traveling with children prt 2: Plane tickets

Start Early and think ahead (about booking flights)

If you are like us, you want to find the best deals you can on travel, whether it's flights, cars, or hotels.  The best thing is to start as early as possible.

 I am on the mailing list for the major airlines we use to fly internationally.  This way, I find out when they are running specials, so if an amazing deal comes up, even if my trip is 4-5 months away, I can go ahead and get the tickets.  If something like that doesn't come available. then I start really looking to purchase tickets around 90 days before our trip.   I use some of the sites bigger, multi comparison sites like expedia, orbits, jet abroad, and a few others and I also go to individual airlines webpages and compare prices there.  Most times you can find cheaper deals online than you can by calling, but it doesn't hurt to call either.

Try if you can to be a bit flexible with your days, sometimes just moving your trip forward or back a couple of days can equal big savings.  In our latest search just shifting our trip forward one day and back 2 saved us over $1500, so play around a bit and compare.

Some things you might want to consider when you are traveling with children and looking at different flight options.  

1-What time will the flights occur: Are they overnight flights? Are they during nap times or peak wake times? How many layovers? How long are the layovers?  Are their options in layover cities?  

The answers you will be looking for will vary with your family and with whether you are doing an international flight or just cross country.

-Overnight flights vs day time flights--we have done both of these and each has it's own benefit.  Over night flights can be great with smaller children. Since these longer flights occur during their usual sleep time, it means they will rest a bit better and more.  This typically means we, the adults, can get a bit more sleep. This trip home we opted for the shortest travel time possible which has us doing our longest flight during peak wake times.  We have done this before and even though the children slept less during the flights, we seemed to adjust to the 12 hour time difference fast since we were so exhausted when we arrived.  Which ever way you choose, it's a long slog and you are going to be tired.  

-How many layovers--Let's face it if you are traveling around the world there will be layovers, but if you are flying within the same country, or even one within around 10 hours or so, you can usually find flights without them.
 Layovers can be good and bad, they are transition times which means getting all your stuff together and moving it and children around which is a bit of work, especially if you made the mistake of not keeping to the minimum we'll discuss later.
As a couple we have decided that for us it is worth the extra $50 dollars or a bit more to fly direct instead of having layovers wherever possible.  This cuts down on travel time and transitions from one plane to the next and also the taking off and landings which can be hard on the kids ears.(Tips to help with that coming in a later post on "On the Plane")
When a layover is inevitable, embrace it.  I love airports, I love the little shops, food outlets, all the people going different places, the fact that I am going someplace, and getting to watch people and how others travel.  It also means getting a chance to move around and expend some energy.  Bring along a ball or something the kids can chase around in an area that's not being used, do stretches together, play I spy, teach them to enjoy it.  

-Also for longer layovers (we have had as long as 15 hours in one place, research a bit about the airport.)  Find out does it have an area to take a shower?  Does it have rooms you can rent to sleep for a while (many international airports do--I found this GREAT when I flew with Matilda on my own when she was only one.  I rented a room with a single bed and that way we could both have a nap in an inclosed area, take showers, and freshen up for only about $8 on hour) Does the airport have a kids area (this is becoming more common in international airports)? How easy is it to get to the nearest city to do a bit of sightseeing (for ex. SanFrancisco's rail system goes from the airport to downtown for very cheap and you can check all your carry-ons at a luggage counter right near the rail so for long layovers it very easy to go spend a couple hours in the city walking around and getting some great clam chowder in sour dough bread bowls)  It's all about doing a little internet work before you go but can make the layovers much more enjoyable!

In our next traveling post we will be looking at tips for on the plane.  

Ok Enough about choosing tickets, what tips do you try when booking trips?