final boarding the flight had already gone. The gate agent wasn’t even notified that I was on my way. She was told I wasn’t at the airport

As always, most AA flights that we fly are almost ALWAYS delayed and that too multiple times. Very frustrating

The small flights with Valet Luggage has a poor service

Overall a good experience, however Wifi was not working on the flight.

THe flight was an hour late. You got us on the plan and we sat on the ground for 45 minutes with no information from the pilot whatsoever. Worst flight this year.

Going non stop to lax like I paid for. Not stopping in MCI for gas. Too long of delays

Human interaction. Thought there would be more service-even a smile would have been nice.

Incoming flight was delayed, delaying boarding. It then took 30 mins to take off. Took 20 mins to get to a gate because they changed the gate last minute, crew weren’t ready so there was no one staffed to work the jet bridge. Boarding was so disorganized as is usual with American because everyone just stands around the gate regardless of boarding group.

Delays with no explanation. It could have been handled better.

Flight delay for mechanical. Inbound arrived on time. No one said why mechanical delay.

Flight boarded, departed and landed on time. Excellent service from flight attendant in FIRST

There weren't enough employees at check in took awhile to get bags checked. There wasn't a wheel chair for me, I was sent to someone who turns out to work for a different airline, if My flight hadn't been delayed I probably would have missed my flight as it was, by the time I arrived at my gate, they started boarding in about 15 minutes. I don't know who took me to my gate, definitely was not the normal people who take passengers to the gate. I'm guessing she may have been in a management position. I wish I knew her name, she went beyond to help me. With that said everyone was kind, and were doing the best they could. So, I choose to say it was an Adventure, stressful start, but good. In the end went well. The situation was not only difficult for passengers but the employee's.

The staff at the check in counter was so rude. Made you feel Incompetent

Frontier scheduled a 40 minute connection in DEN. What they failed to mention was that they “close the doors” 20 mins prior to departure, which means you only have 20 mins. Not enough time. Possibly against DOT regulations. Filing complaint.

Flight was scheduled at 9:40pm. Got delayed to 10 am, the next day. crazy

The bag check, flight check-in, and onboard experience convinced my wife and me that we will actively go out of our way to avoid flying Frontier Airlines in the future. At bag check, we were informed that check-in could only be completed via the Frontier mobile app. Unfortunately, the app was extremely frustrating—sending us through repetitive, confusing loops that repeatedly forced us to decline add-on services with nearly every click. While most airline apps upsell, this one felt intentionally exhausting. As the process dragged on, we became genuinely concerned that my phone battery would die before check-in could be completed. We approached the bag check staff—who were standing together talking—and explained both our frustration and our predicament. They laughed. Later, my wife described the interaction as “gaslighting,” which felt accurate. We were then informed it would cost $25 per person simply to have our boarding passes printed. From that point forward, the tone of the experience was consistently hostile. The bag check employees were condescending and combative, behaving more like bullies than customer service staff. Unfortunately, that same attitude continued onboard. One flight attendant argued with me when I attempted to stow my backpack in the overhead bin. I explained that we had each paid $75 to check our bags specifically so we would not need to use carry-on space and could have adequate legroom. She demanded to see my ticket, pointed out that it said “no carry-on”—which I acknowledged—and I reiterated that this was precisely why we paid to check our bags. Her response was, “I don’t make the rules.” She then walked away, but not before asking if I “truly wanted to fly back to Chicago today?”—an unnecessary and unmistakable threat. It is also worth noting that despite booking our tickets together in the same transaction, we were not seated together. Upon our return to Chicago—where we could once again sit together—we compared onboard experiences. We both remarked on how unhappy the flight attendants appeared and how each of us was separately asked whether we would like to purchase a beverage. We declined. At no point was water mentioned as an option, leaving us with the clear impression that even water came at a cost—or that complimentary water, if available at all, was deliberately left unmentioned. Overall, the experience was shocking and deeply disappointing, but it was also a profound learning experience—one we will not forget and will not repeat. -Steve

Plane was hot and miserable and the crew was rude!

12 hour delay required getting on and off plane 3 times - would have at least liked to have been offered a snack or drink

They didn’t offer a water, even after I asked

They switched our terminal 3 times and we were delayed for four plus hours!!!

It was an early flight and most people napped/slept and the crew let us which was nice.

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports