would you let your children fly alone on an airplane?

[bunny's mama]

just curious about this....

i'm told that there are flight attendants who are put in charge of children who travel alone and see them though to their destination, and i have seen this to varying degrees of attention in my own flying experience.

so...at what age would you allow your children to fly without an adult they know (say to visit grandparents or divorced parent in another state)

***and would it make a difference to you if they were with a sibling?

[Jenne]

I voted although I'm not yet a mama. When I was 11 I took my first flight by myself. It was fine. I had flown before with my parents and it was a direct flight.

I would let a child of mine who had flown prior to fly alone around 11/12. Maybe even sooner depending on his/her maturity level.

I would not let a child fly with a sibling alone until the youngest was at least 15 or so...too much opportunity (imho) for kids to egg each other into misbehavior either with each other or on the flight/in the airport. But that's also from my experience being places with my younger brother!

Jenne

[noobmom]

10-11, on a direct flight if I could accompany her to the gate. I'm not sure what the rules are for this these days, but it used to be you could literally put the kid on the airplane and receiving adult could meet the child on the other side at the gate.

I wouldn't do it in the winter if there was a good chance that the flights might be rerouted or delayed.

I also wouldn't do it for a long flight (i.e. overseas, etc.) or a redeye. Any flight where the lights are turned off for people to go to sleep.

[philomom]

My daughter flew alone at 15 for the first time last year. My son gets to fly alone when he turns 15 next year.

Yes, I'm a tad protective. I also know my kids really well and 15 was the age I felt the first child could handle herself if some bizarre emergency happened. Now, I've set a precedent and I'll keep my younger child to the age 15 rule.

[liberal_chick]

Originally Posted by noobmom

10-11, on a direct flight if I could accompany her to the gate. I'm not sure what the rules are for this these days, but it used to be you could literally put the kid on the airplane and receiving adult could meet the child on the other side at the gate.

I wouldn't do it in the winter if there was a good chance that the flights might be rerouted or delayed.

I also wouldn't do it for a long flight (i.e. overseas, etc.) or a redeye. Any flight where the lights are turned off for people to go to sleep.

I'm pretty sure the bolded is still the case. I know I've been allowed to accompany my military dh back to the gate and to meet him there.

[new2this]

I flew by myself for the first time around 4th/5th grade.

Just last week I flew and there were two girls, 1 was around 12 and the other was around 5. They were escorted on the plane and escorted off and I overheard the person say the have a few hours so they were being taken to some office to sit till it was time to board the next plane.

I think a lot depends on maturity level and from what I have seen parents are still able to get a pass to sit at the gate but that also depends on the airport/airline same as meeting them at the gate.

[Drummer's Wife]

Gosh, I dunno. I voted 10/11 just because I might be okay at that point, depending.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

16 or older and I would need a very good reason to allow it then up to 18.

[mama2toomany]

since we share custody in our very blended family, we have grandparents in different states and one in particular in IL that takes dss on trips.

We have been putting him on the plane alone (in the care of a FA) since he was 6. We have never had a problem.

My boys have also flown alone, starting at 7-9!

[SilverFish]

i flew with my younger sister when i was about 8, she was about 6. it's nearly impossible for anything bad to happen (anything bad that would happen because you weren't there, anyway...), so I don't really see why not. the stewardesses took really good care of us, and we were put directly on the plane by my mom, and taken to meet my grandparents by a stewardess on one of those golf cart thingys. we were never left alone or unsure of what was happening. it was really fun and i would definitely let a child as young as 6-7 fly by themselves, depending on the circumstances and the personality of the child. if it was a first time flight, or the child was really immature/nervous, maybe not, but otherwise, sure.

[nola79]

I voted 10-11, because that was the age I started flying alone to go visit my dad. It was fine, no problems

[34me]

We have a tradition in our family where we put our kids on a plane, alone (in turn) to go to Alaska to visit grandparents starting the summer they are 10. It's a 5ish hour direct flight and they come back on a red eye. It's the only way for them to get home on a straight through flight. I put them on the plane at the gate and dh'd parents get them off. Because ds#2's b-day is in september when he was 9 he got to go to Arizona alone because his siblings got to go to AK. It's only a 1.5 hour flight.

[elmh23]

I wouldn't have a problem with it after age 8. I was about 7 when I flew by myself for the first time, dh was about 11. My mom always got me flights where I didn't have to get off the plane until the end, but dh's parents had him and his sister (age 8) switch planes in a major airport where they had to walk to another terminal on their very first flight! I would NEVER do that!

I seem to remember that a child younger than 6 can't fly unaccompanied on most airlines.

[avent]

I said 9/10 for a non-stop flight, thinking only if it was during the day and in good weather.

The first time I flew alone domestically was 16, but I could have handled it much sooner. And my second flight alone I was 17 and went abroad with 3 connections with no problems.

[lerlerler]

I just heard an NPR story about LOTS of kids getting stuck at O'Hare on Dec 26 a few years ago... which is the traditional Mom puts kids on plane to divorced Dad day...

a 9 hour delay and dozens of kids with no place to sleep....

But they all survived.

My kids are too young for me to know what age works for me.. but a connecting flight sounds REALLY scary!

[DahliaRW]

I know there is a minimum age where airlines will allow it. And only on direct flights up until a certain age.

I flew alone at 14 to visit my best friend in California. At the time I was too old for the FAs to be in charge of me. It was no big deal. I did call when I got there to let my parents know I was ok (no cell phones back then!). I flew again all the way to Houston two years later, to visit the same friend who had moved again.

I wouldn't have a problem letting a child fly with the FA chaperoning. I know they do a good job as I've witnessed children flying alone on flights I've been on. And once they are too old to be supervised by the FAs, it would depend on the maturity of the child.

[Momily]

I put my 7 year old on a plane to go visit my brother. It was about an hour long flight, and I told my brother he needed to be through security before the flight took off (he was fine with this). The FAs were great about helping him settle in, and they checked my ID on my end to make sure it matched what my brother wrote down (I assume they checked on the other end, but didn't ask my brother)

I don't know that I would have done a longer flight -- like cross country at that age, not because I'd worry about what would happen on the plane, but I'd worry about it being rerouted.

I might have done it at 6, but my son wasn't invited anywhere.

My 13 year old goddaughter wanted to come see me, and she's too old to fly unaccompanied minor -- she had to come as an adult passenger, although we could go through security and meet her at the gate. This worried me more, as she would have been alone if the plane had been rerouted.

[Eclipsepearl]

This poll is not really valid because children aren't allowed until they're 5 years old, and then only with restrictions. Yes, a few foreign airlines allow 4 year olds but again, with restrictions.

Just as a typical example, here is United's page on the subject;
http://www.united.com/page/article/0,1360,1052,00.html

As a Flight Attendant, I "handled" a lot of UM's (unaccompanied minors). It was very safe and taken very seriously by the airlines. Since I flew international flights, most of my UM's were custody cases, flying between parents in different countries.

They're never left alone and escorted through the airport. No one sits with them, although we did check on them often. They have to be comfortable sitting on their own. Often we put all the UM's together for company and convenience.

Also, that poll only has the age, not what kind of flying or whether or not a sibling is with them. Also, for international flights, please send your child on an airline which speaks his or her language(s). Yes, there are language positions on those relevant routes but it's better if they can talk to the WHOLE crew (and not need something when the "speaker" is on break) and can watch the movie. I did feel sorry for our non-English speaking UM's. Once I even volunteered to stay with three French sisters since the person picking them up was late. No one at the airport spoke French.

[MusicianDad]

I said 12-13. DD could probably manage it younger, but the airline we like to use doesn't allow minors under 12 to fly without an adult.

[mistymama]

Are you meaning fly alone - as in not under the care of a flight attendant? Or alone but under the care of one? Two very different things to me as the FA's take traveling children in their care very seriously and it's very different than just putting your kid on a plane, kwim?

My ds is 7 and we are planning to let him fly to Boston to spend a weekend with my sis this summer. It will be a direct flight, and he'll be under the care of a FA until my sis picks him up at the gate.