How to Choose Flights With Kids: What to Compare Before You Book
Once you have decided that flying makes sense for your family, there is still another decision to make: which flight should you actually book?
Price matters, but so do the route, timing, airports, airline, layover, seating, and what the rest of the travel day looks like around the flight.
For our family, I usually prioritize the most direct route I can reasonably get, followed closely by timing. I pay less attention to the airline itself unless its policies, fees, or flight options make a real difference for that particular trip. But that is what works best for us, and I know it will not be the right order of priorities for every family.
A 6 a.m. nonstop might sound perfect to me and completely miserable to someone who cannot imagine waking a toddler at 3 a.m. The better choice is the one that makes the whole travel day feel most manageable for your family.
How to Choose the Best Flight With Kids
When you are choosing a flight with kids, look at more than the ticket price and the number of hours in the air. The easiest itinerary is usually the one that works best when you consider the entire travel day together.
Start by comparing whether the flight is nonstop or requires a connection, and how much extra time and complexity that connection adds. Then look closely at the departure and arrival times. A flight may be short and inexpensive, but it can still create a difficult day if you need to leave home in the middle of the night, land long before your hotel room is ready, or arrive so late that everyone is exhausted before you even reach your accommodations.
The airports matter too. A farther airport may be worth the drive if it gives you a much better nonstop flight, while a larger connecting airport may require more time to change terminals, clear customs, or simply get from one gate to another.
You should also compare the airlines themselves when their policies or onboard setup could affect your family. Look at things like seat selection and family seating, baggage fees, stroller and car-seat policies, boarding procedures, and what is actually included in the fare. A cheaper airline is not always cheaper once you add the things your family needs.
Finally, check whether the available seats and aircraft configuration work for your group, how realistic any layover is, what transportation and hotel logistics look like after landing, and whether the easier option is worth the price difference for your trip.
The main things to compare are:
- nonstop vs. connecting
- departure and arrival times
- layover length
- departure and arrival airports
- airline policies, fees, and family seating
- seat availability and aircraft configuration
- total travel time from home to destination
- transportation and hotel timing after landing
- the ages and needs of the kids traveling
- total cost compared with the convenience you are getting
Look at the Whole Travel Day, Not Just the Flight
When I compare flights, I am really comparing everything that has to happen from the time we leave home until we are settled at our destination.
That includes the drive to the airport, parking, how early we need to arrive, the flight itself, any connections, ground transportation after landing, and what happens when we reach our hotel.
A flight that looks faster on paper can become a much longer trip once you add all of those pieces together.
We see this a lot because our closest airport is Rochester, but we also regularly consider Buffalo. ROC is only about 30 minutes from our house, while BUF adds roughly another 45 minutes of driving. But Buffalo often has a nonstop flight to Orlando that works really well for us.
On an upcoming trip, for example, we are flying from Rochester because I had Delta points to use. We will have a three-hour flight to Atlanta, about a two-hour layover, and then another flight to Orlando. Driving to ROC saves us time before the flight, but the connection means the entire trip takes longer than it normally does when we drive farther to Buffalo and fly nonstop.
Neither option is automatically wrong. One saved us money this time, while the other usually saves me time and makes the actual travel day simpler.
This is similar to the way I think about driving versus flying with kids in general. The useful number is not always the flight duration. It is the total amount of time and effort it takes to get your family from where you are to where you are going.
Airport Survival Guide for Families
Flying with kids? This guide walks you through the airport step by step, from packing and parking to security, boarding, baggage claim, and beyond.
Airport Survival Guide for Families helps you think through strollers, car seats, bags, TSA, bathrooms, snacks, gate-checking, delays, and all the little logistics that can make airport days feel like a lot.
It’s based on real family travel experience, including many flights where I was the only adult with my kids, and it’s written to help the airport part of your trip feel more manageable.
Nonstop vs. Connecting Flights With Kids
If I have a reasonable nonstop option, I strongly prefer it.
Especially when I am traveling alone with young kids, every transition I can eliminate makes the day easier. With a nonstop flight, we go through the airport once, board once, get settled once, and get off the plane at our destination.
A connection means gathering everything up, getting the kids off the plane, potentially waiting for a gate-checked stroller or car seat, finding another gate, fitting in bathrooms and food, and then boarding and getting everyone settled all over again.
There is also simply more opportunity for something to go wrong. A delay on the first flight can affect the second one, and a missed connection with a family can be much harder to solve than rebooking one traveler.
We once flew from Orlando to Mexico City with a connection in Miami. Storms delayed our first flight, and by the time we landed in Miami, our connection was getting very close.
I had to wait for our gate-checked stroller, put both kids in it, and literally run through the airport to the next gate. We arrived just before they closed the doors.
We made it, but that is exactly the kind of airport adventure I would rather avoid when I have another option. I also missed my chance to get Cuban coffee in Miami, which may have been the real tragedy of the situation.
When a Connecting Flight Can Still Make Sense
As much as I prefer nonstop flights, I would not pay absolutely any price to avoid a connection.
For example, we have an upcoming trip to Orlando. Our usual choice would be the nonstop JetBlue flight from Buffalo. That flight is often under $300 per person and sometimes much less, but this time it was around $1,500 per person.
At the same time, I happened to have enough Delta miles to book flights for all of us from Rochester without paying for the tickets. The tradeoff is that the Delta itinerary includes a connection.
I looked very hard at that JetBlue flight because I knew the nonstop would make the travel day easier. But when the choice was between paying thousands of dollars for the simpler itinerary or using points for a free flight with a connection, the connection absolutely won.
Timing can also make a connection more appealing. If the only nonstop leaves at an awful time for your family while the connecting flight gives you a much more manageable day, it is worth comparing both.
And although some families intentionally choose a connection on a long trip so their kids can get off the plane and move around, that is not something I personally prioritize. I would usually rather facilitate movement during the flight where I can and get to the destination sooner.
Your child may be completely different, and that is really the point. A toddler who desperately needs a physical break may change the equation in a way that an infant sleeping in a stroller or an older child happily watching an iPad does not.
When Is It Worth Driving Farther for a Better Flight?
Sometimes it makes sense to look beyond the airport closest to home, especially if another one gives you a much better flight.
We live closest to Rochester, so that is always one of the first places I check. But I almost always look at Buffalo too, and for some international trips I will even consider Toronto.
Buffalo is an easy comparison for us because we can often get a nonstop flight to Orlando. It adds more driving, gas, and parking, and for very early flights we have even stayed at an airport hotel the night before. But I am often willing to take on those extra costs when it means getting on one plane and getting off in Orlando instead of adding a connection to our day.
Toronto is a different kind of tradeoff. It is roughly a three-hour drive for us, so I would not use it casually for a domestic trip. But it gives us far more international flight options, and the nonstop flights to Europe can sometimes be cheaper than booking a connecting itinerary from Rochester or Buffalo.
That is why I would look beyond mileage alone when comparing airports. A farther airport may give you a nonstop flight, better timing, lower fares, more airlines to compare, or access to an airline where you already have points, status, or other benefits.
I would still factor in the extra time and cost on the ground, including the drive home after the trip when everyone is tired. There is no set distance where I would say it is always worth driving farther. I would compare the full itinerary and decide whether the extra drive is giving you enough of an advantage to make it worthwhile.
What Time of Day Is Best to Fly With Kids?
There are plenty of recommendations about the best time of day to fly with babies or toddlers, but I do not think there is one answer that works for every family.
I personally love early flights because they let us get to the destination sooner, and I am usually trying to maximize the amount of time we have on a trip. In my own experience, I have also had better luck with delays earlier in the day than I have later.
I am completely willing to wake my kids at 3 a.m. for a 6 a.m. flight, but I know that would sound miserable to plenty of parents. My kids generally adapt well to whatever schedule the travel day requires, so I do not try very hard to make flights line up perfectly with naps or bedtime. If they are tired, they sleep. If they are awake, we deal with being awake.
Another family may have a toddler who really struggles after an early wake-up, and a late-morning flight may make the entire day easier. I would look at the timing in the context of how your kids usually handle schedule changes and what the rest of the travel day looks like.
Early Morning Flights
Early flights work well for us because we can get moving, get to our destination, and still have a good portion of the day left to explore.
The biggest downside is the wake-up time. A 6 a.m. departure may mean getting everyone out of bed at 3 or 4 depending on how far you live from the airport and how early you need to arrive.
If that is likely to leave everyone overtired before you even get through security, the early flight may not be worth the extra time you gain at the destination.
Midday Flights
A midday departure usually gives you a much more normal morning. Everyone can wake up at a reasonable time, eat breakfast, and get to the airport without starting the day in the middle of the night.
The downside is that it can use up most of the day. A noon flight may sound easy, but once you add airport time, the flight itself, baggage claim, and transportation, you may not reach your hotel until dinner.
That may still be the better choice for your family. I would just look at how much of the day you are giving up in exchange for the easier morning.
Evening Flights
Evening flights can work well if you want a full day at home or at your destination before leaving, and some kids may sleep through part of the flight.
The tradeoff is that delays can be harder to absorb when you are already pushing bedtime. Landing late also means you still have to collect your things, get transportation, and reach wherever you are staying with tired kids.
I am personally much more willing to arrive home late than I am to arrive at the beginning of a vacation late. On the return trip, a later flight lets me squeeze a little more time out of the destination and then put everyone straight to bed once we get home.
Overnight Flights and Red-Eyes
Sometimes an overnight flight is simply the itinerary that makes the most sense, especially when traveling internationally.
My kids generally sleep pretty well on planes. I do not bring special airplane beds or complicated sleep gear. I usually sit between them and let them lean against me when they fall asleep.
The harder part for me is that I do not sleep well on airplanes, and traveling with the kids makes that even more difficult because part of my brain is always paying attention to what they are doing. That does not mean I avoid overnight flights completely, but I do factor in the possibility that I may arrive much more tired than they do.
Pay Attention to When You Arrive
Departure time gets most of the attention when people choose flights, but arrival time can affect your trip just as much.
When we flew to London, our overnight flight landed around 6 a.m. Our hotel check-in was not until 3 p.m.
The hotel let us leave our luggage and even invited us to have the complimentary breakfast they were serving, which was incredibly helpful. After that, I put the kids in the stroller and walked around while they slept.
It worked. But nine hours is still a very long gap between landing and having a room.
A year later when we flew to Portugal, we arrived around 11 a.m. That felt completely different. We still had plenty of the day ahead of us, but there was much less time to fill before we could actually settle into our accommodations.
That experience made me pay much more attention to international arrival times.
Think about what happens after the plane lands. Can you check into your hotel? Can you at least leave your luggage there? Will you need to find lunch or dinner immediately? How long is the transportation from the airport? Are you landing during rush hour? Is there a time-zone change affecting everyone?
I still personally prefer arriving early and figuring out what to do for a few hours rather than losing most of a vacation day, especially somewhere like Disney World. But knowing what you are walking into makes a big difference.
How Long Should a Layover Be With Kids?
I usually aim for around two hours for a domestic connection. That gives us enough time to absorb a small delay, use the bathroom, grab food if we need it, and get to the next gate without making the layover feel unnecessarily long.
Very short connections make me nervous with kids because there are so many little things that can eat into the time between flights. You may need to wait for a gate-checked stroller before you can leave the jet bridge, someone may need a bathroom immediately, or your next gate could be in a completely different terminal.
It also helps to remember that your connection time is measured between scheduled arrival and departure. Domestic flights often begin boarding around 30 minutes before departure, so a 30-minute layover can mean your next flight is already boarding around the time your first one is scheduled to arrive. For that reason, I try to avoid connections in the 30-minute-to-one-hour range when I can.
I also try to avoid the opposite problem: an unnecessarily long domestic layover. We once spent about six hours at Reagan National. We made it work, and the kids had a playground, food, and space to move around, but it was still a very long time to kill in an airport.
If I have a reasonable alternative, I would much rather keep a domestic layover closer to two hours than add four, five, or six hours to the travel day.
International connections can be a different story. Customs, immigration, security, terminal changes, and collecting and rechecking bags can all change how much time you need, so I would look at the specific airport and itinerary rather than relying on one universal number.
Consider the Airport, Too
The airport itself can make a big difference, especially if you are connecting.
Our home airports, Rochester and Buffalo, are both relatively small, which makes them very easy to navigate with kids. Once we are through security, it does not take long to get to the gate, and I rarely feel like I am rushing through a huge unfamiliar terminal trying to figure out where we are supposed to go.
Of course, smaller airports usually come with fewer flight options and fewer nonstop routes. There is also simply less to do if you end up with a long wait.
Larger airports can give you more airlines, more routes, more places to eat, and often better amenities for kids, but they can also take much longer to get through. Mexico City has been one of the more confusing airports for me to navigate, and we have also had connections at JFK where the process was much more involved than just walking from one gate to another.
On one trip arriving at JFK from Mexico, we had to go through customs and then go back through security before continuing. That is the kind of thing I would want to know before booking a tight connection.
If you are connecting through an unfamiliar airport, I would take a few minutes to look at what the transfer actually involves. Staying in the same concourse is very different from changing terminals, clearing customs, or going through security again.
And if you know you are going to have a longer layover, it is worth checking what the airport has for kids. Many airports have playgrounds or play areas, and some also have things like quiet rooms, sensory spaces, or even small libraries. Having somewhere for kids to move around or reset can make a long wait much easier.
Check the Seat Map Before You Book
The seat map usually is not the deciding factor for me, but I still look at it because the aircraft configuration can make a difference when you are traveling with multiple kids.
Since I am often the only adult traveling with my two children, a standard row of three works really well for us. I sit in the middle so both kids can reach me easily, and it also gives them a little separation when they are tired and starting to annoy each other.
A 2-2 configuration is less convenient for the three of us because somebody has to sit separately. Either I am away from both kids, or one of them ends up next to someone we do not know.
On one international flight, we had a row of four with another passenger sitting beside my daughter. She spent part of the night kicking him in her sleep. He was incredibly kind about it, but I spent a lot of the flight trying to keep her legs on our side of the row and didn’t get much sleep.
I also look at the actual seat type, especially on longer or overnight flights. Some bulkhead and premium seats have fixed armrests that do not lift, which can make it much harder for kids to lean against you and get comfortable. We had that setup on an overnight flight out of Mexico, and it made sleeping much more difficult for my kids.
If you are bringing a car seat onto the plane, you will also want to check where your airline allows it to be installed.
And if the fare you are considering does not include seat selection, I would look at the airline’s current family-seating policy before booking. Getting seated together is not always guaranteed, and different airlines handle family seating differently.
I would rather understand that risk ahead of time than get to check-in and realize one of my young kids has been assigned a seat somewhere else on the plane. With a toddler or preschooler especially, that is not something I would want to leave to chance if I had another option.
Does the Airline Matter When You Are Flying With Kids?
The airline can matter, but for me it usually comes after the route, timing, and overall itinerary. I would rather take the easier flight on an airline that is not my favorite than add a bad connection or inconvenient schedule just to fly with one I prefer.
That said, there are definitely differences worth looking at when you are comparing similar options.
I personally really like JetBlue. I am tall, so I appreciate the extra space, and my kids and I all like having seatback entertainment when it is available. If two flights were otherwise pretty comparable, things like that could absolutely help me choose between them.
I also tend to prefer traditional carriers over ultra-low-cost airlines when the total price is reasonably close. A fare can look much cheaper at first, but once you add seat selection, bags, and anything else your family needs, the difference may be smaller than it looked when you first started comparing.
The policies matter too, especially with kids. I would look at things like family seating, baggage allowances, stroller and car-seat rules, boarding procedures, and whether there are multiple flights on the route if something gets delayed or canceled.
I also do not put a lot of weight on staying loyal to one airline just for the sake of loyalty. We fly a pretty good mix because I care much more about choosing the flight that works best for the trip than always flying the same carrier. If you already have points, status, free bags, or other benefits with an airline, though, those can absolutely be part of the comparison.
Decide What Convenience Is Worth to You
There is no set amount that makes an easier flight worth paying more for. It depends on your budget, how much the difference actually is once you are buying tickets for the whole family, and what that extra money is getting you.
For me, nonstop service is one of the things I am most willing to pay more for because it removes an entire layer of logistics from the day. But that only makes sense when the price difference is still reasonable for the trip.
A $50 difference per ticket may feel worth it if it saves a family of four from dealing with a connection. A difference of several hundred dollars per person may be harder to justify, even if the nonstop flight would be easier.
I find it more helpful to look at what the extra cost changes about the trip. You may be paying more to eliminate a connection, avoid an airport hotel, get home several hours earlier, use an easier airport, or make sure your family can sit together. Those are all things that can make a real difference.
On another trip, the cheaper option may still make the most sense, even if it means accepting a less convenient itinerary. I am willing to spend more to reduce some of the moving pieces when it fits the budget, but there are also plenty of times when I would rather save the money and deal with the extra logistics.
What matters is understanding what you are gaining or giving up with each option before you book.
The Best Flight With Kids Is the One That Works for Your Family
I strongly prefer nonstop flights, I will happily wake my kids before sunrise, and I am willing to drive farther to another airport when it gives us a much simpler itinerary. That does not mean those choices will make the most sense for every family.
Your best option may be a midday flight from the airport closest to home, a connecting itinerary that saves a significant amount of money, or a different airline because its schedule, seating, or policies work better for your trip.
Before I book, I want to feel like I understand the tradeoff I am making, whether that means paying more for a nonstop flight, accepting a connection to save money, or driving farther for a better itinerary. Looking at the whole travel day makes it much easier to see which option is actually the best fit.
Once the flight is booked, the next step is figuring out how the airport day is actually going to work.
My Airport Survival Guide for Families walks you through the entire process from arriving at the airport to getting everyone through security, managing strollers and car seats, handling bags and bathrooms, boarding, delays, connections, and getting everything back at baggage claim.
It is designed to help you think through the little logistics ahead of time so you are not trying to solve them for the first time with kids standing beside you in a busy airport.
Airport Survival Guide for Families
Flying with kids? This guide walks you through the airport step by step, from packing and parking to security, boarding, baggage claim, and beyond.
Airport Survival Guide for Families helps you think through strollers, car seats, bags, TSA, bathrooms, snacks, gate-checking, delays, and all the little logistics that can make airport days feel like a lot.
It’s based on real family travel experience, including many flights where I was the only adult with my kids, and it’s written to help the airport part of your trip feel more manageable.
Have questions about this post or want help thinking through the logistics for your own trip? Join my free Facebook community for parents planning family travel. You can ask questions, share what you’re working through, and get real-life advice from other parents who understand how many little details go into traveling with kids.