Calimom I understand about the price when you are talking about 5 tickets. However, it will be difficult to find both a good price and flexibility unless you are using frequent flyer miles that you can redeposit with a cancellation. I think you will need to compromise on either price or flexibility to find a solution that will work.
From the American Airlines website: "A non-refundable ticket may cost less, but if you need to make changes you'll be charged a change fee and any difference in fare. If you buy a Basic Economy fare, changes are not allowed."
From the United Airlines website: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/inflight/basic-economy.html " Refunds are not allowed except as stated in the United 24-hour flexible booking policy. Basic Economy tickets can only be changed if they’re issued by December 31, 2021, for travel commencing by December 31, 2021."
From the Delta Airlines website about Basic Economy: "Ticket Changes and Cancellation: Free within 24 hours of booking. Otherwise, you can pay $99 to cancel a flight within the U.S. or to the Caribbean, Mexico, or Central America. Long-haul international flights cost $199 to cancel for a Delta eCredit."
I priced out a few long haul flights from California to Europe. In each case the difference between basic economy and main cabin was around $150/ticket. I think it would be worth it to at least consider main cabin.
If the risks and costs still seem too high, it might be the year to wait. My only concern there is that getting adult children together gets a bit harder and harder as they get older. Do you really want to let this opportunity for a family trip go by?
