would you let a 15 year old girl....

[HappyLady]

.....fly from NY to Florida by herself?  She'd be dropped off at the airport and picked up at the other airport.  She's never flown before so has never had to find her way through an airport.  She's very smart and very responsible.  Just curious on your thoughts with this one.  If it matters, she'd be going to Florida to meetup with family just for a few days.

[DawnM]

Yes, I would.  

[Spryte]

Yes.

[bettyandbob]

Probably.

 

One of my dc could have done that at 15. Possibly both. 

[Starr]

Yes. Talk her through it all beforehand and be sure she has a cell phone. 

[kitten18]

Yes.

[Tap]

Will she have to change planes along the way? Or just layovers where she will not have to get off the plane? If she will be taken to the gate and picked up at the gate, yes.  Otherwise, probably not, unless there was a really good reason for it.  

 

Can she be an unaccompanied minor?  (They assign staff some minimal accountability  for the child, and if there was a significant problem, someone assigned to her care)

 

 

 

My husband travels for work so I hear a lot of unexpected situations like flight delays and missed connections. 

[catz]

Yes.

[EmilyGF]

Yes. I flew alone at barely 12 and was from a family that rarely flew. At 15, I paid for a trip to Hawaii with my cross country team by babysitting and at 16 I left for a year in Europe. 

[Halftime Hope]

Yes, if you trust her implicitly, you talk through contingencies, and she has a phone.  I'd have flight status notifications texted to her phone AND to mine, and if she is not used to flying, I'd do a dry run and show her what to expect going through security.

 

Here ya go:  http://www.flightstats.com/go/AirportTerminalMaps/airportTerminalGuide.do

[abacus2]

Yes. This seems a low risk, pretty simple endeavor for a responsible 15 year old.

[lispy]

I would.   I would be a nervous wreck until I got word that she met up with her party in FL, but I'd do it.

[Ravin]

Yes.

[Mom23Boys]

I flew at age 15 by myself from New Orleans to Baltimore. It was my 1st time to fly and we flew into the tail end of a hurricane. So, just extra turbulence from wind, but nothing dangerous.

 

My parents did make sure I had a non-stop flight. Part of that was because most layovers were in Atlanta and it was right at the time of the Summer Olympics there. I went to visit a friend whose family had moved. I was there for 10 days.

 

I would let my child fly.

 

ETA: I would have had to change planes in Atlanta. I don't know what that is called. Is it still a layover? I haven't flown much if you can't tell, lol.

[Kimberly in IN]

Yes, let my then 12 year old ds travel from NY to Chicago. No problems either way. He had never flown before so we talked through many different scenarios.

[Chelli]

Yes.

[Amira]

I wouldn't want a child's first flight to be on her own, but I think a 15yo would be able to handle a direct flight.  I wouldn't be comfortable with a plane change in that situation. I'd check to see if you can walk to the gate with her- we weren't able to when my 15yo flew alone.

 

It would also depend on how she felt about it.  I flew by myself on non-stop flights starting when I was 14, but I'd flown before and that was way before they made it hard to go to the gate if you weren't a ticketed passenger.  I don't know that I would have been comfortable flying on my own for the first time when I was 15, but that's just my personality.

 

[Heatherwith4]

Yes

[Starr]

If you are worried wrap her ankle up in an ace wrap and get wheelchair transport.  ;)  Really.

[J-rap]

Yes.

[JenneinCA]

Sure. My daughter has flown alone several times. The first time she was 12 and the flight was from San Jose to Denver. There were no problems. She has flown from San Jose to Phoenix before too and no problems there either. My husband has been able to get a gate pass to walk her all the way to the gate and wait with her to board the plane every time.

 

She will be flying from San Jose to Minnesota this summer and for the first time dealing with changing planes alone. I am not worried.

[Tsuga]

.....fly from NY to Florida by herself?  She'd be dropped off at the airport and picked up at the other airport.  She's never flown before so has never had to find her way through an airport.  She's very smart and very responsible.  Just curious on your thoughts with this one.  If it matters, she'd be going to Florida to meetup with family just for a few days.

 

From family to family? Absolutely, no question. It will be good for her to have some responsibility.

[HappyLady]

Will she have to change planes along the way? Or just layovers where she will not have to get off the plane? If she will be taken to the gate and picked up at the gate, yes.  Otherwise, probably not, unless there was a really good reason for it.  

 

Can she be an unaccompanied minor?  (They assign staff some minimal accountability  for the child, and if there was a significant problem, someone assigned to her care)

 

 

 

My husband travels for work so I hear a lot of unexpected situations like flight delays and missed connections. 

 

 

Yes, I should have mentioned that as well.  It would be a direct flight.

 

I looked at the airline's website for unaccompanied minors and in order for someone (her mom) to walk her to the gate and be picked up at the other gate (by me), it would cost $100.  The girl in question is my niece and she's trying to save the money on her own because her mom won't pay for her so I know paying the $100 would be almost impossible for her.  

[Amira]

You shouldn't have to pay to get a gate pass to have someone go to the gate with her.  Call the airline to see if they'll let you get one.  It's separate from the unaccompanied minor fee.

[go_go_gadget]

Of course. I was flying direct domestic flights alone at 11, and indirect international flights at 13. I can't imagine why she'd need to be escorted to the gate.

[Janie Grace]

Yes I would.

[milovany]

What?! That's nuts that they would charge for that; seriously nuts.  Which airline?  I know Southwest lets parents take minors to the gate and also lets a designated adult pick them up at the gate at the other end. 

 

That said, yes, I would let a 15yo do this.  I was going to qualify saying one of my kids would definitely have been able to handle it at 15 while the other, who is currently 15, might be one that I wouldn't -- but I changed my mind as I typed this.  Of course I would, him too.  That's plenty old enough to do something like this even if someone can't take them to the gate or pick them up at the gate at the other end. 

[Daria]

There's a fee for unaccompanied minor, but I've never heard of a fee for a gate pass.

 

My 13 year old goddaughter flew out to see us.  She flew Southwest which doesn't let you fly unaccompanied minor over 12, but we had no problems getting guests passes all 4 times (her mom and I coming, and her mom and I going home).  In her case, she has some disabilities that made it more important that she had an escort to the gate.  You could probably say something like "she has learning disabilities" when asking for the gate pass.

 

To answer your question, I let my 7 year old fly "unaccompanied minor" to go see my brother, and thought it was a great idea for my 13 year old goddaughter with disabilities to fly alone to see me, so I wouldn't think twice about a 15 year old.  

[Dory]

I let a 16yo boy drive from northern Alberta to southern Alberta and then fly from there to Texas by himself. So yes, I would let a 15yo fly within the country. We have talked about letting our 11yo fly to my brothers place unaccompanied.

[Susan in TN]

Yes. Airports are filled with employees who will help you get where you need to go.

[greenvneck]

Definitely. I flew by myself for the first time at 14 (I'm 41 now), from Ohio to Florida, with a layover that had an unexpected gate change, which meant a terminal change (at O'Hara). I looked at the printed map, asked people for help, it was all good. She can have the airports' maps queued up on her phone/ipod and there are plenty of helpful people. I bet this experience will be an immense confidence booster!

[Tap]

Yes, I should have mentioned that as well.  It would be a direct flight.

 

I looked at the airline's website for unaccompanied minors and in order for someone (her mom) to walk her to the gate and be picked up at the other gate (by me), it would cost $100.  The girl in question is my niece and she's trying to save the money on her own because her mom won't pay for her so I know paying the $100 would be almost impossible for her.  

I would get a gate pass and walk her to the gate then,  With a Direct flight and rock solid contingency plans, sure, I would let dd16 go.  In fact, I once almost did.  My husband was stuck in NJ longer than expected one time so we almost flew dd16 out to NJ from Washington to see Wicked on Broadway.  (shhh, she doesn't know about he missed opportunity) We didn't end up surprising her because it was too expensive of a flight on short notice, but I fully intended to let her go.

 

Flying is different now than when I was that age, but I flew by myself as a teen quite often.  It isn't that complicated, but she does need to have a bit of a backbone to go up to a stranger and ask for help if she needs it.  As long as she has that, I would let her go. 

[Pam in CT]

Agree with the two pp that "unaccompanied minor fee" is different from "gate pass."  Various of my kids have flown alone before on both Delta and JetBlue -- the last time just last December -- and one of us has always been able to accompany to the *departing* gate without paying a fee.  The kids have had to make their way to and through baggage claim on their own upon arrival, so you'll want to talk that part through (though it's easy - just follow the crowd and you'll get there).

 

The "unaccompanied minor" fee is different -- the child is with an airline personnel the whole time, including any layover if there were one, and will accompany / supervise / care for the child in the event of delays / missed connections etc. 

[Plateau Mama]

My niece flies out to see us every year from Florida to Seattle. We have always been able to go to the gate with her. This year, she was 15, they wouldn't let us go to the gate to meet her when she arrived. They said that there needed to be a note when she was dropped off that she needed assistance.

 

There is no fee to get a gate pass and if you tell them she has never flown they will absolutely give you a gate pass.

[Lisbeth]

No, but it is for TSA groping reasons. I'm sure our flying boycott is not what you meant. ;)

[Little Nyssa]

Why not? I did this at age 6.

[Tess in the Burbs]

I flew alone younger than that. Teach her well. Know what to do and she will be fine

[Barb_]

I also think someone has confused the unaccompanied minor fee with a gate pass. There shouldn't be a fee for a gate pass. Regardless, you can walk her right up to security without a gate pass and once she's through finding her gate should be easy. On the other end, someone can wait right outside security...there's only one way out of the airport so she can't really get lost. Just follow everyone else. My husband works out of state and my parents live 2000 miles away, so my kids have all flown alone a lot. We always buy direct flights which minimizes unforeseen difficulties. There was this one time my daughter chose the wrong time to go to the bathroom and missed her boarding call. She was about 16. She burst into tears when she realized she'd missed her flight, but Southwest was so good...they got her out on the next flight free of charge.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sure.  Without hesitation.  

[Anne in CA]

I let my dd fly alone at 13, however, she had flown a lot and understood airport layouts.

[allyphoe]

Direct flight, sure, no issue. You get a gate pass and watch her get on the plane, and then she gets off and follows the signs to baggage claim at the other end.

 

My DD will be 12 this summer, and I'm looking forward to not having to pay the unaccompanied minor fee anymore! She's never changed planes without a parent (because Southwest won't let UMs change planes), and wants me to fly with her, but pretending I'm not with her, for the first flight she does with a change.

[LucyStoner]

Yes.  I flew to New York alone at that age and then onto Israel in a group.  I think it would be fine.

[Tammi K]

I let me 15 year old fly from Alaska to Texas, so I'll say, "Yes."  :001_smile:

 

[Jasperstone]

Yes, I flew to Germany from Australia at the age of 13, and stayed with relatives for 6 weeks.

[Laura Corin]

Yes.

 

FWIW, Calvin travelled all around the UK by train looking at universities on his own.  By age 16 he was travelling by train and booking into B&Bs to stay overnight on his own.  A couple of times he had to deal with problems (a suitcase was stolen and he had to deal with the police; his train was diverted to the other side of the country and he ended up in a town that he didn't even know the location of) but it was fine.

 

L

[kewb]

Yes, I would. I would walk my teen through the various scenarios if there are connecting flights involved. Although you say ny to fl so I am assuming laguardia airport which is fairly easy to navigate even for a novice and would not involve connecting flights.

[Guest submarines]

Of course. Why the hesitation?

[73349]

Yes, I think that would be fine even at 13.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes

[creekland]

Add another yes.  I started flying by myself when I was 11 and have never had problems.  Now kids even have cell phones.  Those weren't around when I was flying back then.