Unaccompanied minor on long haul transpacific flight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old? Who is she going to see?

11 yrs. he wants to take her on half of his vacation with his (childless therefor clueless about children- sorry) new wife. I’m so angry he’s be such an idiot in regards to his parenting responsibilities, I’m shaking. He’s generally a blue ribbon, horrible jerk but even for him, this was a shock to me.

And, what's wrong with him doing a direct flight and going on vacation as a family. If he is taking his child on a vacation he is doing his parenting responsibilities. If he went on vacation without his child then you'd complain. Real issue is you think that money is yours and are upset he got remarried.

Not OP. The real issue is that an eleven year old should not be on such a long flight alone. There are many adults that wouldn’t be able to that flight alone. You are a jerk.

[Anonymous]

Why not just tell him you are upset that he got remarried (even though you probably moved on and got remarried before he did) and that he's never seeing his kids again.

[Anonymous]

My kiss have flown unaccompanied to Europe and back several times. Younest was when they were 10 and 8. If it is a direct flight I would not be concerned.

[Anonymous]

OP please tell us the age of BOTH kids. I have a 15 YO and and 11 YO. I would let 15 escort 11.

Last summer I sent 14 YO alone to Boston to visit her Aunt. I did this intentionally so she'd have to learn to fly alone. Of course we've been practicing for years - making her find and lead the way through the airport.

Now, a short domestic flight is different from a long intl flight. What if the kid loses her passport? Gets stopped by TSA or immigration? Makes a mistake like bringing a fruit in her bag into the wrong country?

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/04/23/colorado-woman-apple-customs-cost/

What if they get diverted to another airport, do they have the skills to get a cab, get a hotel room, get back to the airport? A lot can go wrong while flying. Once when I was right out of college in my first job, flying for work (I was in sales) My flight was cancelled so the airline put us in a limo to our small regional airport in TN as I recall. The limo driver drove us to the closed, dark, shut down airport and was going to leave us there. No workers. No taxis. When I complained he said, "This is where I was paid to take you". I had to bribe him, literally, to drive us to civilization.

Op if there is NO way to avoid it, I would go along as an escort. Take my own vacation. It sucks when you have to protect your kid from their own dad's idiocy. I get it. Been doing it for years. But it's our own fault for reproducing with A holes. Some day your kids will realize you did this for them and be grateful. And yes, my ex seemed like a nice, responsible guy pre-kids too. I get it, I get it, I get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I let my 11 yr old and her friend fly to Switzerland to visit their best friend who had moved their six months ago. It was NBD and they had a blast. I’d be more weary if alone but 2 can watch out for each other.

DC - Geneva is a much shorter and simpler flight than DC - Asia. I would be worried but maybe not forbid DC-Geneva.

OP said it’s Asia one way to the West Coast

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I let my 11 yr old and her friend fly to Switzerland to visit their best friend who had moved their six months ago. It was NBD and they had a blast. I’d be more weary if alone but 2 can watch out for each other.

DC - Geneva is a much shorter and simpler flight than DC - Asia. I would be worried but maybe not forbid DC-Geneva.

OP said it’s Asia one way to the West Coast

That's still twice as long as DC - Geneva, and also landing in a non-Western country where it is likely going to be much harder to understand how to get help than Switzerland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I let my 11 yr old and her friend fly to Switzerland to visit their best friend who had moved their six months ago. It was NBD and they had a blast. I’d be more weary if alone but 2 can watch out for each other.

DC - Geneva is a much shorter and simpler flight than DC - Asia. I would be worried but maybe not forbid DC-Geneva.

OP said it’s Asia one way to the West Coast

That's still twice as long as DC - Geneva, and also landing in a non-Western country where it is likely going to be much harder to understand how to get help than Switzerland.

Reading comprehension...they are landing in the U.S.

[Anonymous]

Even if they’re too old for UA minor status, most airlines will allow you to still pay for the service until they are 18. I’d pay the extra fee just to speed their way through immigration.

If there’s a layover, I’d use the service to make sure that if there were a plane cancellation or other abnormality, they wouldn’t get left in the lurch. Some countries wont allow kids to use credit cards, so getting a hotel room/changing money/taxi etc would be very difficult for even a frequent teen traveler to navigate in an emergency.

But they’re you’re kids, so if you don’t think they’re ready for this, nothing will quell your anxiety overnight. I would gently suggest that you think about ways to promote greater independence. I’m still unclear about their ages, but even the 11yo will be out of the house before long and should have the confidence to deal with independent travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if they’re too old for UA minor status, most airlines will allow you to still pay for the service until they are 18. I’d pay the extra fee just to speed their way through immigration.

If there’s a layover, I’d use the service to make sure that if there were a plane cancellation or other abnormality, they wouldn’t get left in the lurch. Some countries wont allow kids to use credit cards, so getting a hotel room/changing money/taxi etc would be very difficult for even a frequent teen traveler to navigate in an emergency.

But they’re you’re kids, so if you don’t think they’re ready for this, nothing will quell your anxiety overnight. I would gently suggest that you think about ways to promote greater independence. I’m still unclear about their ages, but even the 11yo will be out of the house before long and should have the confidence to deal with independent travel.

What kind of nonsense is this. You clearly don’t have children even remotely close to this age. Based on this logic, parents of 11 year olds should be providing opportunities for their kids to drive and drink alcohol.

[Anonymous]

OP is not wanting kids to have a relationship with Dad so this isn't even an issue. There is no reason why she and Dad can't each fly one way to travel with the kids if she is concerned. She also isn't offering any other alternative for him to see the kids. She is clear he cannot have a relationship with them.

[Anonymous]

H

[Anonymous]

How old is this sibling who is accompanying her?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP is not wanting kids to have a relationship with Dad so this isn't even an issue. There is no reason why she and Dad can't each fly one way to travel with the kids if she is concerned. She also isn't offering any other alternative for him to see the kids. She is clear he cannot have a relationship with them.

Hold the phone my friend. So are you 1000% sure that the father did not choose to move away from his kids, thus necessitating an unaccompanied flight? I mean, if he were living within a short distance of his children, why would they need to fly unaccompanied? If he chooses to move away from them, then he needs to be prepared to make concessions for their safe travel. Now if it is the mother who moved the children away from the original family home, that is another story.

[Anonymous]

11 yo with older sibling on a non-stop flight? Yes, if course, I don't see any problem with that.

[Anonymous]

I would not. I’ve recently flown two long haul flights and would not think it appropriate for a young unaccompanied female passenger. The flight attendants have many duties on long flights like that and even if you pay an unaccompanied minor fee that does not mean they will keep eyes on for the whole flight. It’s dark, people sleep, people roam around, people drink too much. If your daughter has experience doing this kind of solo travel on long flights and is mature and has good judgment then maybe but I personally would not. He can either send you a ticket too so you can bring her or they can plan a different trip together. Or he can fly back himself to get her.