freezingflyboy

Depends on the loads. How does it look on TravelNet? Ninety seats open? Then nope, not crazy at all. Six seats open and other non-revs ahead of you? Then yes, it's a bit unrealistic (but not unheard of!).

Personally, I prefer to list it as two separate one-way trips for the sake of easier management if things go sideways on you and you gotta start making backup plans. There aren't any material advantages or disadvantages one way or the other that I know of.

Domestically, I have seen this go both ways. I have had my bag go ahead of me and be held in the baggage office at the destination. I have also seen the load agents hold off non-rev bags until getting the OK from the gate agents to load non-rev bags. I have anecdotal evidence only but I *THINK* if you check your bags at the gate and then end up not making it on, they will still go without you. If you check them at the ticket counter and don't make it on, they will hold them off. There isn't a policy I have seen so this is just a guess based on experience.

Hopefully she is one who can "woman up", easily go with the flow and deals with disappointment well (she is married to a pilot after all!). My best advice is:

• Go early. Yes, those 6am departures suck but they are sometimes your best bet for getting on. And infinitely less painful than sitting in an airport all day watching flights leave without you.
• Be flexible. SJC not looking great? Go to SFO and take BART or rent a car. Being able to quickly change plans can sometimes be the difference between going or not. Also know that your seats will probably not be together. The agents usually do their best to get as many of you together as possible, especially with kids. If it works out, great but often times you will be in different middle seats all over the plane. It is poor non-rev form to hassle gate agents about seats or play musical chairs with the paying folks.
• Be patient. Non-revving can sometimes mean many hours in the airport being rolled from one flight to the next. Also, if you have the time, don't walk away until the plane pushes. You never know what can happen. My mom once got on a flight that looked hopeless after they booted an uncooperative pax and a few non-revs ahead of her had already slunk off to other flights.
• Have a game plan. Have a solid Plan A, B, C, D...however many you need to make it work. Know what you're going to do if they call your name and there are only 2 seats left? Do you send the wife with one kid and go with the other kid on the next flight? How does your wife feel if you take the jumpseat and she has to manage the kids alone in back for several hours?

Also know that cutting a trip short or having to go home and try again the next day can be demoralizing and gets old quick. Be prepared to deal with that. Without knowing how old your kids are, you may want to talk with them about the possibility the trip doesn't go as planned, that they may have to sit by themselves (although my guess is with car seats, this may not really be an option for you), etc. It has happened to me where the last 2 seats on a flight are separated and get awarded to a non-rev with higher seniority. Kid has a meltdown about having to sit with strangers for 4 hours and yaddy yadda...me and the girlfriend are on a flight we didn't think we'd get on!

No problem! Welcome aboard and have fun out there! Non-revving can be a blast or a nightmare, especially with a young family. A lot depends on your attitude, flexibility and ability to adjust expectations on the fly.