DSM - SFO

$119 Find Cheap Flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco departing on 4/25. 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

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Des Moines to San Francisco, 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 Des Moines to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
Travelers love KAYAK
41,299,237 searches in the past 7 days on KAYAK

Save 23% 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.

Cheap Flight Deals from Des Moines to San Francisco (DSM-SFO)

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

Recent round-trip flight deals from Des Moines to San Francisco

KAYAK's recommended round-trip deals from the most popular airlines that fly from Des Moines to San Francisco.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.
Choose your dates
8:17 pm - 12:44 amDSM-SFO
6h 27m1 stop
6:00 am - 7:19 pmSFO-DSM
11h 19m1 stop
$278Frontier
Find Deal
Fri, Apr 11 - Mon, Apr 14
7:30 pm - 12:31 amDSM-SFO
7h 01m1 stop
6:20 am - 6:30 pmSFO-DSM
10h 10m1 stop
$288Frontier
Find Deal
Wed, May 7 - Wed, May 14
1:12 pm - 7:16 pmDSM-SFO
8h 04m1 stop
12:21 am - 1:28 pmSFO-DSM
11h 07m1 stop
$350American Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, May 7 - Tue, May 13
2:15 pm - 8:15 pmDSM-SFO
8h 00m1 stop
10:59 pm - 9:37 amSFO-DSM
8h 38m1 stop
$351Delta
Find Deal
Tue, Apr 22 - Thu, Apr 24
2:17 pm - 9:05 pmDSM-SFO
8h 48m1 stop
12:49 am - 10:19 amSFO-DSM
7h 30m1 stop
$354Delta
Find Deal
Tue, Jun 10 - Mon, Jun 16
1:45 pm - 11:10 pmDSM-SFO
11h 25m2 stops
5:10 am - 1:00 pmSFO-DSM
5h 50m1 stop
$359Southwest
Find Deal
Tue, Jun 10 - Tue, Jun 17
12:20 pm - 10:40 pmDSM-SFO
12h 20m2 stops
12:15 pm - 10:20 pmSFO-DSM
8h 05m2 stops
$361Southwest
Find Deal
Wed, Jun 4 - Tue, Jun 10
1:59 pm - 10:51 pmDSM-SFO
10h 52m1 stop
12:21 am - 1:13 pmSFO-DSM
10h 52m1 stop
$368American Airlines
Find Deal
Sun, Apr 20 - Thu, Apr 24
5:45 am - 3:24 pmDSM-SFO
11h 39m2 stops
12:10 am - 10:30 amSFO-DSM
8h 20m1 stop
$439United Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, May 7 - Tue, May 13
8:47 am - 1:31 pmDSM-SFO
6h 44m1 stop
12:10 am - 10:30 amSFO-DSM
8h 20m1 stop
$455United Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Apr 29 - Thu, May 1

KAYAK's insights & trends for Des Moines to San Francisco flights

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

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Des Moines to San Francisco clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.
Your flight ticket price will generally be cheaper if you fly to San Francisco on a Wednesday and more expensive on a Sunday. On your return trip to Des Moines, you should consider flying back on a Wednesday, and avoid Sundays for better deals.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, 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 Des Moines to San Francisco is September, where tickets cost $354 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are March and June, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $520 and $515 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.
To get a below average price on the flight from Des Moines to San Francisco, you should book around 3 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 15 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low season

January

High season

September

Cheapest flight

$119
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 22% lower on average.
Flight from Des Moines to San Francisco

When to book flights from Des Moines to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Des Moines to San Francisco 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 Des Moines to San Francisco

  • What is the cheapest flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco was $119 for a one-way ticket and $278 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Des Moines and San Francisco?

    A passport is not required to fly from Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    Des Moines and San Francisco are both served by 1 main airport. You will leave Des Moines from Des Moines and will be arriving at San Francisco.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Des Moines to San Francisco?

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

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to San Francisco from Des Moines?

    Denver is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco, Southwest or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Des Moines to San Francisco are Southwest and Delta. With an average price for the route of $441 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 $477 and an overall rating of 8.0.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    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 Des Moines to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Des Moines to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Des Moines 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 Des Moines to San Francisco?

    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 San Francisco with an airline and back to Des Moines with another airline. Booking your flights between Des Moines and SFO can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Des Moines to San Francisco?

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

See more FAQs

Top 5 airlines serving from Des Moines to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Des Moines to San Francisco. 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 Des Moines to San Francisco? 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 4274 reviews
7.6Entertainment
7.1Food
8.1Comfort
8.2Boarding
8.7Crew
Airline reviews

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

10.0 ExcellentPaul, Mar 2025BNA - BUR
Read more Southwest reviews

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Fine, but how to board on SW versus othrr airlines, is just lame. Goood staff though and all was solid otherwise.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a hell hole of an airport. It is the new LaGuardia. Everything Cobbled together. Security gates closed. Terri directional signage

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

The plane arrived 25 minutes late, and the Wi-Fi was slower than it usually is.

Forget beverage, they didn't even have water for half the passangers?

Can not wait for seating change to reduce the amount of pre boards - it’s disheartening the abuse. And then then deplaning

The crew was nice. Boarding sucked. Instead of loading from the back to the front people just sat wherever and you had to wait for them to move to get to a seat. And the flight was 25 minutes delayed.

Seats are much much more comfortable than United, which is what I usually fly

If I pay extra for "comfort+" I expect leg room where I can stretch my legs. I was seated with an attendant's seat blocking my feet. Knee space was fine but my feet had less room than the non-"comfort+" seats. Also, don't go cheap on food when you have flights of 3+ hours. It's insulting.

Only one side of the heafphone jack work. Crew was friendly and helpful.

Great. Flight departed early and arrived early. Deplaning and baggage claim ww were quick.

They separated our seats and moved us to the back of the plane. Hundreds of dollars and thousands of miles used and this was my platinum member experience.

AC barely worked on a 50 minute flight. It was very warm the whole flight. Flight was very bumpy and hard landing.

Got on the plane and then needed to deboard the plane because they didn’t have any pilots?

The flight was canceled two hours before departure, it took over five hours to rebook us on another flight.

Rough day of travel all the way around. Wrong info given to us multiple times and mistakes in their booking making our trip 10 hours longer than planned. I’m bummed because I fly Delta all the time and love them. Mistakes happen. Just bummed that this was a rare trip our whole family was traveling together.

Meh. A late flight meant I missed my connections, and a 2pm LAX arrival turned into gettin in after midnight.

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

headphone jack didnt work for the first flight and not much variety

The agents was very rude and they charged me $50 for a carry-on bag saying that it was too big and then I saw someone going on a plane with the same size bag as me

For the most part united was a good experience, how ever when they came by with the snacks and water, they completely passed by my wife and I. As we were in separate rows. On a 5 hr flight we were not offered water

Fantastic crew. Flight was delayed at last minute but we were given updates every 20 minutes and the crew was so friendly and considerate. I miss the touch screens on the back of the seats, wish they would bring that back though.

Beijing PEK to SFO. I had an economy seat on this flight. The seat comfort was acceptable. My main complaint is with the FA’s lack of personality and absence from servicing the plane, specifically restroom care (I wish I could share a pic of the restroom that I captured) and care of travelers—drink cart/availability of drinks. I'm amazed at the level of service on other International travel where a passenger is most often appreciated.

Awful. Worst airline I have ever been on. Crew were among the rudest people I have ever dealt with. United staff members were rude and disrespectful. My flight was delayed, causing me to miss a connecting flight. I understand things happen, but when staff start lying about what actually happened, that is when I have an issue. Just be honest, really it isn’t that hard. I’m being very honest with this review and I don’t find this difficult what so ever. In fact, because of United Airlines, my Christmas holiday was off to a really rocky start. As someone who has traveled across the world, it has only been United that I have had a truly awful experience.

Good flight. On time. Boarding and seating was easy. Crew were really friendly, yet professional. Bathroom (by cockpit) was small but serviceable. Some the seats were showing some notable wear & tear, but were comfy. Very happy UA customer. TY! 🤛🏽💗

We were delayed 3x and because I didn’t purchase my tickets directly from United Airlines I was told I Have to take care of it myself so I called Underpricer and they helped me but before I changed my flights I took the risk of sticking by what my tickets were and was lucky to have gotten on the original all flight with only 15 mins before take off. not sure if I will do this again

Everything good until we waited for jet bridge at SFO. Then pilot gets on speaker & said it won’t reach plane- too short, need to go to different gate. Then 5 min later, adjusted plane/jetbridge & all ok?!?

One bottle of water and a package of cookies for comfort plus. We had to literally beg a flight attendant for an extra bottle of water later in the flight due to feeling dehydrated.

Flight boarded from Gate 39 at OGG, the farthest gate in the terminal. There were no Hawaiian themed amenities for the flight. The first class service was mediocre at best; I received not special welcome or recognition as an executive platinum member of American Advantage program. The flight attendants were more concerned with their cell phones than saying "thank you" to the passengers as we disembarked. Fortunately, the flight arrived at LAX a few minutes early.

Bigger seats. Board back to front! Disembark front to back!

Extraordinary service in business class, and very good breakfast and snacks. A really lovely flight.

This flight didn’t happen because AA agents didn’t let us board the flight

Plane was pretty clean, staff was friendly and helpful, flight left about on time arrived early. Took a long time to board and get off the plane - carry on items didn't have enough room so people had to move all around to find places.

The service and food needs to improve to catch up with other international flights

Would have been good to have a meal since it was a 5.5 hour flight

We boarded after several delays due to mechanical failure and a gate change. The seat cushion in the exit row was very compressed and offered no cushion, making the four-hour journey reasonably uncomfortable. The WiFi worked for a few people, but for most, it did not, and you cannot get entertainment unless you can connect—American Airlines flights do not have seatback screens, and you must use your mobile phone.

Terrible. Internet/kiosk glitch prevented baggage checkin. Line at ticket co in Ter was under serviced and did not move. Agents did not call for flight but rather allowed time to pass. Then told each person as they reached the front if line that it was too late to check bags so they’d have to rebook flights. At least 15 people missed the flight as a result of this incompetence.

They switched my flight to Spirit, Never using Kayak again,

i was denied boarding, even though i had an assigned seat, checked in on line and was at airport early. Then they refused to fully refund the the fair and replacement fair because they claimed it was "no show/denied boarding". I will never fly this airline again

I was not permitted on my flight and had to purchase another flight ticket to Las Vegas.

This was a full flight and I was in Zone 1, however upon boarding, several other zones went in ahead of me, leaving no overhead cabin space near my seat. This created a challenging disembarkment process.

Frontier had yet another flight cancellation. Have never made a complete round trip with this airline without at least one leg getting cancelled. Miserable flights - dirty, uncomfortable planes that apparently always have issues since I've had multiple delays and cancellations with them.

Flight was delayed 3 times, would have been nice to have received text message instead of email notifications. Frontier app wasn’t even updated accordingly, no gate number disclosed. No agent at front desk of gate to inform of delay. Very confused and left if the dark

It was a no frills flight. Would have liked to be able to charge my device

The flight itself was ok and the pilot was very communicative. However, our flight was delayed for almost 3 hours, the gate was changed 3 times and there was no communication as we were waiting. The flight staff was overall a little crabby...I understand as they probably had a long day but we all did.

Asked for a seat change to be w my wife at the gate they were great in sorting it out to make it happen

Everything went as planned. Crew was great. Seats were still not that comfortable.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Des Moines to San Francisco

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.