If being a parent wasn’t hard enough already, the challenge of flying with a young kid for the first time can ensure that even super-parents have their work cut out for them.
Even if a kid handles the initial weird feelings during takeoff and the ear discomfort is fine, there’s still the matter of getting them to sit still for several hours in a cramped, flying tube.
Personal TV screens on the back of airline seats have done a decent job distracting the little ones, but, let’s face it, flying with children is still tough.
The only thing I can think of that would make the experience better would involve supersonic flight or… money.
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It’s not unheard for airlines to let infants fly free, but Frontier Airlines is extending the age cut-off all the way up to 14.
According to USA Today , this offer comes as part of their Discount Den program, so signing up for that is needed to take advantage of it.
Understandably, you are probably a bit skeptical that children up to 14 years of age can fly free.
Yes, there are a handful of conditions, but the offer is completely legitimate. Let’s go through the conditions.
The offer works best for those who fly often, as the Discount Den membership costs about $60 per year.
As CBS Denver reported , one kid flies free for every adult ticket purchased.
So if two parents bring four kids along, two of them will fly for free.
It’s also important to note that the offer is only available on select days, so some prior planning is definitely recommended.
According to Frontier’s website , the dates when kids can fly free are as follows:
February – 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
March – 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27
April – 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30
May – 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, 29
June – 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26
July – 9, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30
August – 5, 6
Note that they’re also subject to change.
For some travelers, this part is kind of a given, but in case there’s any confusion, the offer only applies to airfare.
That means that any travel “add-ons” like bags and specific seat selections aren’t part of it and do cost money as usual.
It will also cause much fewer headaches to know exactly what does and doesn’t count as a Kids Fly Free flight.
As CBS Denver reported, it only works if you book your flight on Frontier’s website and it can’t be retroactively applied to any previous bookings.
Also, changing your flight after the first booking also makes the promotion stop applying to it.
It may be difficult to keep track of all the conditions at this point, but this one is particularly good to know.
At this point, it’s no secret that the offer applies to select flights, but it should be made clear that it also only works for domestic flights.
If the kids are trying to get to Paris, they’re not getting there for free.
Finally, kids who fly for free don’t get to collect Frontier miles while they do it.
As amusing as it might be for the kids to get free first class seats by the time they’re old enough to buy their own tickets, that’s not really how it works.
But yes, if the stars align and you happen to meet all of the conditions for this offer, a kid you’re traveling with can fly for free.
Since they can potentially take advantage of this for up to 15 years, I suppose it makes sense that there would be so many restrictions.
There’s no doubt parents will be digging into this offer. Let’s face it, you will likely have to fly with your child dozens of times.
If there is a chance even a small percentage of those fees are cut, parents will show up.
h/t: CBS Denver