WAS - DSM

$92 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 10/15. 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 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
Travelers love KAYAK
41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 22% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Bundle and saveSave money when you bundle your flight + hotel.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

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, Oct 2 - Sun, Oct 5
 Logo
6:48 pm - 1:40 pmBWI-DSM
19h 52m2 stops
 Logo
8:47 pm - 10:36 pmDSM-BWI
24h 49m1 stop
Sat, Oct 18 - Sun, Oct 19
 Logo
4:00 pm - 9:51 amBWI-DSM
18h 51m1 stop
 Logo
8:47 pm - 10:36 pmDSM-BWI
24h 49m1 stop
Fri, Oct 3 - Mon, Oct 6
American Airlines Logo
6:41 pm - 11:06 pmBWI-DSM
5h 25m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
6:22 pm - 12:33 amDSM-BWI
5h 11m1 stop
$262American Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Oct 31 - Tue, Nov 4
American Airlines Logo
11:50 am - 6:15 pmBWI-DSM
7h 25m1 stop
American Airlines Logo
5:04 pm - 11:35 pmDSM-BWI
5h 31m1 stop
$307American Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 14 - Tue, Oct 21
Southwest Logo
6:50 pm - 9:50 pmDCA-DSM
4h 00m1 stop
Southwest Logo
4:45 pm - 9:45 pmDSM-DCA
4h 00m1 stop
$317Southwest
Find Deal
Wed, Oct 22 - Fri, Oct 24
Delta Logo
6:00 am - 10:26 amBWI-DSM
5h 26m1 stop
Delta Logo
5:32 pm - 11:49 pmDSM-BWI
5h 17m1 stop
$321Delta
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 14 - Tue, Oct 21
Southwest Logo
6:50 pm - 9:50 pmDCA-DSM
4h 00m1 stop
Southwest Logo
4:45 pm - 11:40 pmDSM-DCA
5h 55m2 stops
$322Southwest
Find Deal
Fri, Nov 14 - Mon, Nov 17
United Airlines Logo
10:56 am - 2:19 pmBWI-DSM
4h 23m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
11:26 am - 5:14 pmDSM-BWI
4h 48m1 stop
$329United Airlines
Find Deal
Sat, Oct 4 - Sun, Oct 5
Delta Logo
6:15 am - 10:14 amIAD-DSM
4h 59m1 stop
Delta Logo
6:30 pm - 12:13 amDSM-IAD
4h 43m1 stop
$339Delta
Find Deal
Thu, Oct 2 - Sun, Oct 5
United Airlines Logo
5:20 pm - 9:50 pmBWI-DSM
5h 30m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
6:15 am - 4:14 pmDSM-BWI
8h 59m1 stop
$347United Airlines
Find Deal

Everything you should know

Top airlines
Frontier
Cheapest • from $259 (round-trip)
Southwest
Best reviews • 8.0 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
September
Cheapest • 10% price drop
May
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Cheapest round-trip
$239
Overall average: $410
Multiple Airlines
Thu 10/2Sun 10/5
BWI - DSM • 2 stops
Cheapest non-stop
$334
Typical prices: $373-435
American Airlines
Fri 10/17Sun 10/19
DCA - DSM • Non-stop
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Des Moines!
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.

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 $353 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 September, where tickets cost $390 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and August, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $573 and $448 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 $399, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$92
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 6% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 2% lower on average.
Flight from Baltimore 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 $92 for a one-way ticket and $239 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 Baltimore/Washington 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?

    oneworld is the only airline alliance operating flights between Washington, D.C. and Des Moines.

  • 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, Southwest or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Washington, D.C. to Des Moines are Southwest and Delta. With an average price for the route of $437 and an overall rating of 8.0, Southwest is the most popular choice. Delta is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $336 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 $146 or less one-way and $401 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.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4242 reviews
8.6Crew
7.5Entertainment
8.1Boarding
8.0Comfort
7.0Food
Airline reviews

I wish they had movie screens in the headrests. The seats are much improved, more legroom and recently renovated. Bathroom was clean. Staff was outstanding!!

10.0 ExcellentG, Sep 2025LAS - ATL
Read more Southwest reviews

I wish they had movie screens in the headrests. The seats are much improved, more legroom and recently renovated. Bathroom was clean. Staff was outstanding!!

As always, the entire Southwest experience was wonderful, from online booking to flight to baggage retrieval. Very grateful.

The weather could have been better. There was a 40 minute ATC delay in SFO because of marine fog and a micro cell storm delayed landing and take-off at Nashville. The gate was changed 5 minutes from boarding from gate B3 to gate C23 at Nashville airport.

After being assaulted by a flight attendant I was then brushed off as oh well because he long braids didn’t mean to whip me in the eye. I have filed complaints and will see. But like any other issue I’ve had with kayak involved it’s been trash. Last time I’ll be using your app

AC sub par. WiFi not working correctly. Ac sucked. Seats very narrow.

Near 4 hour flight with only 1 service. Had to use call button to request water. Internet and power not working until into flight. Internet would stop working during flight.

Southwest's seats are the least comfortable I have ever sat in.

The cabin was quiet for the redeye flight. The area was clean. The staff was great. The 787 Max was in good condition. Drawbacks were that the seat widths were tight for some passengers. The seat padding was at best average and for a long flight uncomfortable.

Southwest like most American domestic airlines, is a mediocre airline. But it is among the cheapest. Oh well.

My flight was delayed 50 minutes and we were rushed to board to then sit for 15 minutes until the pilot arrived. Unacceptable since we could have waited to board. Also the delayed flight was updated AFTER we boarded to more than the 10 minutes as originally stated.

Perfect flight both ways. On time, courteous staff, plane comfortable and cool. Best domestic flights I’ve had in awhile.

Really low quality food especially for an international flight. The crew also was surprisingly unpleasant except couple of ladies. I know we were not in first class but that’s no reason to treat customers as less.

Flight delayed for two and half hours and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues. No mechanic onsite to fix so had to send one from LAX.

Crew was good. The reservation got mixed up and they didn't have my TSA number. I am also a Silver Medallion and wasn't able to use Sky Priority.

Delta made it easy, comfortable and timely. The crew was fantastic.

This route with Delta always has delays or is cancelled. Aircrafts seem smaller and older. I fly Delta quite a bit - haven’t had issues with the international flights. But this route has always been the troublesome one

Three seats in first class were broken and while they were able to still acommodate us it was looking very touch and go and they had others they could not acommodate

Mechanic delay in addition to a 2 hour change in takeoff time was frustrating.

Delayed due to thunderstorms and no in-flight service due to rough weather — both of which are out of Delta’s control. Flight was good overall.

The flight attendants in SLC were rude. I arrived 40 minutes early to gate. Ticket said I needed check in for seat assignments and tried check in and attendants said they weren’t doing it. And proceeded to never call me to give me a ticket so when time to board I received the very last seat. Please relay to employees to do their job better..,

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

Was on time until within 1 hour of flight-how does that happen? Staff very friendly.

I liked the choice of lemon ginger tea. I think stewardesses can be more considerate of older people needs.

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

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

I fly UAL 7-8 times per year. This flight was not up to snuff because it boarded very late "due to unexpected delays in restocking the plane" and yet Flight Aware showed the plane had landed some 10 hours earlier--so I think they could have planned accordingly. The FA's were nice but harried. The video system had to be rebooted 3-4 times. The food service was rather abrupt; they forgot my row and when I asked for my meal, they brought it with some impatience. Overall, the flight was fine, but the little details made it feel somewhat mundane and hurried.

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.

Given it’s a red-eye into Charolotte, we didn’t get any food. The survey does not include “N/A” so the rating will be skewed.

Great. Quick and quiet and east. The breakfast choices were a welcome surprise!

American airlines suck they delay the flights all the time made me sleep in an airport because my flight was delayed and I miss my connecting flight

There's nothing I liked about it. For first off I scheduled this trip two weeks in advance then they delayed my flight which messed up my whole trip. So I scheduled it for the following weekend thinking there won't be a delay and guess what as soon as I got to the airport we said in the airplane on the tarmac for an hour and a half. Not only was it delayed I missed my connecting flight meaning I had to stay the night at Dallas-Fort Worth airport sleeping on the floor. I will tell you this I will never fly American airlines ever again I have had nothing but horrible experience with them and I just throw money at them

The stewardess hit me with the food kart twice on the head and didn't say I'm sorry once. The same stewardess gave me a warm Apple Juice with No ice. The Flight was delayed for Departure 6 times, starting from 2:36pm, finally taking off 7:50pm. I was late picking up my child from the sitter by 3 hours.

Having to reschedule flights a day later, they loaded by luggage on the wrong plane from Little rock now I have to HOPE they deliver it to where im staying like they said would. International flight crew was very disgruntled and not very friendly.

It took way too long to diagnose and solve the problem of a broken crew member cabin seat. Though compensation for the volunteer who left the flight was very kind.

We fly American Airlines quite a bit. And we always fly business class when traveling internationally. We were a bit disappointed with the comfort of this particular plane as well as the entertainment options.

The AA staff person who checked our bags was curt and almost rude. The FA also seemed unhappy doing her job. Overall it was like riding the school bus back in grade school.

They are still charging me after taking 466 and 833 for round trip from AR to to Bradley airport from 19 to 21. Then poor experience. Am hurt and I will say it on social media. Please stay away from this airline. I see in my bank account they are still taking 644. Am trying to stop it. I used to fly United airlines and I suggest that if you don't want extra charges and good service you go back there. American airlines delayed my flight again and I was late for my meeting, no recompensation but charging me over and over.

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports

Not what you’re looking for? Find thousands of other hotels, flights, car rentals and package deals with KAYAK.