Chicago to Des Moines flight
Flights from Chicago to Des Moines start at €55.01 and take 4h 13m at their fastest.
The Flights from Chicago to Des Moines starts at €55.01 and takes 4h 13m door to door, run by 7 operators over 510 km, with around 56 departures a day. Fares bottom out about 60 days before departure.
- 4h 13mDoor to door
- 1h 3mMoving
- €55.01From
- 125.5 kgCO2
The cheapest and the fastest on September 29, 2026
Two journeys we can sell today, with the service number each operator files them under.
No bookable itinerary on the day this page prices, so none is shown.
Airlines
Speed, flexibility and what is on board. Nothing here is a rating, because we have not earned one.
| Operator | From |
|---|---|
 American Airlines | €48.52 |
 SkyWest | €49.70 |
| United Airlines | €47.93 |
 Southwest Airlines | €48.52 |
 Republic Airways | €47.93 |
 Air Wisconsin | €49.70 |
 Air Canada | €49.11 |
That is the traveling done. What happens after you walk out into Des Moines is not something we sell.
Looking for somewhere to stay in Des Moines?
Hotels and apartments near downtown, most of them with free cancellation, on a map that shows what is walkable.
Search Des Moines on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Chicago to Des Moines
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €29.3390 days
- €17.7860 days
- €19.4345 days
- €21.6330 days
- €27.1321 days
- €34.2814 days
- €40.887 days
- €40.333 days
- €56.281 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €17.78.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time is 217 percent. The most expensive point is €56.28, 1 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 60 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Which departure day costs least
Median cheapest fare for each weekday, taken across the next three weeks of real prices.
- €30.98Sun
- €27.13Mon
- €26.58Tue
- €28.23Wed
- €36.48Thu
- €34.28Fri
- €33.18Sat
Where you leave from and where you arrive
The stations, airports and ports each mode on this corridor actually uses.
Chicago
- ORD
- MDW
Des Moines
- DSM
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 510 km against 495 km in a straight line, a detour of 2 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- First and last departure
- The first service of the day leaves Chicago at 06:11 and the last at 20:53, across 56 departures. The return direction keeps its own timetable, so the times back are not these times reversed.
Flights against the other ways to make this journey
The same corridor, door to door, with every mode that runs it.
| Mode | Door to door | Moving | At the ends | From | CO2 | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | 4h 9m | 3h 25m | 44m | €64.69 | 16.3 kg | 12 |
| Flight | 4h 13m | 1h 3m | 3h 10m | €55.01 | 125.5 kg | 56 |
| Coach | 7h 17m | 6h 33m | 44m | €26.58 | 13.4 kg | 12 |
Questions about Chicago to Des Moines
The questions people actually ask about this trip, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines take?
The Flight from Chicago to Des Moines takes 4h 13m door to door, of which 1h 3m is spent moving. The route runs 510 km. The difference between the two times is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end, which every time on this page includes.
How much does the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines cost?
The Flight from Chicago to Des Moines starts at €55.01 for one passenger, checked on September 29, 2026. A typical fare is €55.60. Both are the total including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so the price here is the price at checkout.
Who runs the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines?
7 operators run the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines: American Airlines, SkyWest, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Republic Airways. Between them they file around 56 departures a day. The operator table on this page compares them on fare, journey time, cruising speed, fare conditions and what is provided on board.
Which terminal does the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines use?
The Flight from Chicago to Des Moines leaves from Chicago MDW and arrives at Des Moines DSM. Allow about 3h 10m for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one. That time is already inside every door to door figure quoted on this page.
Is the Flight the best way from Chicago to Des Moines?
Traveling from Chicago to Des Moines by Coach costs €26.58 and takes 7h 17m door to door, against 4h 13m by Flight. Which is better depends on whether the money or the hours matter more on this trip. The comparison table on this page shows every mode side by side.
When should I book the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines?
Fares for the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines bottom out around 60 days ahead, at €17.78. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive lead time across the window is 217 percent, measured on September 29, 2026. Booking inside the final week has consistently cost more.
How much CO2 does the Flight from Chicago to Des Moines produce?
The Flight from Chicago to Des Moines produces about 125.5 kg of CO2 per passenger over 510 km, which works out at roughly 246 grams per passenger kilometer. That figure is for the whole journey and for one traveler, not for the vehicle.
Where these numbers come from
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Schedules, seat counts and fares are generated by our own model until the supplier contracts are signed. Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance are real. We would rather say that on every page than let a modeled number pass for a filed one.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Chicago to Des Moines on September 11, 2026: 510 km of route against 495 km in a straight line, 56 services a day, 7 operators, a cheapest fare of €55.01, and 4h 13m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.