Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

Just took my 15yo to the airport to fly to Minneapolis for camp! Any chance your son went to Concordia?

I agree it would be better to find a place for your kid to fly to in the US and then direct to Oslo. Likely NYC.

Hello Concordia friend! We had our kid transfer through Minneapolis Airport to and from Fargo. I believe others bused to and from Minneapolis directly. I believe he ran into a friend in the Minneapolis airport on the way home. I can't remember why we chose the Fargo option but I think we were just goofproofing as much as possible. His camp was on grounds of the college in Moorhead so much closer to Fargo than the other villages. I highly recommend it - he had a blast with Chinese 1.

Oh amazing - thank you! Apparently the Chinese village is back in the “main” camp area near Bemidji so she flew to Minneapolis and was met yesterday by leaders along with other kids, is staying the night somewhere in St. Paul I believe and today will be driving up. I was sort of surprised it seems like she spent about 5 hours waiting at the airport (they gave a window they had to arrive in) but she’s a resilient kid.
Her first time and she’s reluctant about it but I hope she will have fun! It’s to bolster her confidence in speaking and comprehension of Mandarin which she’s studied for a few years.

OP you know your kid best - some kids would be find with that transfer and possible need to find a place to sleep. Some wouldn’t.

MSP is one of the best airports in the country, imo. So easy to navigate, and for a teen travelling alone, it's about the friendliest airport staff you'll find.

Anonymous wrote:This summer has been even more of a nightmare for delayed and cancelled flights due to summer storms. Make sure you leave a lot of time to connect.

Our connecting flight out of Frankfurt was cancelled due to this. Had to make unexpected hotel arrangements.

What would a 16 year old do?

This summer has been even more of a nightmare for delayed and cancelled flights due to summer storms. Make sure you leave a lot of time to connect.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

I disagree, unless you’re willing to drive in case of missed flight (but then why not just fly out of NYC?). A minor can’t rent a hotel in US but they often can in Europe at 16, especially at a hostel. They might need a permission letter from you.

I would check that. I twice needed to write authorisation letters for my under-18yo this summer when he travelled in Europe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

Just took my 15yo to the airport to fly to Minneapolis for camp! Any chance your son went to Concordia?

I agree it would be better to find a place for your kid to fly to in the US and then direct to Oslo. Likely NYC.

Hello Concordia friend! We had our kid transfer through Minneapolis Airport to and from Fargo. I believe others bused to and from Minneapolis directly. I believe he ran into a friend in the Minneapolis airport on the way home. I can't remember why we chose the Fargo option but I think we were just goofproofing as much as possible. His camp was on grounds of the college in Moorhead so much closer to Fargo than the other villages. I highly recommend it - he had a blast with Chinese 1.

Oh amazing - thank you! Apparently the Chinese village is back in the “main” camp area near Bemidji so she flew to Minneapolis and was met yesterday by leaders along with other kids, is staying the night somewhere in St. Paul I believe and today will be driving up. I was sort of surprised it seems like she spent about 5 hours waiting at the airport (they gave a window they had to arrive in) but she’s a resilient kid.
Her first time and she’s reluctant about it but I hope she will have fun! It’s to bolster her confidence in speaking and comprehension of Mandarin which she’s studied for a few years.

OP you know your kid best - some kids would be find with that transfer and possible need to find a place to sleep. Some wouldn’t.

16 is considered an adult but airline standards and they will be fine if they are an average 16 year old.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

Just took my 15yo to the airport to fly to Minneapolis for camp! Any chance your son went to Concordia?

I agree it would be better to find a place for your kid to fly to in the US and then direct to Oslo. Likely NYC.

Hello Concordia friend! We had our kid transfer through Minneapolis Airport to and from Fargo. I believe others bused to and from Minneapolis directly. I believe he ran into a friend in the Minneapolis airport on the way home. I can't remember why we chose the Fargo option but I think we were just goofproofing as much as possible. His camp was on grounds of the college in Moorhead so much closer to Fargo than the other villages. I highly recommend it - he had a blast with Chinese 1.

A friend’s kid did it this summer. Did have to spend a night in the airport because of delays but that’s probably one of the worst case scenarios. The kid was fine.

My kid was in a different European city this summer with a program and his flight home was cancelled a few hours before takeoff and the soonest flight he could be booked on was two days later. Luckily an adult with his program was able to find him a hotel and book him for two nights and I was able to pay. But anyway I think Frankfurt is fine but be prepared for problems. I’ve been hearing of a lot this summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

I disagree, unless you’re willing to drive in case of missed flight (but then why not just fly out of NYC?). A minor can’t rent a hotel in US but they often can in Europe at 16, especially at a hostel. They might need a permission letter from you.

I would look for an SAS flight, even if it meany connecting in Copenhagen or Stockholm. Those airports are smaller snd easier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a camp my teenager wants to attend next summer in Norway. There aren't direct flights from here to Oslo. Would you be comfortable with your 16 year old flying alone and transferring in Frankfurt? He's generally a good traveller and has flown alone on direct flights many times.

Can you find a route where the connection is in the US? I would consider that.

I've flown to Europe many times and been stuck overnight in Amsterdam a few times.

Kids can't rent hotel rooms. So in the off chance of a messed up flight situation, it might be easier to handle it from the US side. For example, getting stuck in NYC or Newark is within driving range.

We had our 15 year old do an unaccompanied transfer in Minneapolis both ways to camp last year.

Just took my 15yo to the airport to fly to Minneapolis for camp! Any chance your son went to Concordia?

I agree it would be better to find a place for your kid to fly to in the US and then direct to Oslo. Likely NYC.

I’d do it as long as it was a very early arriving flight so if his connection was cancelled or delayed, there would be other options the same day. I’d also only do it if you know he’ll be able to sleep on the flight to Frankfurt. One of my teens is a great flyer and has transferred in Frankfurt without issue. His brother can never sleep on the overnight flights so is completely out of it the next day bc he’s basically going on no sleep. I only do direct flights or connections in the US bf the overnight flight for him. Our kids are dual citizens w/ an EU country so go there a lot.
I’d also look into a flight from jfk or bos bc worst case, if he’s delayed you can always get him a hotel room with a mobile key, which isn’t an option in Europe

Also, yes, I would be comfortable with my teenagers transferring through Frankfurt by themselves (and I am known for being quite protective).

Lived right outside of Frankfurt for many years. I would just be sure that the lay over is pretty long! The airport itself is easy to manage. Almost everyone speaks English and we found most Germans to be very helpful and kind (especially when kids including teenagers are involved). I would choose the Frankfurt airport as the airport to transfer in over most other airports in Europe. Best of luck to your kid! I hope they have a fantastic experience!

That camp better be amazing.