If airfare feels like the hardest part of planning a family trip, you’re not wrong. Flights are often the biggest expense, prices change constantly, and when you’re buying 3, 4, or more tickets, even a small increase adds up fast.
The good news? Finding good airfare isn’t luck—and it isn’t about sitting at your computer at midnight on a Tuesday. It’s a repeatable process. When families follow the right steps and use a few smart strategies, they can save money and avoid flights that make traveling with kids miserable.
This is exactly how I approach airfare planning for families—and how you can too. I want to share with you all my process, my best tip and tricks when looking at airfare for families, and then show you all how I summed all of this up for our upcoming Summer 2026 Europe trip.
PART ONE: THE STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS
Step 1: Start With Dates You Can Move
Flexibility is one of the biggest tools families have, even when it doesn’t feel like it. Shifting a trip by just one or two days can sometimes save hundreds of dollars—especially when you’re booking multiple seats.
If your dates truly are fixed (school schedules, work constraints, sports calendars), that’s okay. The goal isn’t unlimited flexibility—it’s understanding where you might have wiggle room so you’re not overpaying unnecessarily.
Step 2: Search Before You Commit to a Destination (When Possible)
When families tell me they “want to go somewhere warm” or “just want a great trip for spring break,” airfare often decides the destination—not the other way around.
Searching flights before locking in a location can open up options you may not have considered and help you stretch your budget further. This approach works especially well for school breaks and summer travel when prices vary widely by destination.
Found a great deal on a hotel or tour package? Make sure to check airfare before you commit. Often times, high airfare pricing can negate those savings on a trip!
Step 3: Use the Right Flight Search Tools
Airline websites are great for booking—but not always for finding the best deal.
I always recommend starting with airfare search tools, like Kayak, that compare multiple airlines at once. These tools help you see pricing patterns, alternate routes, and nearby airports so you’re not missing better options.
Remember, the low prices you see on Kayak are usually if you book with a third party. If you select the flight, usually booking directly with the airline is a slightly higher cost. Also, the flight prices on Kayak are for base economy tickets – no checked bags, no seat selection, etc. Keep that in mind when you’re determining costs – you’ll likely need to add those into your budget calculations if you need them.
Once you find the right flight, you should always book directly with the airline. This is for a couple of reasons. First, if there are any flight delays, cancellations, or missed connections, you want to work directly with the airline to figure out the next step. If you book through a third party, you have to work through them to determine what’s next, and when I’m traveling, that’s one extra stress I don’t need. Second, modifying your ticket (seat selections, adding baggage, selecting meals) is much easier if you have a direct booking with the airline.
So, use a flight search engine to figure out what you think you’d like to book (airport, airline, and flight times) but then book directly with the airline.
Step 4: Track Prices Before Booking
One of the biggest mistakes I see families make is booking the first “reasonable” price they find out of fear it will disappear.
Airfare fluctuates. Watching prices for a short period—especially for trips planned a few months out—can give you confidence that you’re booking at the right time. Typically, you’ll find the best airfare prices 3-6 months out for a domestic trip, and 6-9 months out for an international trip. Not always (we’ve found some stellar deals on either side of these timeframes) but they generally hold true.
Here’s what I do. I get a baseline price, generally noting which airlines, dates, and airports offer me the best of what I’m looking for. Then, for about a week I look to determine a specific flight that I would like. After that (if I have the time before my travels), I watch it for a few weeks. Typically, prices start high, drop, plateau (level out) and then start to rise again. So, if prices drop and then level out for a couple weeks, I know that’s probably the best time for me to book.
I find what I’d like on a search engine like Kayak, but once I know which flights I want, I switch to monitoring directly from the airlines website.
Note: I don’t love using flight trackers like Google Flights. I don’t find they update often enough and I prefer to just do a quick check daily on the airline’s website. I know some people prefer to use a tracker, but I’m a person who just prefers to manually check. To each their own, though!
Step 5: Evaluate Flights Through a Family Lens
This step is actually involved in Step 3 and Step 4, but when I need to order things to write them down, forgive me that it’s Step 5. It’s very important though!
The cheapest flight is not always the best flight when you’re traveling with kids.
When I evaluate airfare for families, I look at:
- Total travel time (not just nonstop vs. connecting)
- Layover length and airport size
- Early morning departures and late-night arrivals
- Seat assignments and baggage policies
A slightly higher fare is often worth it if it means fewer meltdowns, easier connections, or arriving rested instead of exhausted. Let’s go through these in more detail.
Total Travel Time:
I always prefer nonstop flights, but being realistic, sometimes they aren’t available, OR the prices are so much higher than a layover that I can’t justify it. But, I don’t want to add a layover that adds so much to our travel times that we’re all exhausted and dragging by the time we get where we’re going. Compare the pros and cons of both (if nonstop and connecting are available) to make the decision that’s best for your family.
Layover Length and Airport Size:
I do have minimum time requirements for layovers (and maximums).
For domestic flights, I want 1 hour for a layover; 90-minutes maximum. I see a lot of 30-50 minute layovers, and with kids, that’s just not enough time. We might get off the plane quickly, but everyone needs a potty, someone always wants a snack, and if it’s a large airport, it could be a solid 10-minute trek to get to our next gate.
For international flights, I want 2 hours for a layover; 3-hours maximum. Same reasons as above, but add in the fact that you need to go through customs when you land before you can get to your next gate, you never know how long that is going to take. We’ve had 5-minute customs line, and over an hour customs lines, so it’s just not worth the stress knowing I still need to accomplish potty/snack/silly time before our next flight, but also get through customs.
Departure & Landing Times:
My kids are not early risers. They typically wake up between 7-8 AM on weekends. If we have to catch a flight that makes them wake up at 5 AM, they are also not the type to just keep sleeping in the car for more than 20-minutes, so I know they’re going to be tired. I try to avoid flights that make us head to the airport before 7 AM. It does happen sometimes, but I do my best to avoid it because it works better for us if my kiddos get enough sleep going into our travel day.
Landing times also matter. If we get somewhere WAY past their bedtime (11 PM or later) it will be a struggle, and I know it. For domestic flights, I try to have us landing and making it to our hotel by 8 PM, so everyone can relax before bedtime. For international flights, I prefer a redeye that leaves around 6 PM, and lands anytime after 6 AM. That gives us time to get a smaller snack at the airport and have dinner on the plane, then get a few hours of sleep before we land at our destination (or head to our connecting flight).
If we’re flying international and landing early the next morning, I do one of two things (based on which is cheaper or how far the airport is from the city):
- Option A: Book an airport hotel with an airport shuttle bus where we’re landing for the night before and put a note on the reservation that we’re “landing at X time and expect to be there at X time in the morning on our reservation’s day of departure”. Hotels associated with international airports are used to this, so it’s not weird. Catch a shuttle bus to the hotel, check in and nap for a few hours. If you have level set the expectation that we are getting off the plane and going to a close hotel to nap for a few hours, the kids will be more willing to sleep when we arrive.
- Option B: Book a hotel or AirBbB in whatever city we’re visiting for an extra night, again with the note that we’re arriving at X time at the airport and expect to be at the hotel/location at X time on the morning of the second day of your reservation date. This allows you to go right to your accomodations, drop your bags, and rest. I will tell you I usually prefer to book a hotel at the airport because we are TIRED by the time we get there and hauling my bags an extra 30+ minutes and navigating a city is just not what I’m up for. But we’ve done it, and plan to do it in Florence this summer, so it’s definitely do-able.
Parent Tip: I am NOT a proponent of “power through the day you land and go to bed early”. When you get tired as an adult, you can understand the true concept of “powering through” because grown ups typically understand the trade offs. Kids however, generally do not understand the concept. Which means you’ll see a lot more behavioral issues than you’d like, and since you’re tired too, you’re more likely to snap than you would normally.
For our London trip last year, we landed at 6:25 AM at London Heathrow. I booked an airport hotel, and by the time we got through customs and to the hotel, it was 7:45 AM. The girls got a quick pastry in the hotel cafe, then we took a nap from 8:30 – 11:00 AM (hotel check-out in London is noon). Everyone woke up feeling MUCH better, and it was easier to think clearly and start adventuring into London. We had a fun day in London, and everyone was still ready for bed at 8:30 PM that night. The girls slept for 10 hours that night, and woke up refreshed and ready to start our real travels. We had no issues with the time change after that.
Seat Assignments & Baggage Policies:
I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. I’m not sure if I should as a travel agent, but oh well. Here’s the deal, if I know our travel dates are locked in (that’s KEY here, people!) I usually book those base economy tickets, not even main economy. Why? There’s a couple reasons:
- We don’t need 4 checked bags. One of the biggest benefits of main economy tickets is that it comes with a checked bag. But my kids are still tiny, which means their clothes are tiny, and I don’t need 4 checked bags. We easily traveled for 16-nights last summer in Europe with 2 checked bags plus 2 backpacks, so it’s usually more economical for me to just add the bags I need. Especially on international flights which include a good-sized carry-on, we just don’t need them yet. For domestic flights, we can usually each pack what we need in a “personal item” sized bag (we pack light, y’all) but there’s more on that in a minute here below, because it depends on the airline.
- Most airlines have a “family seating policy”. Most airlines (but not all) have a policy where if seats are not selected, the system will automatically put 1 adult and 1 child under the age of 12 together. So we may get split up 2 and 2 on our flights, but that’s fine. However, you need to read the fine print. Because some airlines say “next to or adjacent” which isn’t helpful with kids. Adjacent means you could be assigned a seat in Row A, and your kiddo gets assigned a seat diagonally behind you in row B. Technically adjacent, but not helpful to literally anyone with younger kids who cannot handle that.
So what do I do?
On domestic flights, I never book them. Because honestly we’re typically booking the same 2 airlines and I know their family seating policy is to put an adult next to a kiddo, and we’re used to flying 2 in one row and 2 in another so it’s not a big deal. If you’re curious, I ALWAYS sit with Remi. I don’t think that child would ever let dad sit next to her. She’s definitely a mommas girl. Maybe one day lol.
On international flights, I don’t book seats right away, but instead, about every month, I’ll open up the booking and modify our seats which brings up the seating chart of the plane. If most seats are still open, I don’t buy them. If it looks like it’s getting full because people are paying to select their seats and it looks like there’s a chance we won’t all be together? I’ll just go ahead and pay for them. It’s annoying and I prefer not to do so, but at the end of the day I do want us all together.
Here’s the thing though, this doesn’t work for everyone!
If you have kids ages 13+, they don’t fall into the family seating policy, so if you want to sit together, you need to book seats together. Also, if you have an odd number of kids (say, 3) and you’re traveling with 2 adults, sometimes they do utilize that “adjacent” option, which can make it hard to guarantee you’ll be happy with your assigned seats. Or, if you pack a lot (no worries if that’s you), it may be more economical to buy economy main or above to get those bags included.
Step 6: Book With Confidence
Once you’ve found the right flight at the right price, book it—and don’t second-guess yourself.
I always check fare rules, change policies, and whether a flight is refundable or credit-eligible to understand my options if things do arise and I need to make changes. For families, flexibility after booking can be just as important as the price itself, and I always recommend travel insurance for international flights. In most cases, booking all tickets together ensures everyone stays seated and checked in as a group.
PART TWO: BEST TIPS & TRICKS FOR FAMILY AIRFARE
Fly on More Family-Friendly Travel Days
Midweek flights are often cheaper, but they can also be easier with kids—shorter lines, less crowded planes, and a calmer airport experience overall.
While there’s no “magic day” to book, avoiding peak travel days when everyone else is flying can make a noticeable difference in both price and stress level.
Look Beyond Your Closest Airport
If you live within driving distance of more than one airport, it’s always worth checking options.
Sometimes flying out of (or into) a nearby airport can dramatically reduce airfare for families. When I do this, I always weigh the savings against parking costs, tolls, a potential hotel stay, and the extra drive—but often, the math works out in your favor.
Don’t Rule Out Budget Airlines—Just Read Carefully
Budget airlines can be a great option for families on certain domestic routes—but only if you understand the full cost.
Baggage fees, seat selection, and carry-on rules add up quickly when you’re traveling with kids. I look at the total price, not just the base fare, and decide if the savings are worth the trade-offs.
Parent Tip – make sure to check the baggage size allowed for carry-ons and personal items on budget airlines. They are often smaller than the larger carriers, and trust me, showing up at the airport with a backpack that’s 2 inches too big and paying $75 to check it will erase any savings you made real quick.
Bring the Snacks.
I am a firm believer that children will pick ONE thing to fuss about while traveling. And it’s typically the one thing you cannot pivot on. Even the best of eaters can become picky with airplane food, and that is the one time you can’t just get up and get something else. Yes, they do offer kids meals on international flights, but if your kiddo decides its not for them? Bring the snacks. Kids can live off of goldfish for a meal and be ok. But what we can’t do is live with scream crying kids because they’re hungry and refusing to eat the meal you thought they’d eat. So I always bring enough snacks for the entire journey (there and back) that are considering “safe” in my house.
Avoid These Common Family Airfare Mistakes
Some of the biggest airfare regrets I see come from:
- Waiting too long “just in case” prices drop
- Booking basic economy without understanding the restrictions
- Choosing the absolute cheapest option without considering travel time or the best travel times for your family
- Forgetting to factor baggage costs and seats for the whole family
A little planning upfront prevents a lot of stress later.
Applying These Tips to My Family Travel Plans
If you remember, my family is heading to back to Europe this summer for another adventure. We’ll be in Italy for a bit, then heading on an Adriatic Sea cruise before we end up back in Italy.
Option 1: Flying USA – Rome, Italy
The cruise leaves from Ravenna, Italy and we’ll disembark the cruise in Rome, Italy, so my original thought was to book roundtrip flights to Rome, explore Rome, Florence and Ravenna before the cruise, then head to the airport when we get off the cruise in Rome to fly home. However, when I started looking at flight prices, I realized a few things weren’t working in my favor:
- The most economical flights to Rome left from JFK – which is the furthest, most difficult airport for us to fly from. JFK offered some of the only nonstop options as well, and layovers from other airports didn’t meet my base requirements.
- To get to JFK, we usually take Amtrak up the morning of, but need a hotel when we land after our trip because Amtrak doesn’t run late enough to get us home the night before.
- So along with flight costs, I needed to consider our Amtrak tickets (usually about $315 round trip from where we live) plus a hotel the night we land back in the US. Hotel prices were astronomical the night we needed (I’m guessing because it was around July 4) but holy moly it was a shock.
The best options for flights to Rome, based on my criteria above, was $4800 all-in when I included our 2 checked bags, Amtrak tickets, and hotel needs. Honestly I was really discouraged when I realized how much it would cost. So I knew I needed to pivot.
Option 2: Flying USA – Milan, Italy
I next looked at Milan for flights, because in my brain, that’s always the next cheapest option when flying into Italy. I pulled together another itinerary that left from Newark, NJ. This would have allowed us to drive to the airport (2 hours, 40 minutes), and parking costs were equivalent to the Amtrak cost to JFK. However, honestly I don’t love Newark airport, so that was a negative for me. And the flight times returning still left us needing a hotel for the night, because I don’t want to drive home at midnight after a significant time change. Additionally, Milan is way north of Rome, so taking a train from Milan to Rome would have added $300 to the cost and an additional 3.5 hours of travel time, which I didn’t love. All in, this option saved me about $350 which wasn’t enough to warrant a pivot to Milan for me knowing all the extra hassels.
Option 3: Flying USA – Florence, Italy
THEN. I had an epifany. What if I didn’t start in Rome, but instead started in Florence? Just pivot our trip a bit and visit Rome once we got off the ship instead of before? This is where things started clicking and the date flexibility I talked about up front really comes into play. I was able to find flights from Dulles (an easy 2 hour, 20 minute drive) and fly British Airways to Florence for a signicant price savings. The flight did have a layover at London Heathrow, but it met my layover time requirements and departed/landed at times that worked for my family. Because it landed back at Dulles post-trip at a good hour, we could drive home that night, eliminating the extra hotel cost. And extending our dates in Rome after our cruise allows us to celebrate Gemma’s 8th birthday in Rome, which is amazing! Overall, all-in, this option saved us about $1500. I also found savings because my hotel in Rome was actually about 100 Euros cheaper to move the dates to post-cruise instead of visiting before the cruise, as well.
This took me about 2 weeks to figure out in my free time between my full-time job, parenting, and pulling together quotes for other clients (what is free time as a parent?) and I’m really thrilled about it. The flights meet all my requirements and fit within the pricing I originally allocated for this trip. I check prices daily on the British Airways website. They went down slightly from when I first looked, and have now leveled out, so if they stay this way for another few days, I’m going to book them. I also check Kayak just to make sure no magical second option has appeared, but so far, it has not. I’m getting VERY excited about this trip now that our flights are in order!
Final Thoughts: A Smarter Way to Book Family Flights
Finding great airfare for your family isn’t about chasing deals—it’s about following a system:
- Build in flexibility where you can
- Use the right tools
- Track prices
- Book flights that actually work for your family
The “best” flight isn’t always the cheapest one. It’s the one that gets your family where you’re going without starting the trip exhausted.
And if airfare planning feels overwhelming? That’s exactly where a family travel planner like me can help—so you can focus on the fun part of the trip, not the spreadsheets.
This is the level of attention to detail I give ALL my clients. You will know I have checked every possible resource for your family’s travels and feel confident that what I’m presenting is the best option for your crew. Want to see where your family can go this summer? Let’s talk! Send me an email (Casey@MemoryLaneTravelCo.com) or use my inquiry forms to provide me with the basics I need to start planning.
Happy travels!
EWK Travel 