Reply to Would you let you 5 year old fly unaccompanied overseas?

Forum Index » Travel Discussion

Reply to "Would you let you 5 year old fly unaccompanied overseas?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'll tell you my experience when I was 7. Direct flight from Rome to DC.

I get on the plane. 30 minutes later, the flight ends up having issues - I end up in a queue to get on a new plane to JFK instead. I've got a big unaccompanied minor sticker on my shirt but during this entire time I simply got off the plane, followed a crowd, asked what was going on, and got a new ticket.

I get to JFK. For reasons I still don't know my connecting flight is out of LGA. A ticket agent directs me to get on a bus to get there. I do. Again, all of this is despite my being a UM. As it happens, I got on the wrong bus - this wasn't a shuttle between airports it was merely going back and between terminals.

Eventually I figure this out and get off. By now, my parents in DC have freaked out - and the airline is desperately searching for me. But, because they believe me to be at LGA they've mobilized teams in the wrong airport.

I find a new ticket agent who after some digging is able to get me on a plane from JFK leaving some hours later. I finally land in DC at about 10pm - roughly 7 hours after I should have.

At 7, I found it all fairly humorous and I was proud of having solved it all on my own. Looking back, the airline fucked up hard.

The entire thing was made much harder by the fact that I didn't own a cell phone, so it wasn't easy to reach my family. That was exacerbated by the fact that I didn't have money - my grandparents hadn't given me any in Rome as I was boarding a direct flight - what would I have needed any for? 
Once I reached DC I was able to have a gate agent call my parents who picked me up.

If you do this with your kid give them money and a cell phone :)

My verdict based on my experience: no fucking way would I do it at 5 years old, but at 7 or 8, yes.

[/quote]

+1.  We flew at age seven to grandparents and loved it.  Always non stip flights of about four hours.  The scenario in this post is the first thing that went through my mind when I read OP.  Its too much to put on a five year-old.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics