Flying A Budget Airline? An Honest Take From A Mom

When my husband and I first started discussing possible spring break plans, part of our calculus was the price of flights. With five tickets to purchase, this is an understandable constraint for many families! After some research and number crunching, it was undeniable that flying a low-cost airline - Frontier, to be precise - would be literally a fraction of the cost of major carriers. Here’s how we decided to bite the bullet and try out Frontier plus an honest review of our experience.

The Cost

All in all, our 5 round-trip tickets from BWI to PHX plus the cost of 2 checked bags came out to just over $500. Total. Yup, you read that correctly. And bonus - the flights were direct, which many big carriers did not offer. The cost was the tipping point for us and we decided that we could 100% handle a less cushy flight experience in order to get this deal. Are flights always this much of a bargain? Nope. I checked for flights to Omaha, where my brother’s family lives, and they were far more expensive than other carriers. Finding these deals really depend on your city of origin and final destination.

Another way we were able to score such great deals is by taking advantage of Frontier’s Kids Fly Free ticket options. We got 2 of our 3 kids’ tickets completely for free because we had flexibility in our dates and could choose the less-desired days of the week to fly, when these Discount Den fares were offered.

Logistics At The Airport & Tips

When we arrived at BWI to depart, there was virtually no line at Frontier. This of course isn’t always the case (there was a massive line when we departed Phoenix), but it gave us a positive start! Here’s what we did to make sure the processs was as seamless as possible:

1) We made sure our luggage fit the necessary criteria. This meant bag dimensions and weight. We checked two bags and weighed our bags beforehand at home to ensure we wouldn’t have to do any last-minute shuffling at the airport. With flying a budget airline, bag fees are how they make extra money, so make absolutely sure you are within the necessary limits and you will be just fine. While we had to pay for 2 checked bags (each way), we each were allowed a “personal item” for free. This is similar to basic economy on other airlines where it needs to be a bag you can fit under your seat.

2) We printed out our boarding passes in advance. If you need assistance doing this at the airport, you will be charged. Another option is to download the Frontier Airlines App to get your boarding passes (which we did for our return flight since we had no printer at our AirBNB).

3) Tag your own luggage. There are self-service kiosks where you print out and tag your own checked luggage. To be completely honest this one threw me off a bit, but it’s easy once you’ve done it.

4) Tag gate-check items. We brought my son’s convertible car seat and car seat travel cart (which got loads of compliments from two other traveling families!). Like other airlines, you can gate-check car seats and strollers for free. Just ask for the blue gate-check tag at the baggage drop or at the gate and the staff will gladly fill it out for you (but you must attach yourself).

The Flights

Real talk? The flights were FINE. Zero complaints. The seats aren’t as plush as some other airlines but for a 4 hour direct flight, none of us found any fault in them. The staff were friendlier than I was expecting, having heard a lot of negativity about Frontier and other budget airlines beforehand. Like with luggage, Frontier will charge you for everything they can on the flight. But when you realize this is how prices are kept so low, it’s really understandable. Complimentary water is offered, and you can purchase other drinks and snacks. We simply brought one “personal item” bag full of snacks each way. I also appreciated how the flight attendants came through the cabin several times in order to collect trash (which was much appreciated as my kids were devouring Z-bars and apples and lollipops!). I also generally dislike checking luggage out of fear something will happen to it when out of my sight, but we had no issues and our luggage arrived at the baggage carousel pretty promptly.

Every airline has its positive and negative reviews and experiences, but my husband and I both came away feeling really pleased with our decision to give Frontier a try. We would absolutely fly them again if the price and flight path was the most favorable. In my opinion, we would most likely only use them again for direct flights.

Have you tried a budget airline (domestic or abroad)? Would you do it again? Let us know!

Should you take advantage of a free lap child flight or not?

One of the things I love about flying with children under 2 is that they are, in general, free (or gosh darn close to it)! This is especially great for newborns and young babies who will mostly want to be on mom—or dad—anyways and it’s also a real money saver, especially when taking an international flight. It’s a nice perk that makes traveling with young ones just a little bit easier.

But then there are the toddlers. (Shudder)

We recently traveled with our almost-two year old and just had a lap child ticket for her so that we could take advantage of the last few weeks of her “free” status. For three of our four flights, she did amazingly (she’s an old pro at flying). But that fourth flight? Yikes. She screamed, she wanted to run around and she most certainly did NOT want to be on my lap, especially when her older siblings had seats of their own. And she let the whole plane know it! I think we were both crying at one point.

So should you book that lap child ticket or suck it up and pay the cash for your child’s own seat? Read on for our general rule of thumb:

A “usually yes” for children under 12 months

While some children at this age are already very independent and mobile (and stable in their mobility), the vast majority are still young enough that sitting on mom or dad will be a positive experience. I’ve found that baby wearing on the plane at this age is especially helpful (I’m a fan of the Ergo and the Moby ring sling, but there are hundreds of options!) if allowed— some carriers do not allow baby wearing during takeoff and landing—and it also works well if you’re breastfeeding. Generally speaking, this age is a “usually yes”.

A “strong maybe” for children 13-18 months

By this point, most children are much more mobile and like to express their physical independence. At the same time, they’re usually still very emotionally attached to mom and/or dad (and some are still breastfeeding) while at the same time being easily distractible when frustrated or upset, especially with our favorite helpful plane items. You know your child best: will they want to be on top of you or will they want to be able to explore a little bit more, even if just at your feet? And is more space worth the cost of a plane ticket? For us, this age is a “strong maybe”.

A “probably not” for children 19-23 months

There’s a reason they call it the terrible 2s. Children at this age usually want to express their independence in ALL ways and have often been mobile for quite a while. They frequently have also developed more of their personalities and may have VERY STRONG FEELINGS about, well, everything. They’re also just physically bigger and harder to hold on your lap. At this point, it’s probably worth paying for that ticket and getting kiddo his or her own seat.

Travel with children- especially travel on a budget- is full of constant judgement calls. But you can use the general guidelines above to hopefully make travel with young ones pleasant…for everybody.

Traveling With An Anxious Child: Part 2

Last week, I explained how one of my children suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and how this necessitates an extra level of planning when taking a vacation. But once the planning is done and you are on-site, what happens then? There are 5 tips we have utilized in our travels that have truly helped manage my child’s anxiety when far from home.

Just Say Yes

Ok, not yes to everything, but make your anxious child as comfortable as possible in little ways. We used to be a no-screen travel family. (Yes, I bet a lot of you are rolling your eyes right now!) When my child started to express extreme anxiety about flying on airplanes last year, for the first time ever, my husband and I decided to make some changes. While long/international flights typically provide in-flight entertainment, we also wanted to be sure that there were familiar options for our child.  We purchased tablets and it ended up being a great tool to have in our back pocket. There may be small changes you can say “yes” to that will go a long way in providing comfort in an otherwise anxious situation.

Acknowledge Feelings

Empathize with your child, reassure, and give them space to express their feelings. Children with anxiety can express these big feelings in any manner of ways, and it’s important as parents and caregivers to allow them to feel safe enough to let these feelings be known.

Give Some Autonomy

Some kids will find decision making to be paralyzing, others will find it helpful. For my child with anxiety, we allow strategic times for autonomy. Parents are in charge of the big picture, but we are fine handing over some smaller detail planning. This can look like, "Which gelato shop should we go to today?" or "Should we eat lunch before or after we visit that cool playground?" Of course with multiple children this can be tricky, but always look for ways to give a child with anxiety some level of control if/when possible. 

See Their Perspective, Literally 

Give them a camera! This helps to reorient children to be on the hunt for things that interest them at the new place. Instead of focusing on a fear, this can help a child to literally look for interesting things and help build memories at the same time. Incorporate these photos into discussions in your daily debrief.

Daily Debrief

A tradition we have as a family is to record our family’s highs and lows for each day of vacation. This is simply achieved over a dinner conversation or evening gelato. For your child(ren) with anxiety, probe a little deeper. What went well? What was an unexpected highlight? What caused big feelings? What made you feel uncomfortable? While you may not always be able to change things in your schedule, it is helpful to ascertain if there is any way you can adjust things to be more palatable for your anxious child. 

We hope these tips are helpful for you and your family!

Disclosures:

1)We are not medical professionals or therapists. The suggestions made here are from a parent’s point of view for what we personally have found to be helpful.

2) This post contains affiliate links, which may earn us a small commission from purchases made (at no cost to you). Thanks!