Help with choosing a flight (Delta?)

[Just Kate]

Dh and I just decided that we really need to make the trip to visit his parents, who are both dealing with pretty significant health issues. We have a specific week we need to travel (week of August 6) and The dates I would prefer are Wednesday, August 8 - Sunday, August 12. We will be flying from Cincinnati to Minneapolis and will have our 14 and 11 year olds with us. 

The cheapest flights we can find are through Delta Basic Economy, but it looks like we wouldn’t be able to choose our own seats. To move up to the next class (not sure if that’s what it’s called) so we could choose seats would cost almost $300. That seems so excessive!!! Anyone have any experience with Delta Basic Economy? Their fine print does say that they can’t guarantee that families can sit together. I just can’t imagine my 11 year old dd sitting without one of us on the flight  

Anything else I could be looking at to get the most inexpensive flights? We could change dates a bit, if necessary. Dh has that week off work already, but I’m trying to minimize the days that I will have to take off. 

Air travel is so frustrating...

[Jean in Newcastle]

We’ve had one parent sitting with each child before. It’s easier to find two seats together than four. 

[gardenmom5]

are you looking at airline sites or conglomeration sites? 

delete cookies between looking at conglomeration sites - seriously, we've had the fact we were looking at flights drive up the cost of what we found.  when I deleted the cookies, the prices came back down.

see if you can get the calendar for flights out your airport for your selected airline and destination (not sure how I found it for alaska - but I got every single day for a month).   same flight can vary greatly depending upon the day of the week or even the day of the month.

friday, sunday, and monday am are generally the three most expensive days to fly.   tuesday and wednesday are usually best.

time of day also affects price - first thing in the morning tends to be more.  later in the day/into evening is cheaper - unless it's the end of the week and business people are flying home.

[Just Kate]

6 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

We’ve had one parent sitting with each child before. It’s easier to find two seats together than four. 

 

With Delta Basic Economy it won’t give you a seat until check-in, which means you may not be able to find seats together. 

[Just Kate]

4 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

are you looking at airline sites or conglomeration sites? 

delete cookies between looking at conglomeration sites - seriously, we've had the fact we were looking at flights drive up the cost of what we found.  when I deleted the cookies, the prices came back down.

see if you can get the calendar for flights out your airport for your selected airline and destination (not sure how I found it for alaska - but I got every single day for a month).   same flight can vary greatly depending upon the day of the week or even the day of the month.

friday, sunday, and monday am are generally the three most expensive days to fly.   tuesday and wednesday are usually best.

time of day also affects price - first thing in the morning tends to be more.  later in the day/into evening is cheaper - unless it's the end of the week and business people are flying home.

 

I was looking at Travelocity. I think I’ve seen the top before about clearing cookies. Thanks so much for reminding me!!!

[Jean in Newcastle]

23 minutes ago, Just Kate said:

 

With Delta Basic Economy it won’t give you a seat until check-in, which means you may not be able to find seats together. 

Just giving you my experience with that airlines - and with that same method of seat assignment - which is exactly what you asked for.  You don't have to believe me, but it seems weird to ask if you are going to reject our experiences.  Obviously my experience might not mirror what your experience will be. 

[J-rap]

In our experience, major airlines are pretty good about trying to keep families together, or at least one parent with one child.  If you save money, I'd do it.  As a last resort, you can often get a passenger to switch with you (especially if you offer to take a middle seat!).  You can also plan to be at the airport early so you're there when more seats are available to be assigned.

Have you checked some of the non-major airlines?  I can't remember which ones fly into Cincinnati, but we've found Southwest, Sun Country, and Jet Blue to offer good deals to/from Minneapolis.

[Lanny]

I begin with Google Flights. I think there is a button or link you can click on, to see nearby dates, in case one is much less than another. After you select the flight you want, they transfer you to the web site of the airline and you make your purchase there.

NOTE: The airlines are getting extremely  picky regarding carry on baggage and other things, such as no seat assignments, as you mentioned. We even have that here in Colombia now. It may be better to pay for a higher fare basis that allows you to sit together, that allows you to bring at least one carry on bag into the cabin, that possibly allows you one checked bag each, etc. than to go for the lowest possible fare.

SUGGESTION: IF you need to connect allow at least 2 hours in the connecting city between scheduled arrival and scheduled departure.

ETA: I read the OP again. It may be on that lowest Delta fare that when you go into the Check Out process, they offer options such as paying extra for seat assignments when you make the reservation. We ran into that for our return flight on LAN Colombia (LATAM)  from Bogota to Cali on May 4th, which was the critical reservation, because DD was scheduled to take the SAT the next morning.  We paid extra at that time for the seat assignments. I suspect, but am not sure, that had we not done that, that when we went to do the "Web Check In" with in 48 hours of departure, we would have been able to select our seat assignments at that time.  Our origin flight was on Avianca, which is my favorite. When we did the "Web Check In" their computer had assigned us 3 seats together that we were happy with and we did not change them. PAY MUCH ATTENTION to restrictions on Carry On baggage!

[Rachel]

You are correct that the seats won’t be assigned until you check in at the gate. Assuming the flight isn’t way oversold and you are polite, they will do their best to get two of you seats together. At the least you could ask to trade seats with someone once you are on the plane. I have had my kids sit near strangers few rows away and it has worked out fine.

It’s been my experience that the Delta workers in Cincinnati are reasonable and friendly.  We have had many good experiences there but I especially appreciated when they let my husband back to my gate both at departure and arrival when I was flying alone with three kids. 

[Annie G]

Delta basic economy also means nothing in the overhead compartment. You can bring something that fits under the seat or you can pay to check something. So for instance, you can’t bring your purse and a backpack. 

‘My experience has been that when you board a person will switch seats with you if you ask nicely and it’s a comparable seat. So if your 11 year old has a middle seat don’t ask someone w a window seat to switch.  Usually the flight attendant will help you if needed. 

Check in online as soon as you can- 24 hours before the flight- and try to get seats close together even if they aren’t on the same row. It makes it easier for you to get up and check on her during the flight.

[livetoread]

Frontier flies out of Cincinnati. Even though their price changes from the first very low price once you add things, often it is still cheaper. Southwest does too, though their cheaper seats might be booked by now.

[mumto2]

We never had a problem asking people to switch seats in order to allow me to sit with the kids, I just started my “excuse me, would you mind” as soon as I boarded.  If we were on first it was really easy because they didn’t have a chance to organize.  Seriously think about it, why would anyone want to sit with your 11 yo?  Last year someone switched pretty quickly so my dc’s could sit with each other on a flight.  Dd looks like she is 12 without make up even though she was 19.  They asked nicely, no problem. As someone said comparable or better seating offered in trade.

[Paige]

I’m pretty sure there’s a newish rules that requires Delta to seat your younger child with you even w/ basic economy seats.

That said, when I bought a ticket for my infant in a car seat, I didn’t go with basic economy because I was worried about having issues at the gate and didn’t want any drama.

[*LC]

In Basic Economy you’ll experience:

• Complimentary carry-on bag.Overhead bin space may be limited, so your carry-on bag may be gate checked free of charge
• Checked bag fee applies depending on the route. Please visit our Baggage and Travel Fees page for details
• Seat assignment is free after check-in
• Ticket changes or upgrades are not allowed*

_{* Ticket changes or refunds not allowed after the Risk-Free Cancellation period. Basic Economy travelers are not eligible for paid or complimentary access or upgrades to premium seats, including to Delta Comfort+® or Preferred Seats; and no paid access to Priority Boarding.}

 

_{i grew up flying stand by, so I frequently sat by myself on planes from a young age. It made me feel mature. My kids have also with no issues. So, I would ask your 11-year-old's opinion, since every kid is different.}

[Annie G]

Oh the carry on bag is great!  Other airlines only allow a personal item with basic economy. My last American flight had a lot of people mad because they couldn’t bring something for the overhead and a personal item. 

[Frances]

1 hour ago, mumto2 said:

We never had a problem asking people to switch seats in order to allow me to sit with the kids, I just started my “excuse me, would you mind” as soon as I boarded.  If we were on first it was really easy because they didn’t have a chance to organize.  Seriously think about it, why would anyone want to sit with your 11 yo?  Last year someone switched pretty quickly so my dc’s could sit with each other on a flight.  Dd looks like she is 12 without make up even though she was 19.  They asked nicely, no problem. As someone said comparable or better seating offered in trade.

I don’t find this to always be true. Many people want an aisle or window seat specifically, so comparable trades can’t always happen. Aisle seats can even be needed for health reasons. And I wouldn’t mind sitting by an 11 year old. There’s no reason to think they wouldn’t be well behaved. Children younger than that travel as unaccompanied minors all of the time. 

If you want to be sure of seats together for at least the youngest, then I’d buy two of the more expensive tickets.

[Bootsie]

We have flown with Delta basic economy tickets a number of times.  Some depends on how crowded you think the flight might be.  You can check the seat availability and see how booked the flight looks at this point.  

At 11 my kids would not have had trouble sitting next to someone else on a plane; in fact, they would have thought of it as an adventure.   It is likely that even if you are not next to each other, you will be close by.  You might be in a center seat in one row and your child in a center seat in the row in front of you, for example.  With four of you in the cheap seat section of the plane, you won't be too far apart. 

I do not worry much about particular seat assignments, because I find that too often they change.  My flight is cancelled and I am on another plane; a mother with a small child was bumped from another flight and need to sit together, the plane is a different seating arrangement than expected.  

[mumto2]

1 hour ago, Frances said:

I don’t find this to always be true. Many people want an aisle or window seat specifically, so comparable trades can’t always happen. Aisle seats can even be needed for health reasons. And I wouldn’t mind sitting by an 11 year old. There’s no reason to think they wouldn’t be well behaved. Children younger than that travel as unaccompanied minors all of the time. 

If you want to be sure of seats together for at least the youngest, then I’d buy two of the more expensive tickets.

We trade aisle for aisle, window for window normally.  We have upgraded a few by taking middle seats that were not assigned to us.  It normally works out probably because we no longer need it to. ?  That being said our seating issues generally have occurred on tickets where we are supposed to get to pick our seats but something has gone wrong.

[Mbelle]

I believe previous poster is correct about the newish law with younger kids sitting with their parents.  I think any child 13 and under has the right to sit with their parents.  I googled this recently because...

My 5 year old was assigned a seat by himself.  None of our family were seated together.  The ticket person and then flight attendants suggested we just ask someone to switch with us.  My son was crying and you would not believe it but this lady refused to switch seats.  However, other people were immediatly compassionate and switched seats.  The other kids are older teens so it was no big deal for them.

 

[flyingaway]

That flight only takes an hour and the Boeing 717 is not a jumbo jet. You won’t be that far away. Maybe that helps. 

[athena1277]

I have flown with my kids when they were 5yo and 9yo.  I could only get 2 seats together on a small plane.  9yo sat 4 or 5 rows ahead of me.  I spoke to the guy sitting beside her to let him know I was nearby in case of any problems.  He offered to trade, but I told him I had to sit with 5yo.  That was the first of several times she has had to sit apart.  She was totally fine.  I do try to sit somewhere behind her just because it’s easier getting off when she’s waiting for me at her row.

[importswim]

2 hours ago, flyingaway said:

That flight only takes an hour and the Boeing 717 is not a jumbo jet. You won’t be that far away. Maybe that helps. 

It's around 2 hours and most of the Delta flights direct CVG to MSP are CRJ 700/900 (one 717) so even closer together!

 I wouldn't ask someone to switch with you while on-board as they may have paid extra for their seat. If sitting together is a big deal then I'd get the main cabin seats. Your 11 year old should be fine by herself!

 

OP, there is a frontier direct flight as well that you could look into, I just looked it up myself, and although you wouldn't be able to travel back on that Sunday if you did Wednesday to Saturday I'm showing approximately $150 per person round trip for this flight around that time frame. That might save you some buckaroos.

[katilac]

One of my kids would have had a rough time sitting alone on a plane at 11, but I think the vast majority would be fine with it. Like, if they'll order their own food at Subway, they're probably fine, lol. 

And definitely clear cookies or use incognito mode. We just bought an international flight under high anxiety, and paid a premium for forgetting this. 

[Just Kate]

OP here...we went ahead and booked the inexpensive flight through Delta Basic Economy. I had a long talk with dd and while she really doesn’t want to sit by herself on the plane (she’s going through something lately where she doesn’t like to leave me as much), she is old enough to understand that it is crazy to pay $150 just so the two of us can sit together. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that it will work out. 

Now to figure out how to fly without checking any luggage! We can each take a carryon and a personal bag. I know we can fit all we will need in the carryons, however I’m going to need to think about how to pack toiletries and makeup. Off to google...I’m sure there’s a blog post about this somewhere. 

[Rachel]

9 hours ago, Just Kate said:

OP here...we went ahead and booked the inexpensive flight through Delta Basic Economy. I had a long talk with dd and while she really doesn’t want to sit by herself on the plane (she’s going through something lately where she doesn’t like to leave me as much), she is old enough to understand that it is crazy to pay $150 just so the two of us can sit together. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that it will work out. 

Now to figure out how to fly without checking any luggage! We can each take a carryon and a personal bag. I know we can fit all we will need in the carryons, however I’m going to need to think about how to pack toiletries and makeup. Off to google...I’m sure there’s a blog post about this somewhere. 

I hope it will be a good growing experience for her!

[TravelingChris]

21 hours ago, Frances said:

I don’t find this to always be true. Many people want an aisle or window seat specifically, so comparable trades can’t always happen. Aisle seats can even be needed for health reasons. And I wouldn’t mind sitting by an 11 year old. There’s no reason to think they wouldn’t be well behaved. Children younger than that travel as unaccompanied minors all of the time. 

If you want to be sure of seats together for at least the youngest, then I’d buy two of the more expensive tickets.

1

This.  And we pay more for my sitting with my dh so no, we won't switch.  I do sit in aisle seats because of prior DVTs and dh sits with me to also help me with tasks such as opening packages, etc, since I have rheumatoid arthritis too.  I am not going to share with strangers as to why I will not sit apart but I won't if I do not have to.

[Katy]

Check Delta's website directly too.  Many times it's either cheaper than going through a 3rd party site or they allow things like choosing your seat for less money, at least IME.

[Lanny]

When we went to Bogota the first week of May for the School Fair and to go to the Embassy to apply for Renewal Passports, it was for 3 nights.  The LAN Colombia (LATAM)  Carry On restrictions seemed severe and only allowed one little bag that could fit under the seat in front of our row.  So, now I saw another post by the OP and I think another poster, that that Fare Basis also allows  something in the Overhead  Bin.  Had we been able to do that on LAN Colombia (LATAM) our trip would have been more comfortable.  There have been a lot of posts  here on WTM, about people who saw other passengers being forced to Gate Check things they wanted in the cabin, or, they themselves had to do that.  My theory, since we went on 2 different airlines, was that we had to comply with the most restrictive rules, which is what we did. In retrospect, I wish that we had gone  with Avianca on both flights, instead of only on the origin flight.  There could be serious issues, if one needs to Gate Check a bag that has something critical in it and it ends up getting lost.  Fortunately, that's quite rare.