By: MJ + PJ
Full time travel has enabled us a level of flexibility in booking transport that we usually don’t have. There is no ‘off work’ date that we have to adhere to. We don’t have to get a flight on a specific day to make the most of a limited vacation time frame. Frankly, it’s amazing! Given this flexibility we can usually search around for a week or so comparing flight variables before purchasing any tickets.
There are innumerable online sources addressing the topic of how to find and book the cheapest flights when traveling on a budget. They are certainly worth a read to get insight into how travelers avoid blowing up their budget every time they purchase a flight. As you would expect: all advice is not for all scenarios. We scoured numerous sources and noticed that frequently ‘cheap flight advice’ is biased towards the single traveler. But we are a family of three, and some of the methods described are too risky for a group of three who prefer to not be separated. An example of a common piece of advice is to get last minute seats and be at the airport in an hour. That ain’t gonna happen! We are planners and we need three seats within the same cabin, with at least two seats together.
The following are general approaches we use to find and book that cheaper family flight:
- ONLINE BOOKING: This is our primary pathway for obtaining tickets. Given the open-endedness of our agenda, we would drive a travel agent crazy. There are several apps and websites that let you scour available flights and tweak a lot of variables for choosing a flight. We have used combinations of these “vendors” since starting. Some examples are:
- TICKET PURCHASE DAY: Some websites have recommended booking flights on a Tuesday, and there may be statistical reasons behind this. We have not stuck to that advice, only because we found what we were looking for regardless of purchase date. Heavier discounts were observed with…
- DAY OF FLIGHT: Some websites and apps have a “flexible dates +/- number days” filters which give you a good sense of which day may be better to depart on. We have tended to fly midweek, avoiding weekends as you would expect. The difference between a single day and every other day of the week can be upwards of $200 less per seat. Less busy midweek means getting the whole family on is more probable. We have even taken a flight a week or so later and found other local places to explore in the meantime.
- HOW CLOSE IS CLOSE ENOUGH?: When you want to keep costs to a budget, sometimes it is cheaper to fly near but not to your intended location. The trade off is that Airport B may be cheaper and less direct than A, but will require another leg of travel (bus, Uber, taxi, train etc) to get to a target. It depends how your family or kids tolerate transitions. Regional or smaller airports usually do have a budget benefit – they can be cheaper to stay local to and may have a few days of attractions to see what you may have missed entirely. Flying close to a border and crossing by land can help avoid airport taxes… unless your destination is an island nation!
- LAYOVERS (CONNECTIONS): Layovers are ok when you are not in a rush to get to your destination. The variable here is time – it can’t be too short (how big is your layover airport, how do you get to the right terminal, and/or is it an entirely different airport?!), but it also shouldn’t be too long where you need to book accommodation or go numb in an airport lounge. Ideally, no layover is nice but direct flights can cost at least several hundred dollars more for a family. One to two layovers with 3 to 4 hours transfer time seems to work for cost reduction, but three or more or with less than 3 hours transfer time needs scrutiny and family agreement as they can be very draining on everyone. With more complex flights, plan a day rest for the arrival destination… if your children don’t need it, you will.
- STOPOVERS: The nice thing about night flights or long flights is your accommodation is included! This also applies to overnight bus transits, but that’s another story. Sometimes a stopover is inevitable to get a cheaper flight sequence, and can be a needed reprieve. The trade off is the cost of a night’s accommodation near the airport and public transport and meals. Also, it’s another temporary environment your child has to deal with. Rio (GIG) has a terminal with accommodation on site, which we used on our way to Iguassu Falls. If your stopover is more than about 16 hours, you should have tweaked your flight schedule more, or you should have just stopped to look around that location for a few days or more.
- SEAT CHOICES: We have had very accommodating airline staff when it comes to seating, getting us within talking distance usually, if not all together in a row. We do not secure seats ahead of the flight if there is an additional cost – instead we arrive earlier for check in. Obviously one of us sits with our child, the other is a gopher and temporarily enjoying the company of strangers.
Every long flight seems to have its own character. We have crossed the Pacific numerous times and have crossed continents more times than that. A direct long haul flight can be as challenging as a shorter multi leg trip, but for different reasons. When you have a family you have to balance the variables of the flight with the consequences of those variables during and after the flight. Be open to exploring a random city or taking longer to get to your destination to save some money.
