Recently we took a cross country trip with the family. Though we have taken many road trips across multiple states, this was our first experience flying as a family. The biggest thing keeping us from flying has been the expense of purchasing plane tickets for five people. But now that we have discovered Frontier Airlines, we have opened up a whole new world. If you are interested in flying with your family but don’t think you can afford it, check out these tips for flying Frontier Airlines!

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Things to know about Frontier Airlines

You don’t sacrifice safety.

One of the first questions my daughter had when I told her about Frontier and the discount prices was about safety. If the plane ticket is so cheap, how do we know it’s safe? But Frontier and other budget airlines don’t cut costs for safety; instead they find other ways to trim the price.

Whey you purchase a ticket on Frontier Airlines you are buying just the plane ticket with no amenities. If you are interested in finding a budget way to get across the country or to another part of the country, then this is for you.

Luggage fees

Frontier is for the traveler who only wants to pay for the services you use. I have one friend who frequently flies Frontier with her family. They each pack a single backpack. If you get everything you need in your backpack, then you won’t pay for anything extra. If you are planning a two-week trip with a conference thrown in that requires business clothes, then you may need to pay for extra bags.

Check out the baggage fees here.

Pack your own snacks.

Frontier offers in-flight snacks and beverages but you have to pay for them. If you choose to purchase in-flight snacks, remember that Frontier only accepts credit or debit – no cash.

If you are traveling on a budget, you can get around this added cost by packing your own snacks. We each brought an empty water bottle to fill at the water stations in the airport after we we were through security. Each member of the family also packed several candy bars, hard candy and gum to snack on during our flight.

Join the Discount Den Club

If you are interested in saving money on Frontier, make sure you sign up for the email newsletter. You will receive regular emails with the latest deals and flight options.

When you are ready to purchase your ticket, make sure you sign up for the Discount den club. Yes, it costs $50 but you save more than that when you make your first reservation.

Flexibility pays off!

When we were planning our trip, we discovered that we could save money by flying on Tuesday rather than leaving later in the week. If you can be flexible with your schedule, you will potentially save hundreds of dollars.

When we were planning this 2,500 mile, 3 state road trip, we discovered that we saved a significant amount of money by flying into San Jose, California instead of going straight to San Francisco. Look at the airports near where you are headed and see if if there is a cheaper option that will fit your schedule.

Check the timing

Make sure you check the timing carefully when you pick your tickets. Frontier does a good job of giving you an alert if the flight you pick involves a significant delay or involves an overnight layover. Just because the flight may be the cheapest may not mean it fits your schedule.

Tips and tricks for flying low budget airlines

Pick your seat option

One of the things that budget airlines up-charge for is the option to pick your seats. On our cross country trip, we decided that this was not something we wanted to pay for. We decided that we were more interested in saving money than guaranteeing that we got a seat together. But we were pleasantly surprised to find when we checked in that we had five seats together! Win win! We saved money and still got to sit together on the plane.

Consider travel insurance

Because life is full of unexpected curves, we opted to pay for travel guard insurance. This add-on was not that expensive and gave me peace of mind that we would be able to switch our flight if life threw us a curve.

Bottom line: will we fly Frontier again? 100% yes! Our experience was smooth, the ride comfortable and the price well under our budget!

Have you ever flown Frontier or another budget airline? What was your experience?

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