Tap Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Extra battery pack for phone and instructions/cord to charge her phone when ever she can (there are often charging kiosks to use if needed). Keep an extra $20 in her shoe, so if she looses her bag, she still has enough money to buy a water bottle and a snack. Restaurants do close in airports, so if her flight is delayed she may need some $1 bills to use in vending machines. Some machines will take a $5 or $20 bill but she will get $1 coins back for change). A few airports have price regulations on vendors, but others do not, so a simple bottle of water may be $3. Send a reusable water bottle, or remind her to keep her empty plastic bottle between airports (refill at a fountain) because prices can vary wildly! Teach her how to use a payphone with a credit card before she goes, so if her phone doesn't work, she can still call you. Download music/audio book to a device so she can listen instead of read. My daughter gets airsick and reading=puking. Dramamine helps some people, so she may want to take a bottle ($5 at most stores) in her bag, just in case. My daughter gets carsick too but knows how to keep it at bay in a car......an airplane makes her absolutely miserable without Dramamine. Tell her to lie to fellow passengers and say her dad is on the plane an a few rows behind her. Weirdos are less likely to mess with someone who has a parent on board. Some flights do not serve food or if they do, it is an add on expense. A simple plate of fruit can be $10. Let her know it is ok to spend the money to buy it if she needs to. My daughter wouldn't want to spend the money, and she would go hungry instead and then be miserable. You may also need to tell her that if the waitress offers her a drink she can ask if there is a charge for it. If there is a charge she can decline or ask if there are any drinks that are free (often water and maybe soda). Tell her how to ring for a flight attendant. If she is switching airline companies, make sure her carry on fits all the regulations for all of the flights. Smaller 'puddle jumper' style flights sometimes have different size limits that huge jet liners. I would not pay for an unaccomapnied minor at 15 unless there is a forseeable reason to. (Bad weather predicted etc). You may want to find out if you can add it on later, closer to the date, or if you need to book it at the same time. Call the airline directly to get the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Thank you. So if she buys wifi on the plane, she can message me on FB or email? Correct? Thank you for the tip re carry-on. I hope she can just have a backpack. If you want her to buy wifi, then you'll have to go with the credit card. She'll have to be able to enter it onto a screen. As far as I can tell,most flight attendants are not allowed to handle cash anymore, even for small things like drinks and snacks where those are for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 That's good to know, thank you. She might not message me, but I think just knowing that she could would help her be more at ease. Plus taking photos and sharing them would be enough of a novelty for her to be happily busy lol. I know she will be tense / nervous. The longest trip she took by herself was 2h on a bus. She's also going to be away from home for over a week, while the longest she's been away was 2 nights (with the understanding that we could get her if needed.) It is a big experience for her and I want to make sure she's comfortable. I'm assuming your new cell phone service has data and messaging included? If so, then she'll be able to text you after she's seated on each plane and until they announce that they're closing the cabin doors for departure. At that point, she's supposed to put her electronic devices in airplane mode. I usually end up having 10-20 minutes of time on the plane where I can still text before they close the doors. That would typically be plenty of time to take photos and share them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 If she is going to have to switch carriers, I might rethink whether or not to sign her up for the unaccompanied minor service. Anne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 Aside from the many excellent practical suggestions by others, I would also consider this: Is she a fairly independent girl? Is she easily rattled? Is she very shy - it's difficult for her to approach adults if she needs help? Is she assertive when she needs to be? Is she looking forward to flying alone or is she apprehensive? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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