Our airport is Newark, no southwest.
When each of our kids were considering colleges a flight (or flights) away, our messaging was âif you NEED to get home, we will get you home one way or anotherâ. I think that reassurance was what they needed to hear to know that home was possible if something drastic happened. And then they never NEEDED to get home. Sometimes I think knowing the safety net is there is all they need to jump with confidence. So they were home for scheduled school breaksâwhich we could budget and plan forâand then my spouse or I would each make 1 weekend road trip a year to see them in their space and place.
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It was not a big deal but when kids were far away (12 hour drive or other coast), we planned traveling. The only unplanned travel that I recall was after grad school when ShawDâs 4 year relationship ended and she needed to fly home immediately. Fortunately for this purpose (and unfortunately for other purposes), I fly a ton and have many, many frequent flyer miles and was able to use points to put her on a JetBlue flight the next morning (I think I have 1 million JetBlue points).
I think our kids implicitly knew the message @ububumble shared with her kids but I didnât discuss it. And, I agree that in general, the understanding that we had their backs meant that they didnât need to fly home.
We plan on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring break for flights. If there is an emergency, weâd make it happen of course. If itâs just homesick, then weâd try to work out a way to make something happen at a reasonable cost. That might mean me driving 12-14 hours to get there for a few days.
We use Delta since they are the only non-stop option. They can be refunded for a credit to use within a year. So far that has worked fine.
Itâs not that we canât afford it, Iâm just in the camp that kids donât need to be flying home all the time. If itâs an emergency, than yes, that is totally fine and we would pay for it. But, if the kid just wants to come home, then they need to pay for it themselves or we could pay and they would pay us back. Same if they decided to just come on a whim, they either use their own money or they pay us back.
I do get that every family is different though and there is really no right or wrong answer.
Well said and I agree. Also, both my kids chose to go to a school a plane ride away, they knew going in that that meant they couldnât come home every weekendâŠwe also encouraged our kids to stay at school and get involved. It can be hard to make that happen if they come home all the time.
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Itâs also why, when mine were looking at schools far away, it was important to them to understand what the campus was like on not just the weekends but the long weekend breaks. Was it a school where most had somewhere else to be at those times or was it a school where those times were treasured by students as an opportunity to be on campus together just doing nothing big? Some would call that determining if a place is a âsuitcase schoolâ. If it is and youâre one of the only ones not leaving regularly, itâs hard. What we found is that whether or not a school fit the âsuitcase schoolâ bill wasnât tied directly to how many kids lived within 2 hours. Itâs about the culture of the school.
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This is something we are thinking about too. Once my S24 turned 18, we renewed his Global Entry/TSA precheck. We realized this child has never taken his shoes off at airports so I wanted to make sure precheck was all set. His godparents are planning to gift southwest miles so he can fly easily. Of course, if he decides to pick one near our house (3 miles away and itâs few blocks from where he attended elementary school), he wonât need all that for visiting home.
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Be aware that sometimes pre-check is not available. I was at the airport very early (4 am) one day and pre-check was not open. OMG, all those businessmen had to go through regular security and take their shoes and belts off! They were all rather confused. It would have been comical if it wasnât 4 am.
Also, if the airport is really small, they may not have pre-check.
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I donât know the procedure at other airports but at Denver International if you have to go through the regular security line because pre-check is closed/unavailable, TSA will usually give you an expedited pass upon request to give to the screener so you donât have to remove your shoes, electronics, etc.
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This was at DIA! It was very crowded but pre-check wasnât open (it was in the days when there were only one or two precheck lines). All these pre-check people were in the same lines, closest to pre-check because thatâs where they were used to going, so they were all bunched up, trying to figure out their electronics and shoes and belts. They just werenât used to it.
Just looked up prices for flights from SD to Pittsburgh on a weekend in April.
SW would have $600 for a round trip whereas Delta is $250. Definitely pays to shop around.
At Jax (where I write from), I had this happen tonight - you wait longer to get to the security person - but the regular folks go through the scan and you go through the metal detector - so not much an advantage (not time) - but you still feel like you got something for your $85.
Iâve been in many a small airport or uncrowded that does the same thing.
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SW usually puts its sales on from Tues to Thurs, so if you recheck tomorrow you might find cheaper flights. Sometimes there are restrictions on those, like must fly Tues to Sat, or only good on weekends. You just get used to monkeying around with SW.
Last week I got a flight to Puerta Vallarta for $150, but the return tickets were a lot, like $350, so we are flying back United.
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