Des Moines, Iowa · Chauffeured airport transfers
Des Moines International (DSM) Car Service & Chauffeured Transportation
An airport rebuilding itself, and a chauffeur who read the new rules.
Des Moines is building a new terminal around a working one, and the first casualty was the terminal front: nobody may wait outside it now. Executive Transportation meets you inside at baggage claim instead, and meets private and charter arrivals at the FBO.
- 2004Chauffeured since
- 24/7Dispatch answers
- UniformedChauffeurs, every trip
- One quoteFor the whole vehicle
Why riders book Executive Transportation
Chauffeured since 2004Dispatch answered around the clockUniformed chauffeursSedans to 35-passenger coaches
Know the airport
What to know about Des Moines International
Des Moines International Airport, code DSM, runs 12 gates today and is building a replacement terminal that the airport says opens to passengers in early 2027 with seven more. The construction has already changed how anyone is allowed to pick you up, which is the part worth knowing before you land. Private and charter flights are unaffected: they work the general aviation side.
Waiting outside the terminal is over
The airport is blunt about it. Waiting out front is no longer allowed, vehicles may only stop if the passenger is already present and ready to be picked up, and anything left unattended or waiting without a passenger will be ticketed. Staff and security actively monitor it. That is why your chauffeur meets you inside at baggage claim rather than idling out front while you find your bag.
EZ-PICKUP moved the meeting into the garage
In its place the airport built EZ-PICKUP: numbered stalls inside the parking garage where a driver waits up to two hours free while staying with the vehicle, texts the stall number, and the passenger follows the signage out to it. App-based rides were moved to their own dedicated area in the same garage, and taxis sit at the baggage claim exit.
A new terminal is going up next door
The airport calls the program Lift DSM. It says a brand new terminal opens to passengers in early 2027 with seven gates on top of the existing 12, a further phase adds four more toward the end of the decade, and 1,100 parking spaces already opened in July 2025. Expect the ground layout to keep moving until it is done.
How a pre-arranged car works around it
The airport lists limousine and car service companies but publishes no dedicated livery lane, so a pre-arranged car works the designated pickup arrangements like everyone else. Your chauffeur meets you inside at baggage claim, takes the luggage, and walks you out to the vehicle in whichever area the airport has designated that week.
Pickup rules, EZ-PICKUP, terminal program and parking rates checked on the airport’s own site, flydsm.com, on September 17, 2026. This airport is under construction, so confirm anything time sensitive before you travel.
DSM airport transportation
Departures and arrivals at Des Moines International
Departures are simple. Arrivals are the half that the construction has rewritten.
Departures
Your door to the DSM terminal
- Send the flightWhich carrier, which flight number, and what time it is scheduled to leave. Drop-offs are still allowed at the terminal frontage, so this end of the trip is the easy one.
- The pickup time comes off the flightWe work back from what the airline asks of you, add the run, and add a cushion for the construction detours on the airport approach. You get a time, not a guess.
- Bags handled at both endsThe chauffeur loads at your door and unloads at the terminal. A party of six with checked bags is a vehicle question, not a logistics problem.
- Dropped where the airline isThe car stops, the luggage comes out, and you walk in. No lot, no shuttle loop, no reading the parking signs in the dark.
Arrivals
Landing, with your chauffeur at baggage claim
- Give dispatch the flight numberFlight number and scheduled arrival at booking, and a call if either moves. Somebody answers the phone at any hour, which is the only thing that actually changes a booked pickup.
- Your chauffeur waits inside DSM baggage claimBecause the airport will not allow a vehicle to wait out front, nobody from us is out there. Your chauffeur is inside at baggage claim with your name, and the bags are ours from the carousel to the trunk.
- The chauffeur walks you outYour chauffeur walks you from the carousel to the vehicle, standing wherever the airport currently allows a pre-arranged car. No circling, no ticket, no phone tag in the arrivals hall.
- Private arrivals bypass all of itA private or charter aircraft comes into Modern Aviation or Signature on the general aviation side, and the car is at that door. None of the terminal rules apply.
Private jets and charter
Private jet and charter flights at Des Moines International
Des Moines carries a lot of corporate aviation, and the general aviation side has been untouched by the terminal work. Executive Transportation drives to the aircraft with the same uniformed chauffeur and the same quote for the whole vehicle.
- 01
Pickup at the FBO door
Two operators serve this field, so the booking starts with which one you are filed into. The car waits at that door while the aircraft is still taxiing, and no terminal rule touches you.
- 02
Luggage loaded plane-side
Ramp access permitting, luggage goes from the aircraft to the trunk without passing through a building at all. Otherwise it changes hands at the FBO door, with the car already standing there.
- 03
Crew and passengers, one booking
The crew going to a hotel and the passengers going to a plant or an office ride on the same booking. One coordinator, one confirmation, no second car circling the perimeter road.
- 04
A Sprinter for the delegation
Fourteen seats, a stand-up aisle and room for hard cases and sample kits. A larger party moves to a coach, and it is still quoted by the hour as one vehicle rather than as seats.
Where general aviation runs at DSM
- Modern Aviation2700 SW McKinley, Des Moines, Iowa 50321One of the two fixed base operators the airport lists itself, with full aircraft servicing, transient hangar and tie-down space.
- Signature Aviation5600 Fleur Drive, Des Moines, Iowa 50321The second operator on the airport’s own list. Tell us which one your crew filed for and the car waits at that door, not the other.
Give us the tail number, the operator and the FBO when you book, and call dispatch if the arrival moves. We prefer 72 hours’ notice, but call anytime. Short-notice trips depend on availability.
Executive Transportation is a ground transportation company. We drive to the aircraft, we do not charter it.
Request a QuoteCall (217) 523-5466Private jet shuttle
Why be driven
Four reasons to be driven to DSM
An airport rebuilding itself is a poor place to improvise. Everything below is what a chauffeur takes off the traveler at both ends of the run.
One figure, and it buys the car
Quoted by the hour for the vehicle and chauffeur, with the minimum stated up front, so a coordinator builds the hours with the construction detours already in them. Five travelers on one flight share one figure.
No lot, no shuttle loop, no stall number
The chauffeur loads at your door and meets you where the airport allows. You never ride an economy shuttle or hunt for a numbered stall in a garage.
Hours of interstate, not spent driving
This is a long run across two states. In the back seat it is working time, sleeping time, or time on the phone with the office.
Chauffeurs who read the airport’s own rules
This company has been running airport work since 2004. When a field changes its pickup policy in the middle of a construction program, knowing that before arrival is the entire job.
We prefer 72 hours’ notice, but call anytime. Short-notice trips depend on availability.
The fleet
Vehicles for the Des Moines run
Every Des Moines transfer is quoted by the hour for the whole vehicle, so headcount and luggage are the only two numbers a coordinator needs to size it.
Executive Sedan
Two travelers and their carry-ons. The quiet default for a plant visit or a single meeting.
View vehicle
Luxury SUV
Winter coats, checked bags and equipment cases. The right call when the trunk is the constraint.
View vehicle
Sprinter Van
A crew or a project team on one manifest, with the luggage in the back instead of on laps.
View vehicle
Groups of 15 to 35
Trade delegations, association boards and conference groups. Shuttle coaches seat 22 to 35, limousine coaches 25 to 30.
Shuttle CoachLimousine CoachWhatever the size, the chauffeur turns up in uniform. A stretch limousine seats 8 to 10 for a party that wants to arrive as one.
See the full fleetRequest a QuoteCities we connect to DSM
Where our Des Moines runs start
Executive Transportation drives to Des Moines International in both directions on one quote for the whole vehicle. These are the cities the DSM work starts from most often, and each has its own page.
Each figure is a clear-road run to the terminal. Give a coordinator the flight rather than the drive: the pickup is built backward from your departure, and the airport approach itself is a construction zone.
These are calibrated clear-road figures, so treat each one as the best case. Pickups also run from Springfield, Jacksonville, Galesburg and any address on the way west.
One vehicle, one quote, one chauffeur for the whole run west.
Park or be driven
Park at DSM, or be driven to it
The airport publishes a rate for every lot it runs. The gap between them is the argument for taking the shuttle, and the drive itself is the argument for not parking at all.
- Cheapest economy lot$7Per day in the Red lot, with a free shuttle that loops to the terminal day and night.
- Garage, long term$21Per day on the long term levels of the garage, which is where the walk in is shortest.
- Garage, hourly$48The hourly daily maximum, for anyone who parks in the wrong part of the same building.
A week in the garage plus the fuel both ways is a different number than most travelers expect. See what goes into a chauffeured quote.
Get a quote for the whole vehicleParking rates from flydsm.com, checked September 17, 2026. Our vehicles are quoted by the hour with the minimum stated up front, so ask a coordinator what your own run comes to rather than working from these numbers.
Book your DSM transfer
Book Des Moines with a uniformed chauffeur.
Send a coordinator the flight, the headcount and the bag count. The reply names the vehicle, the chauffeur and the pickup time, and that one figure covers the whole car.
(217) 523-5466We prefer 72 hours’ notice, but call anytime. Short-notice trips depend on availability.
Airport to airport
Popular transfers between DSM and other airports
Iowa spreads its air service across several fields, and the cheapest fare is rarely at the one nearest you. Executive Transportation drives between them on a single booking.
Each card is the drive between Des Moines International and the airport named, in either direction. Put the inbound and the outbound on the booking, each with its scheduled time.
Open-road times, the driving and nothing else. Iowa winter is the variable no table carries.
Both airports on one confirmation, and one quote for the car.
What riders say
Three bookings, in the riders’ own words
Executive Transportation saved the day after another bus company fell through last minute.
The scheduling process was seamless, and the timely pickup from Bloomington airport made my journey stress-free.
Our group of 7 needed a ride from Chicago O’Hare to Springfield. The vehicle was clean and comfortable.
Companies sending the same people to Iowa on a repeating schedule book it through corporate airport transfers rather than arranging each trip from scratch.
Groups arriving for a conference or a plant tour usually start with event transportation and hang the airport legs off it.
DSM questions
What people ask before booking a DSM car
The answers below use the Des Moines Airport Authority’s own published guidance, checked on flydsm.com in September 2026, plus our own calibrated drive figures.
Can a car wait for me outside the terminal at Des Moines International?
No. The airport states that waiting out front is no longer allowed during construction, that vehicles may only stop if the passenger is already present and ready, and that anything waiting without a passenger will be ticketed. Executive Transportation meets you inside at baggage claim instead, so nobody from us is waiting out front.
See how airport transportation works.
Where does the chauffeur meet you at DSM?
Executive Transportation meets you inside at baggage claim. Your chauffeur is waiting there with your name, takes the luggage, and walks you out to wherever the airport currently allows a pre-arranged vehicle to stand. Nobody from us idles out front, which is what the current rules require of everyone.
Call (217) 523-5466 if you want the plan confirmed in advance.
What is EZ-PICKUP at Des Moines?
EZ-PICKUP is the airport’s own answer to the closed terminal front: numbered stalls inside the parking garage where a driver waits up to two hours free while staying with the vehicle, then texts the stall number to the arriving passenger. It replaced waiting out front, and app-based rides now use the same garage.
Book a chauffeur instead and request a quote.
What happens if my flight into Des Moines is late?
Executive Transportation relies on the call, because the car is held against the flight number and scheduled arrival you gave at booking rather than a board we watch. Call dispatch as soon as the airline tells you and the pickup moves with it. Somebody answers around the clock.
Call (217) 523-5466 to move a booked pickup.
How is the price for a DSM car service set?
Executive Transportation sets a DSM figure from hours on the vehicle and chauffeur, and the minimum hours are written into the quote before the run west is booked. The hours the run takes, the vehicle the luggage needs and whether the return leg is held on the same booking all move the figure. Because the price is for the car, a party of six divides one figure between them.
Request a Quote with your dates.
Which vehicle should a group book for Des Moines?
Executive Transportation fits two or three travelers into an executive sedan, five or six into a luxury SUV, fourteen into a Sprinter van, and parties up to thirty-five onto a coach. Bags decide it as often as people do, so send a coordinator both numbers.
Compare the full fleet.
Do you pick up from private jets and charter flights at DSM?
Executive Transportation meets private, charter and corporate aircraft at the fixed base operator rather than the passenger terminal. Des Moines has two, Modern Aviation and Signature, so tell us which one you are filed into. Luggage moves plane-side where the operator allows it.
Send the tail number when you book the chauffeur.
Can you drive between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids?
Executive Transportation drives Des Moines International to The Eastern Iowa Airport and back as one booking, which is what a canceled connection or a better fare out of the other field usually needs. The bags stay in the vehicle the whole way.
See the Cedar Rapids page.
Keep reading
More on DSM and the fields around it
Reading on how a booking like this is priced, plus the fields and the services around it.
From the blog
Cost and group logistics, written out in full.
Airports near DSM
When the flight is not out of Des Moines.
- CIDThe Eastern Iowa AirportEast, and the state’s second field.
- MLIQuad Cities InternationalOn the river, and the halfway option.
- BRLBurlingtonSoutheast Iowa, small and close to the state line.
- DBQDubuque RegionalNortheast, in the tri-state corner.
- SPIAbraham Lincoln CapitalThe Illinois field these runs set out from.
Service and corporate
Where this run sits in the service list.
Book the ride
Request your DSM ride
Three things riders point to on a Des Moines run.
One hourly figure for the whole car
The vehicle is quoted by the hour with the minimum stated up front, and the detours are planned into those hours. Six travelers split one figure.
A pickup that fits the current rules
The terminal front is closed to waiting. Your chauffeur meets you at baggage claim instead of working it out in the arrivals hall.
Dispatch answers around the clock
First flights out and last flights in are most of this work, and a person picks up the phone at both ends.
Photo credits
- The terminal frontage at Des Moines International Airport, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Manop, CC BY-SA 4.0, source.