13 Best Discount Airline Tickets for Seniors in 2026 (Verified Deals)

If you're 65 or older and hoping a senior fare will take a real bite out of your next ticket, here's the honest picture: most big U.S. airlines quietly stopped publishing senior discounts years ago. Southwest ended its program in 2019, United closed its Silver Wings club back in 2005, and British Airways let its AARP deal lapse in January 2026.

What's left falls into two groups. A few carriers still sell a "Senior (65+)" fare type on select routes, but none of them publishes a percentage, and the senior price often isn't any cheaper than the sale fare anyone can book. Then there's a short list of real, written-down programs: Frontier's periodic 55% off promotion for travelers 55 and up, Air France's Senior Pass, and Air India's 10% discount for passengers 60 and over. We went through all 13 carriers below and note, for each one, what the airline itself publishes and what it doesn't. Everything here was checked on September 29, 2026.

One rule before you start: whatever an airline quotes you as a senior fare, compare it against the regular price for the same flight. Further down this page there's a search box that opens Google Flights for your route so you can do exactly that in about a minute.

American Airlines

Who qualifies

American lets you book a "Senior (65+)" passenger type on some routes, but it doesn't publish a senior discount or advertise the program anywhere on its site. You'll need a government ID showing your age at check-in, and the fare applies only to the senior traveler, not to everyone on the reservation.

How to look for it

On aa.com, open the booking form and choose "Senior (65+)" under Passengers before you search. If a senior fare exists for that flight, it shows up in the results on its own. You can also call reservations at 1-800-433-7300 and ask an agent to check your dates. Senior fares aren't sold on American Eagle regional flights.

What to expect

Don't expect a set percentage. When a senior fare does appear, it's simply another fare in the results, and on plenty of routes it costs the same as the lowest regular fare or more. Treat it as one more price to compare rather than a discount you've earned. Early boarding and wheelchair help are available to anyone who asks when booking, whether or not you're on a senior fare.

Delta Air Lines

Delta is unusually plain about this. Its fares and discounts page says senior discounts are offered in select markets and have to be booked by phone; they never show up on delta.com. Have your cities and dates ready, call reservations, and ask the agent to check senior availability. Delta doesn't publish an age threshold or a percentage, so the quote is the only way to find out what it's worth.

If the agent's senior quote isn't lower than what you see on delta.com for the same flight, book the regular fare. That happens more often than you'd think, especially on popular routes where the sale fare is already the floor. Priority boarding and free wheelchair assistance are yours for the asking either way.

United Airlines

United sells senior fares to travelers 65 and older on select routes, and you can search for them yourself: pick "Senior (65+)" from the traveler type menu on united.com or in the app before you search. There's no fixed discount, and United doesn't say which routes carry senior inventory. Senior fares earn MileagePlus miles like any other ticket, but they can't be combined with promo codes.

If an older guide mentions United's Silver Wings Plus club for travelers 55 and up, that's why you can't find it: the program closed to new members in 2005. Lifetime members from before then keep their benefits.

What United does still do well is accessibility. Wheelchair assistance from check-in to the gate, between connections, and out to baggage claim is free; request it when you book or by phone at least 48 hours before you fly, and it attaches to every segment. Wheelchairs, walkers and scooters check at no charge.

Frontier Airlines

This is the one real headline deal, with a catch: it isn't permanent. Frontier has run a promotion for travelers 55 and older that takes 55% off base fares with promo code 55FOR55, booked directly at flyfrontier.com. The most recent widely publicized run had to be booked by October 6, 2024 for travel through February 26, 2025. Frontier doesn't keep a year-round senior fare, so check flyfrontier.com for a current offer before you assume the code will work on your dates.

When the promotion is on, the rules have been consistent. The discount applies to the base fare only, so taxes, carrier fees, bags and seats are all full price. Travel has been limited to Monday through Thursday and Saturday, the highest fare classes are excluded, and blackout dates cluster around the holidays. The code only works when you book directly with Frontier, and you'll need photo ID showing your age at the airport.

British Airways (the AARP discount is gone)

For more than a decade, AARP members got $65 off round-trip economy and premium economy fares and $200 off business and first on British Airways flights from the U.S. That partnership ended in January 2026 after a final extension through January 31, and BA has removed the page from its site. AARP now points members to its Travel Center powered by Expedia instead.

If a website still promises the BA discount, it's out of date. You can still fly BA and earn Avios, but there's no member price to unlock anymore.

Air France Senior Pass

Air France sells a Senior Pass to travelers 65 and older for 49 euros a year. It takes up to 30% off Standard fares on Air France operated flights within France, across Europe and to North Africa, includes a checked bag, and comes with more flexible change and refund terms than a plain ticket. The pass is digital only, bought at carte-senior.airfrance.fr with a passport or national ID upload, and runs for one year from the start date you pick.

Two catches. The pass covers flights departing from Metropolitan France, so it suits someone who'll be flying around Europe from a French base, not a transatlantic ticket from the U.S. And only the passholder gets the discount; you can't extend it to a companion. Enter the pass number when you book on airfrance.fr, and carry the pass with your ID, because gate agents can ask to see both.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest hasn't sold senior fares since December 11, 2019. It used to have the most generous U.S. program, with refundable senior tickets for travelers 65 and older, which is why it still turns up in older lists.

What Southwest has instead is a fare lineup that changed again this year. The old Wanna Get Away names are retired; for flights departing from January 27, 2026 the fares are Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred and Choice Extra. Bags aren't free for most of them anymore either. For flights booked on or after April 9, 2026, the first checked bag costs $45 and the second $55 on Basic, Choice and Choice Preferred fares. Choice Extra fares still include two free checked bags, and A-List Preferred members and active military keep theirs too. A-List members and Southwest credit cardholders get the first bag free.

To catch sales, book at southwest.com and sign up for its flight deals emails at southwest.com/special-offers/flight-deals. Southwest's sales are short and frequent, so the email is worth more here than on most airlines.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska doesn't publish a senior discount. Some third-party guides describe unpublished senior fares for travelers 65 and older on select routes, bookable only by phone, but Alaska's own site says nothing about them. If an agent quotes you one, treat it the same way as any other unpublished fare: hold it up against the regular price for the same flight before you say yes.

If your dates are flexible, Alaska's Low Fare Calendar is the more dependable tool. It shows a whole month of prices for a route at once, so you can see which days are cheap without calling anyone. Wheelchair assistance and priority boarding are available to anyone who asks.

JetBlue

JetBlue offers a "Senior (65+)" option under advanced search on jetblue.com for select routes, and reservations can check for you by phone. There's no published percentage, and availability shifts by date and fare class, so the same route can show a senior fare one week and nothing the next. TrueBlue points accrue on senior fares as usual.

One specific exception is real and worth knowing if it applies to you: residents of Ecuador aged 65 and older get 50% off flights departing Guayaquil (GYE). That fare has to be booked at the airport, not online or through an agency.

Spirit Airlines

Spirit has no senior discount. Its whole model is a low base fare for everyone and a fee for everything else, so there's nothing age-based to ask for. Where Spirit can save you money is the Spirit Saver$ Club, the program that replaced the old $9 Fare Club. It costs $69.95 a year, renews automatically, and gives members lower fares and reduced bag fees, with the savings extending to up to eight companions on the same booking.

Whether the club pays for itself depends on how often you fly Spirit. For one trip a year it usually doesn't. For a couple who visit grandchildren on a Spirit route several times a year, the bag savings alone can cover it.

Allegiant Air

Allegiant doesn't publish a senior discount, and we couldn't find one on its site. Like Spirit, it keeps the base fare low and charges separately for checked bags, carry-on bags and seat selection, so the price you see first is rarely the price you pay. Book at allegiant.com rather than through a third party, since outside sites can't apply Allegiant's own promo codes.

Midweek departures are usually cheaper than weekends, and Allegiant's email list is the only reliable way to hear about its flash sales. When you compare Allegiant against an airline that does sell senior fares, add up the whole trip, bags included, before you decide.

International airlines that still publish senior discounts

Two carriers based in India publish senior programs in writing, which is more than any large U.S. airline does. Vistara used to be a third, but it merged into Air India in November 2024, so its discount no longer exists on its own.

Air India

Air India gives passengers 60 and older a flat 10% off base fares on international flights booked at airindia.com or in its app. The offer can be booked through October 31, 2026 for travel through March 31, 2027, on flights departing from the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Europe. It's open to all nationalities as long as you're 60 by the travel date.

The fine print matters here. The discount applies only to flights Air India operates itself, not codeshares, and not to multi-city bookings or tickets paid with Maharaja Club points. Bring your passport as proof of age; Indian nationals can use any government-issued ID instead. Air India also publishes a separate senior discount on its domestic flights within India.

IndiGo

IndiGo takes up to 10% off the base fare for travelers over 60 on domestic flights within India. You book it yourself at goindigo.in or in the app by opting in to the senior citizen discount, and you'll show date-of-birth ID at check-in. Taxes and fees are charged in full.

Other ways to cut the cost

With senior fares this thin, the ordinary tactics do more of the work. Flying Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday is usually cheaper than Friday or Sunday on the same route. A second airport within an hour's drive can be worth checking, and a fare alert from the airline or a site like Airfarewatchdog will catch a sale before it sells out. Booking a few weeks ahead beats booking last minute on almost every domestic route.

AARP's Travel Center, run by Expedia, is where AARP now sends members for flight deals, and its offers change often enough that it's worth a look before you buy. Membership travel clubs promise negotiated rates on flights, hotels and tours, but the annual fee only makes sense if you travel enough to earn it back. Do that arithmetic honestly before you join one.

Senior discounts at a glance

Here's the whole picture in one place, as of September 29, 2026. "No published discount" means the airline offers a senior fare type but never says what it's worth.

The bottom line

Senior airline discounts in the U.S. are mostly a memory. The programs that still exist in writing are Frontier's on-again, off-again 55% promotion, Air France's Senior Pass for travel within Europe, and Air India's 10% off for passengers over 60. Everything else is an unpublished fare you have to ask for, and it's only a deal if it beats what anyone else can book.

So ask, by all means. Then open the regular fares for the same flight, put the two numbers side by side, and buy the cheaper one. That habit will save you more than any senior fare will.

Sources

Every figure on this page was checked against the airline's own published pages on September 29, 2026. These are the pages used:

• Frontier Airlines newsroom: the promo code, its base-fare-only terms, and the dates of the most recent publicized run.
• Delta fares and discounts: Delta's own statement that senior discounts exist in select markets and are booked by phone.
• Southwest optional travel charges: the current checked bag fees by fare type.
• Southwest fare types and benefits: the Basic, Choice, Choice Preferred and Choice Extra fare structure.
• Air France Senior Pass: the pass price, age requirement, discount and coverage.
• Air India senior citizen offer: the 10% international discount, booking and travel windows, and ID rules.
• IndiGo senior citizen discount: the up to 10% domestic discount and its conditions.