Considering flying with family of 6 - newbie questions!

[Iowamomof4]

We recently drove to wdw for our first ever vacation there and had a great time! The drive, otoh, wasn't so magical. We're considering flying next time but I have some concerns and am trying to decide if it's really worth it. We are a family of 6 with 2 parents, 2 teens, and 2 elementary-aged kids.

1. Are there airlines that are better or worse for families?

2. What are the chances that our youngest children would end up having to sit alone, surrounded by strangers?

3. How bad is the tsa screening process these days? I think it was about 2002 or 2003 the last time I was on a plane so things have changed quite a bit, I'm sure. I know about the 3 oz. liquid rule, but I'll have to look into what other changes have taken place.

4. We can fly from our local airport but would have to make at least one connection or we can drive 4 hours to Minneapolis and have some direct-flight options. Do you think that would be worth it?

5. Anything else I should be aware of when flying with a family or just flying in general?

Thank you!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Hi! I'm a native Iowan who now lives in the Twin Cities.

1. I personally don't think there are any airlines that are more or less family friendly. There are some airlines where the employees tend to be more friendly in general (i.e., Southwest and Sun Country).

2. Very small. If you fly on a carrier with reserved seating--which is essentially any carrier but Southwest--you can select seats together. In certain situations you could still be split up but that's rare. If you fly Southwest and pay for Early Bird Checkin, odds would be in your favor of finding two sets of three seats together.

3. I can't really answer this. I fly frequently and have Global Entry which allows me to go through the PreCheck (expedited screening) lane. But I'm pretty familiar with airport security so nothing seems that bad to me.

4. Based on the fact you're in Iowa and you say MPLS is 4 hours away, I assume your local airport would be DSM? With the age of your kids, honestly taking a connecting flight isn't that big of a deal. I would not drive 4 hours north just to have to take a longer flight south to avoid a connection. We took our first Disney trip when we lived in the Des Moines area, flew out of DSM on Delta, and we connected in Atlanta. Our kids were only 5 and just shy of 2 at the time. It wasn't that big of a deal. On our trip in two weeks we're flying on our first connecting flight to Orlando since moving up here 3+ years ago...the Southwest fares just couldn't be beat. Don't get me wrong, nonstop direct flights to Orlando are awesome (you really can't beat leaving Minnesota in the winter and being in Florida 3 hours later!) but I can't see the sense in driving 4 hours just to save on an hour-long connection. You'd turn a half day of travel into a full day of travel.

 

[Madzac]

Hello!! I am also from Iowa and we are a family of 6. How old are your kiddos? I have great admiration that you all made the drive! Wow!

We have made a number of trips over the years and we always fly. We usually fly out of the closest airport with the best prices. I try to book as early as possible and that helps too. We usually fly Delta, but have done southwest before. The only one I wouldnt fly again is frontier as we had a horribly bad experience in 2010. Most airlines allow you to chose your seats when you book. SW does not. I have flown them twice. You have to check in right at the 24 hr mark to get your boarding position. Our last trip using them I paid the extra for early bird on the way home and that got us better positions. We did end up sitting together each leg but it was much more stressful worrying about it for me. So unless you fly sw your chances of being together are very good, and even on sw especially if you buy early bird you should be ok. There is just a bit more uncertainty.

We used to always fly out of Moline/Quad cities as prices have been the best. Its easy to get to and we dont mind it at all. Ive also driven to Des MOines in the past though lately prices are always higher. Weve done the drive to MN once, and the last three trips weve gone out of chicago midway. Honestly, the direct flight is great, and even getting there is not bad, but man that long 4 hour drive home is brutal! You just want to be home! Our next trip next summer weve booked tickets out of cedar rapids. They were a little more, but we decided it was worth it to be able to be there quickly and not have the long drive home. Yes the direct flights are nice, but honestly most of our trips weve connected and its not bad I just dont book anything with less than one hour connection time. I would prefer flying out closer to home and dealing with the connection then make that brutal drive again.

As for TSA, we prepare the kids in advance, and especially at the smaller local airports its really been very easy!

Now I would love to hear about your triple split stay! We are trying to decide between AOA or CBR or CSR for our next trip!

 

[Iowamomof4]

Hi! I'm a native Iowan who now lives in the Twin Cities.

1. I personally don't think there are any airlines that are more or less family friendly. There are some airlines where the employees tend to be more friendly in general (i.e., Southwest and Sun Country).

2. Very small. If you fly on a carrier with reserved seating--which is essentially any carrier but Southwest--you can select seats together. In certain situations you could still be split up but that's rare. If you fly Southwest and pay for Early Bird Checkin, odds would be in your favor of finding two sets of three seats together.

3. I can't really answer this. I fly frequently and have Global Entry which allows me to go through the PreCheck (expedited screening) lane. But I'm pretty familiar with airport security so nothing seems that bad to me.

4. Based on the fact you're in Iowa and you say MPLS is 4 hours away, I assume your local airport would be DSM? With the age of your kids, honestly taking a connecting flight isn't that big of a deal. I would not drive 4 hours north just to have to take a longer flight south to avoid a connection. We took our first Disney trip when we lived in the Des Moines area, flew out of DSM on Delta, and we connected in Atlanta. Our kids were only 5 and just shy of 2 at the time. It wasn't that big of a deal. On our trip in two weeks we're flying on our first connecting flight to Orlando since moving up here 3+ years ago...the Southwest fares just couldn't be beat. Don't get me wrong, nonstop direct flights to Orlando are awesome (you really can't beat leaving Minnesota in the winter and being in Florida 3 hours later!) but I can't see the sense in driving 4 hours just to save on an hour-long connection. You'd turn a half day of travel into a full day of travel.

Hello!! I am also from Iowa and we are a family of 6. How old are your kiddos? I have great admiration that you all made the drive! Wow!

We have made a number of trips over the years and we always fly. We usually fly out of the closest airport with the best prices. I try to book as early as possible and that helps too. We usually fly Delta, but have done southwest before. The only one I wouldnt fly again is frontier as we had a horribly bad experience in 2010. Most airlines allow you to chose your seats when you book. SW does not. I have flown them twice. You have to check in right at the 24 hr mark to get your boarding position. Our last trip using them I paid the extra for early bird on the way home and that got us better positions. We did end up sitting together each leg but it was much more stressful worrying about it for me. So unless you fly sw your chances of being together are very good, and even on sw especially if you buy early bird you should be ok. There is just a bit more uncertainty.

We used to always fly out of Moline/Quad cities as prices have been the best. Its easy to get to and we dont mind it at all. Ive also driven to Des MOines in the past though lately prices are always higher. Weve done the drive to MN once, and the last three trips weve gone out of chicago midway. Honestly, the direct flight is great, and even getting there is not bad, but man that long 4 hour drive home is brutal! You just want to be home! Our next trip next summer weve booked tickets out of cedar rapids. They were a little more, but we decided it was worth it to be able to be there quickly and not have the long drive home. Yes the direct flights are nice, but honestly most of our trips weve connected and its not bad I just dont book anything with less than one hour connection time. I would prefer flying out closer to home and dealing with the connection then make that brutal drive again.

As for TSA, we prepare the kids in advance, and especially at the smaller local airports its really been very easy!

Now I would love to hear about your triple split stay! We are trying to decide between AOA or CBR or CSR for our next trip!

Oh darn, I was hoping to fly SW because of the free bags and no change fees or whatever all their perks are. They definitely have a good reputation, at least it seems like it from my perspective. I don't know if I would take a chance on not getting seated with my younger kids though, and even the teens haven't flown since they were really little so I'm sure they'd feel more comfortable if we could sit together. Hmm... food for thought, I guess. Our second-best options (yes, out of dsm) would be American or Delta. Any opinions on either of these?

 

[Iowamomof4]

Hello!! I am also from Iowa and we are a family of 6. How old are your kiddos? I have great admiration that you all made the drive! Wow!


Now I would love to hear about your triple split stay! We are trying to decide between AOA or CBR or CSR for our next trip!

We were very happy to have tried 3 different resorts in 3 different categories on our first trip, but we will NOT be doing a split stay anytime in the near future!

We're hoping to head back to AOA next September. We were only there one night this time but we really liked it! CBR was nice as well. The bridge was out while we were there so that made getting to the food court and main pool a little more difficult. In general though, we really liked both of these resorts!

 

[Madzac]

I'd personally go with whichever is less expensive! And honestly the free bags with SW are awesome... I just prefer having the assigned seats. I get so anxious not knowing, even though its worked out before! If you do fly SW I would just purchase early and purchase the early bird.

Weve had great luck with Delta. One of my boys actually fell in the airport just prior to boarding (this was in Quad cities) when he was 4 and had to have stitches... they were amazing at taking care of us!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Southwest's seat configuration is 3-3 and if you do the Early Bird Checkin (you pay an extra $25 RT to do this) you shouldn't have any problems getting seats together. We fly Southwest regularly without issue. Also, if it's Southwest you're looking for, then for sure driving to the Twin Cities wouldn't be worth it for you...Southwest no longer offers nonstop service from MSP. On our upcoming trip, we have a connection on the way down to Orlando (in Atlanta) but on the way home we stop in Milwaukee, but don't change planes. So it's direct but not nonstop.

We've flown both American and Delta from DSM. They're both fine. Delta will have you connecting in Atlanta, which is a huge airport and can be confusing to navigate. American will likely have you connecting in DFW, which isn't as big or hectic as Atlanta. I'd just go with the cheapest, though. There isn't a big enough difference in any of the major carriers to pick one over the other.

 

[Iowamomof4]

You both sound so seasoned at this! I don't know if I'll get up the nerve in the end, my van is sort of my safety blanket (iykwim) though I totally get the "flying is the safest way to travel" thing. With SW Early Bird Checkin, would we be able to select our seats for the connecting flight as well? I was reading on another thread that SW starts boarding flights 30 minutes ahead of time, so with a tight connection (less than an hour) there's a chance you won't get to board until after everyone else and will be stuck with whatever is left? Eek!

 

[Madzac]

Hey I feel the same about you making that drive with 4 kids!!!

If you buy early bird you will have it for your connection too but yes you need to be at the gate 30 min before. If you miss your boarding position you get what's left. Since there are no assigned seats it all depends on when you board. So long as you give yourself time you should be ok.

And PP is correct Atlanta is huge but we find it pretty easy to navigate. However I would not take a flight here without a 55+ min connection.

I'd price it all out and see what's best. Our kids love to fly...they say it's part of the trip adventure!

 

[Iowamomof4]

SW flights from Des Moines connect through MDW.

 

[tabrizia]

Oh darn, I was hoping to fly SW because of the free bags and no change fees or whatever all their perks are. They definitely have a good reputation, at least it seems like it from my perspective. I don't know if I would take a chance on not getting seated with my younger kids though, and even the teens haven't flown since they were really little so I'm sure they'd feel more comfortable if we could sit together. Hmm... food for thought, I guess. Our second-best options (yes, out of dsm) would be American or Delta. Any opinions on either of these?

Honestly in general most people don't want to sit next to your elementary age kids anyways. Yes there is a chance you won't get seats together, but on SW you can either pay the $25 extra round trip to make sure you are in A boarding, register exactly 24 hours in advanced (I almost always get A when I do this, though I haven't done if for Orlando, everyone once in awhile I end up at the very front of B, but even that will get you seats together), or just deal with the chance your kids may be a row or two away.

I fly frequently solo with my 4, 6 and 8 year old. In general the 6 and 8 year old sit behind me and the 4 year old. They have no issues at all, they bring a tablet and a snack, and on a short flight the easily entertain themselves, or chat with whoever ends up sitting next to them. I would try for a 90 minute connection rather then an under an hour connection, but I won't worry about having to transfer with 2 elementary aged children and 2 teens.

Honestly airport security is easy, slip off shoes, stick your stuff through the x-ray, pull out your laptop, nothing in your pockets. It is generally quick and painless, with kids under 12 you go through the regular x-ray machines as well, rather then the other ones. If you fly South West just check all liquids and you don't have to worry about the 3 ounce rule.

I won't make a 4 hour drive to a different airport just to avoid a transfer, it just adds so much extra time to your travel. Really plane travel is fairly intuitive, and it really isn't bad with kids. We've been doing it since my oldest was 8 weeks old. It is a quick and fairly painless way to get to far away places.

 

[bumbershoot]

2. What are the chances that our youngest children would end up having to sit alone, surrounded by strangers?

Very very low. Even on SW. Unless you don't do ANYTHING SW tells you to do ahead of time, if you get to the airport late, get to the gate late, are among the last 50 to board...then you're choosing between middle seats. Maybe. Legacy airlines change planes and swap seats around...I started flying SW because I was tired of losing my carefully thought out (I'm a wee bit superstitious) seat on the airlines where you choose your seat.

How bad is the tsa screening process these days?

The actual process isn't usually bad at all. But sometimes the agents make no sense. Put one adult in charge of paying attention to everything; the signs, the lines, the TSA agents and what they are saying. Put the other adult in charge of the kids. That way you won't miss the fact tha tyou've been shunted into the Precheck line (which has relaxed rules that make you feel like you are flying back in 2000 and earlier). If you are shunted there and don't notice, agents tend to yell. You don't want that.

You will have 6 3-1-1 baggies. That sounds awesome to me.

I was reading on another thread that SW starts boarding flights 30 minutes ahead of time, so with a tight connection (less than an hour) there's a chance you won't get to board until after everyone else and will be stuck with whatever is left? Eek!

Airlines start to board 30-40 minutes ahead of time no matter what airline you're on. But yes, you might walk into a plane that has many people already onboard. With 6 moving parts of your family, I would NOT take a layover of under 1.5 hours. But I do NOT like rushing in airports (or to airports) and will do anything to avoid it.

With SW Early Bird Checkin, would we be able to select our seats for the connecting flight as well?

Even with early bird you aren't selecting seats before you board; you're just getting onboard earlier than those who didn't get early bird.

 

[Allison]

You both sound so seasoned at this! I don't know if I'll get up the nerve in the end, my van is sort of my safety blanket (iykwim) though I totally get the "flying is the safest way to travel" thing. With SW Early Bird Checkin, would we be able to select our seats for the connecting flight as well? I was reading on another thread that SW starts boarding flights 30 minutes ahead of time, so with a tight connection (less than an hour) there's a chance you won't get to board until after everyone else and will be stuck with whatever is left? Eek!

You don't select seats on Southwest. You are assigned a boarding position.

 

[Madzac]

I guess SW makes me more nervous because our trip this summer to Niagara Falls I got on at exactly 24 hrs and had late B boarding positions for half the family (even on same ticket #). If I hadn't had one child under 5 to use family boarding for several of us we would have been split up. It was enough to make me anxious. My older kids would be fine as they are used to traveling but I want to be near my little ones. I personally after that wouldn't fly sw without buying early bird

And I find MDW a fairly easy airport to get around in but still give yourself an hr plus layover

 

[JessM]

I would go with whatever airline is cheapest, and I would consider flying with Southwest if I were you. Buy the early bird if you are concerned about sitting together but you shouldn't have a problem finding two rows for your family. When you buy early bird (or if you don't) when you check in you get checked in for each leg of your flight. Also remember when SW starts boarding, they do pre-boarders first (can take FOREVER) and then business select before they do the rest of the A's. If you get to your gate a few minutes after they start boarding you can easily join the line and get seats together. I fly SW frequently and I've personally never seen a family get split up. People will normally move or sometimes the flight attendants section off the last row for late arriving families.

The legacy carriers that assign seats are great until your flight or aircraft gets changed and you end up split up. I find on the legacy carriers people are less likely to move because they booked/picked out a seat in advance (I fly United when I can't get SW flights). Bottom line, with legacy carriers with seat assignments or SW you will run the risk of sitting apart (a small one).

My home airport is tiny! I frequently fly out of there and do connections vs. driving to a bigger airport and taking a direct flight. When you get home from your vacation the last thing you are going to want to do is drive 4 hours... I've also found that TSA is much more relaxed at my home airport because there is hardly ever a line, there aren't a ton of business travelers being held up, etc.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

MDW is a cruddy airport but it's not big and is easy to made connections in. I wouldn't go with a tight connection if you're flying SW just because of your lack of experience with flying and resulting nervousness and the seating issue. Allow at least an hour between flights.

Your flight from DSM to MDW will be under an hour, so even if for some reason you get separated from your kids, it won't be that big of a deal because the flight is so short. If you're really that nervous about the connection but want to stick with SW, why not just drive to Chicago and flight straight from MDW? It's only an hour longer from Des Moines to Chicago than to MSP. I do think that you're nervous for nothing, though. If you do Earlybird that carries over to both flights and technically since you'd be checking in at essentially 38 hours in advance of your MDW-MCO segment (assuming an hour flight time and an hour layover) then you're two hours ahead of all the Early Birders who are originating in Chicago.

 

[Iowamomof4]

MDW is a cruddy airport but it's not big and is easy to made connections in. I wouldn't go with a tight connection if you're flying SW just because of your lack of experience with flying and resulting nervousness and the seating issue. Allow at least an hour between flights.

Your flight from DSM to MDW will be under an hour, so even if for some reason you get separated from your kids, it won't be that big of a deal because the flight is so short. If you're really that nervous about the connection but want to stick with SW, why not just drive to Chicago and flight straight from MDW? It's only an hour longer from Des Moines to Chicago than to MSP. I do think that you're nervous for nothing, though. If you do Earlybird that carries over to both flights and technically since you'd be checking in at essentially 38 hours in advance of your MDW-MCO segment (assuming an hour flight time and an hour layover) then you're two hours ahead of all the Early Birders who are originating in Chicago.

I'm just nervous because we haven't done it in so long and I've only flown for trips twice in my entire lifetime. I'm asking questions so I'll get information and then I'll be less nervous.

Thank you for your help and insight! I feel like this is a real option for us now. We do have only one, possibly two options for SW flights to Orlando originating in DSM. It just depends on what they have for a flight schedule over Labor Day weekend. My point is, when it comes to the layover, I'm sort of at their mercy. It seems like they at least allow no less than 70 minutes though.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Personally, I think driving four hours to another airport because you don't want to make a connection is crazy.

If you don't have any particular frequent flyer affiliation, go with the airline with the best prices and schedule for you. Airlines will allow you to look at seat availability before buying tickets; check to make sure you can select seats together on your chosen flight before buying.

TSA screening hasn't changed much in several years, except for TSA Pre, which you don't have.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I'm just nervous because we haven't done it in so long and I've only flown for trips twice in my entire lifetime. I'm asking questions so I'll get information and then I'll be less nervous.

Thank you for your help and insight! I feel like this is a real option for us now. We do have only one, possibly two options for SW flights to Orlando originating in DSM. It just depends on what they have for a flight schedule over Labor Day weekend. My point is, when it comes to the layover, I'm sort of at their mercy. It seems like they at least allow no less than 70 minutes though.

Don't be afraid of asking questions!

A 70 minute layover on SW at MDW is more than enough time to get you where you need to be. A 70 minute layover in DFW would be adequate. A 70 minute layover in Atlanta will mean you'll have to hustle but should still be OK, since you'd be flying on Delta through ATL. I think the planes that fly from DSM to ATL are all smaller regional jets that are flown by various regional carriers under the Delta Connection banner, and they fly into a different concourse than the bigger jets that fly down to MCO. So you'll be switching concourses which takes more time. Not trying to discourage you from flying Delta because it's fairly likely it will be your cheapest option, just want you to be prepared.