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.

+1

14 hours is a long time on a flight--and I cannot help but think of the time we dropped my MIL off for a flight (back when you could go to the gate). When she boarded, we left. Turned out, they had to deboard because of some kind of maintenance issue. She didn't leave for two more hours --which we didn't hear about until much later. Think of your 11 year old in this situation.

My point: things happen. On 9/11, planes enroute landed at the closest airport. I had a friend whose teen ended up staying with strangers for several days in Kansas City. She was 18 and heading off to college in California. She was fine, but she was not 11.

Everything will probably be fine, but I wouldn't let my 11 yr old do it. I've flown on a fourteen hour plus flight to Asia. It's a looooong flight.

Yeah, but we don't know the age of the sibling who is going to be accompanying her. OP let that slip but never clarified details. It's odd, given that the title of the thread is "Unaccompanied minor …," but this is DCUM, and stories evolve.

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.

+1

14 hours is a long time on a flight--and I cannot help but think of the time we dropped my MIL off for a flight (back when you could go to the gate). When she boarded, we left. Turned out, they had to deboard because of some kind of maintenance issue. She didn't leave for two more hours --which we didn't hear about until much later. Think of your 11 year old in this situation.

My point: things happen. On 9/11, planes enroute landed at the closest airport. I had a friend whose teen ended up staying with strangers for several days in Kansas City. She was 18 and heading off to college in California. She was fine, but she was not 11.

Everything will probably be fine, but I wouldn't let my 11 yr old do it. I've flown on a fourteen hour plus flight to Asia. It's a looooong flight.

Insist they fly business class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t the dad keeping them for the whole vacation?

He probably only gets limited time in the summer and OP will not allow more.

Thanks MRA poster.
It could also be that dad decided to move to another country to start his new life because he views his kids as dispensable and can only manage a vacation or two.

How are his kids dispensable? He's asking to see them and Mom is refusing.

I flew transcontinental with my sibling a number of times as a tween and teen. It was perfectly fine. We didn't even do direct flights.

People now seem to think kids are much dumber and less capable than they used to be.

I don't know OPs daughter. Maybe she has low intellectual ability or is very behind in her age appropriate skills and she is more like a young child and that is why it seems like at 11 she couldn't navigate an airport and flight - even though that is something many tweens and teens can do without any problem at all.

For those responding...do you take long haul flights internationally several times a year? Ever done one from Asia? I do and have. The last one was 3 weeks ago. I don’t really understand all the fear around a long-haul flight. I find the customer service in Asia to be far superior to that of the U.S.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t the dad keeping them for the whole vacation?

He probably only gets limited time in the summer and OP will not allow more.

Thanks MRA poster.
It could also be that dad decided to move to another country to start his new life because he views his kids as dispensable and can only manage a vacation or two.

Since OP won’t respond the sibling is likely 14+ and in high school. At that point, the situation is way different than OP made it out to be so that she could garner sympathy. A 14 year old can travel with her 11 year old sister on one non-stop flight to the U.S.

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t the dad keeping them for the whole vacation?

He probably only gets limited time in the summer and OP will not allow more.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Its a bit ironic that all these parents who probably minimally supervise at home are concerned about a plane ride. Its absurd. OP probably would not let the kids go even if Dad came and got them,

We have friend's daughters who regularly fly cross country alone to see us. Never been an issue.

Cross county is NOT the same as long haul transpacific.

If its a direct flight it is. You preorder food if that's an option, give them money, a prepaid credit card, tablet so they can text you regularly, etc.

OP should offer Dad another option if she is saying no. She is just saying no without trying to work anything out.

We flew all the times as kids and it was no big deal. I flew at 5-6 to see my grandparents. Since everyone here is so anti-supervision I don't see where the issue is.

Why isn’t the dad keeping them for the whole vacation?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Its a bit ironic that all these parents who probably minimally supervise at home are concerned about a plane ride. Its absurd. OP probably would not let the kids go even if Dad came and got them,

We have friend's daughters who regularly fly cross country alone to see us. Never been an issue.

Cross county is NOT the same as long haul transpacific.

No, even if the airline allowed it.

Anonymous wrote: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.

Its a bit ironic that all these parents who probably minimally supervise at home are concerned about a plane ride. Its absurd. OP probably would not let the kids go even if Dad came and got them,

We have friend's daughters who regularly fly cross country alone to see us. Never been an issue.

My friends have done it to send their kids to their home country in the summer, grandparents picking up at the airport.

My teen has a lethal nut allergy and ADHD. I don't want to leave him alone on a plane to deal with potential hazards. If he didn't suffer from these things, I'd send him by plane to my parents too.