Would you let you 5 year old fly unaccompanied overseas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People. No airline will let a 5 year old UM connect. Just stop.

wrong:

Delta https://pro.delta.com/content/deltapro/en_US/products-and-services/special-services/unaccompanied-minor--umnr--service.html

Air France: http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/guidevoyageur/assistance/enfant_seul_um.htm

OP here: Airlines do and have. It's allowed.

Fine. No US airline. Because the Delta link says it's not allowed.

5-7 Enrolled in UMNR Program
Routings Not Permitted
Connecting itineraries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I also grew up in a country that expects more independence from children than the current generation of Americans will get. My own kids flew domestically UM at 5, and I was shocked at how some of my acquaintances reacted to that. Only you and your son really know.

I also would NOT put him on a US Flag carrier. Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, all handle this better. I don't know your destination, so can't really offer much guidance there.

Having a grandparent meet in the connecting city is a good idea if financially feasible, I think. Five is pretty young, but just-turned-five is also different than about-to-turn six.


Good Luck with your decision, and I hope you both enjoy your summer.


PS. To the PP that questioned even sending a 5 yr old to the grandparents for the summer....WTF? Really?

OP here: I agree with you 100%. My two friends who did what I am thinking of doing flew Emirates and Air France. I have used both airlines with my son and they went above and beyond to accommodate us/him. And we flew Virgin Atlantic when I fell ill and they were also amazing.

[Anonymous]

If you can afford all this amazing international travel, why can't you afford to accompany your five year old? If you aren't a troll, I'm completely stumped. You are obviously wealthy, so ???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford all this amazing international travel, why can't you afford to accompany your five year old? If you aren't a troll, I'm completely stumped. You are obviously wealthy, so ???

Please, stop this. She may have to work as a single mom. She may want to have her child spend quality time with grandparents, grandparents may miss him, she may need childcare, and spending money on a plane ticket may be equivalent to or cheaper than childcare. There are a number of reasons why she may be trying to do this, which is none of our business.

[Anonymous]

For all of those saying "yes" -- I wonder: would you leave your 5 yr. old at home by him/herself for the same amount of time?

[Anonymous]

I call troll. Anyone willing to send their five year old on a sixteen hour trip with a layover, would not be concerned about what others think. She would be so arrogant that it is just fine, that she would never ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all of those saying "yes" -- I wonder: would you leave your 5 yr. old at home by him/herself for the same amount of time?

Look, I'm in the "no" camp, but I think this analogy is silly.

A kid alone could get hurt and there would be no one there to help.

A kid on a plane is not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People. No airline will let a 5 year old UM connect. Just stop.

wrong:

Delta https://pro.delta.com/content/deltapro/en_US/products-and-services/special-services/unaccompanied-minor--umnr--service.html

Air France: http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/guidevoyageur/assistance/enfant_seul_um.htm

OP here: Airlines do and have. It's allowed.

Fine. No US airline. Because the Delta link says it's not allowed.

5-7 Enrolled in UMNR Program
Routings Not Permitted
Connecting itineraries

Did you do your research and look up the policies of each US airline? I'm the one who provided those links, and they happened to be the last 2 airlines I used. Further, if you read the link, it appears that Delta connections ARE allowed:
Non-stop flights operated by DL, DL Connection (except American Eagle), AF or KL

I believe what they don't allow is a connection with another airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all of those saying "yes" -- I wonder: would you leave your 5 yr. old at home by him/herself for the same amount of time?

Look, I'm in the "no" camp, but I think this analogy is silly.

A kid alone could get hurt and there would be no one there to help.

A kid on a plane is not alone.

Would you send your five year old to the library alone and have him/her stay there all day without you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all of those saying "yes" -- I wonder: would you leave your 5 yr. old at home by him/herself for the same amount of time?

Look, I'm in the "no" camp, but I think this analogy is silly.

A kid alone could get hurt and there would be no one there to help.

A kid on a plane is not alone.

Would you send your five year old to the library alone and have him/her stay there all day without you?

Nope. Because in the library scenario I couldn't walk up to an adult (say, a librarian) and say, "here, this is my kid and they are your responsibility until you hand them back over to me (or their grandmother)."
Unaccompanied minor, they do have a flight attendant assigned to them. (That doesn't mean they'll be an sweet, awesome person, but the system is set up with a clearly designated temporary guardian.

Again, I want to emphasize that I am on team HECK NO for OP's plan. I just think your comparison is not apples to apples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way.

My five year old can get scared of a lot of things on the way. Accidents can happen. And no one to comfort her for 10 hours on an international flight. No way.

I'm not even going to think about connections. What if there is a bad turbulence? Or she gets sick?

I'm not sure she would know how to operate the toilet door on a plane. Or open all the packaging of a food tray.

OP here: Here is what would happen in some of the situations you mentioned.

In flight:
Your child receives our Kids Solo service. Our staff provides continuous supervision and ensures his or her comfort and safety.
On intercontinental flights, your child enjoys games, films, cartoons, radio programs for children, and receives fun gifts to play with.
We provide a meal adapted to your child's tastes and needs on all flights over 2.5 hours. Starting at age 9, your child receives a regular meal, but can still choose the children's menu if desired. In this case, please remember to request the children's menu when booking the ticket, or at least 24 hours prior to the flight's departure.

Please educate your child, particularly if your child is an adolescent, that changing seats is not permitted during the flight. Please remind him or her to remain seated upon arrival, until accompanied by an Air France guardian.

Please note: if your child is traveling on the same flight as you but in a different cabin, he or she must remain under his or her Air France guardian's supervision until arrival.

Connections:
With the Kids Solo service, our staff provides continuous supervision to your child during connecting flights. This also applies if you are making the same trip but in a different cabin.
For connecting flights of more than 2 hours*, your child is welcomed in the Air France connecting area reserved for children traveling alone at Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports.

These lounges are specially equipped to offer activities for everyone: rest, reading, cartoons, board games and foosball (table soccer). Lounges also offer Sony PlayStation 3 and/or PlayStation Vita video game consoles.

In case of flight connections and cancellations: Your child receives priority care and attention from Air France staff in the event of a flight delay or cancellation. An Air France staff member remains present with your child at all times, even if lodging is necessary.
We immediately inform the individuals listed on the UM handling form of any measures taken for your child at any point in the trip.

So again, you would be okay with your 5 year old staying overnight in a hotel room with a complete stranger?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford all this amazing international travel, why can't you afford to accompany your five year old? If you aren't a troll, I'm completely stumped. You are obviously wealthy, so ???

Please, stop this. She may have to work as a single mom. She may want to have her child spend quality time with grandparents, grandparents may miss him, she may need childcare, and spending money on a plane ticket may be equivalent to or cheaper than childcare. There are a number of reasons why she may be trying to do this, which is none of our business.

She stated she was doing it to save money. But clearly can afford to spend money on all these other trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all of those saying "yes" -- I wonder: would you leave your 5 yr. old at home by him/herself for the same amount of time?

Look, I'm in the "no" camp, but I think this analogy is silly.

A kid alone could get hurt and there would be no one there to help.

A kid on a plane is not alone.

OK,... would you leave your 5 yr. old in a mall by him/herself??? there would be other people around to help!

[Anonymous]

None of these analogies are quite right, but I'd ask the OP to consider that this thread is chock-a-block with people who think this is a bad idea. Many of us travel internationally for work, many would send our kids unaccompanied on a shorter, direct, flight.

You're not asking a group of adults who have never flown, or don't understand that cultures differ. What you are proposing is flat out a bad idea because you cannot predict how your son will react to the separation, to an unexpected event, or just to the excitement of the flight. It's unfair to him and unfair to his fellow passengers.

signed,

Someone who travels internationally all the time, and would never think of putting a preschooler on a flight of that duration alone.

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine anyone being thrilled about being seated next to an unaccompanied 5 year old. Can you imagine it?