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My children won't be on your airplane - you can thank the economy
Last year, we were that family on your airplane. But don't worry, this year you're safe. My family and I can't afford to all fly at once in the current economy. Don't thank me, thank Uncle Sam.
Last year, we were that family on your airplane. The ones pleading with the ticket agents to seat us together and arriving late due to a lost blankie in the security line, the ones with two kids constantly crying, the owners of the portable DVD player blasting Dora and Diego for a solid three hours. You probably bumped into our child's head when it was hanging out in the aisle as she shamelessly nursed uncovered, and yes, we were the ones holding up the deboarding process as we tried to figure out how to open our double stroller. Hey, you started that game of peek-a-boo - I warned you that it wasn't a good idea in the first five minutes of a cross-country flight.
But don't worry, this year you're safe. My family and I can't afford to all fly at once in the current economy, so my kids won't be flying the friendly skies. Don't thank me, thank Uncle Sam.
The cost of plane tickets themselves aren't the biggest deterrent - if anything, tickets are slightly cheaper today then they were this time last year. But tally up all the current add-on costs of air travel for a family of four, and combine it with the increased saving and reduction in credit card purchases necessary in this recessionary climate (yes Suze, I'm listening), and we just can't justify fastening four seat belts. There's the new checked bag fees - unavoidable in a family with small children. Then you have food that must be purchased, since meals are no longer included and your carry-on is too crammed with coloring books and diapers to fit any forms of sustenance. And of course, there's parking at the airport, car rentals or transportation fees when you reach your destination and various other travel expenses.
Since the grandparents and great-grandparents of my children live in California, I've had enough travel booking experience these past five years to open my own travel agency. I cross check all the discount sites, have e-mail alerts set up when ticket prices drop, weigh our bags on the bathroom scale before we leave the house to avoid the dreaded extra fees and HEAVY tag (which always makes me feel fat.) I've had us stay at a motel right by the airport the night before a flight, since sometimes the free parking included with the room is cheaper than paying the most discounted long-term parking rates. But even when applying all my best tricks, the safest financial move for our family is purchasing one ticket, instead of four.
This means my husband will be flying solo to visit his brother and nephews and nieces, rather than getting all the cousins together. I'm meeting my Texas-residing sister at our dad's house in California for a spouseless and childless weekend where we'll probably revert back to bickering and begging Dad to take us to the Guess? outlet. We'll send my mom a ticket to visit us, rather than all heading out to be mothered at Grandma's. I might even attend a friend's wedding solo, which is always kind of depressing. (So please be nice to that chatty, tipsy dateless mom sitting at your table showing you an unending stream of photos of her kids in her phone...that could be me.) If we do take a family vacation this summer, it will definitely be to a driveable locale.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not crying poor. I'm just realistic and practical. Family air travel used to be an expense I counted as a necessity in our budget. But in order to put our financial security first while still maintaining closeness with extended family, solo trips are our 2009 solution. For us, good parenting means saving a few thousand dollars this year by not flying with the kids, and putting the money that would have been spent on their tickets in an emergency fund.
So this year my husband and I will be boarding flights without slapping passengers in the head with car seats and the barf bags in the front pockets may actually go unused. However, if you're traveling with your children this year and I happen to be on your flight, I hope you and your little ones sit by me. Honey, I've been there, I adore Dora, and I have hours of endurance for peek-a-boo.
Jessica writes daily at her website for DC-area parents, A Parent in Silver Spring.
