okoshi2002

Hi

My son is 15. He may need to return from Venice, Italy to Honolulu alone on plane. Can you think of any possible problems he may encounter negotiatng this, other the obvious issues such as he is responsible enough to not lose his passport, get to the gates, etc. Is a minor travelling alone going to have trouble clearing customs ?

Thanks for your help.

where2

You should call your airline and find out what their policy is on this.

lincasanova

some airlines will allow a fee to be paid to assist unaccompanied minors.

check it out.

otherwise.. he should not encounter any other difficulties in arrivals/departures than anyone else.

it will help if he DOES NOT have overwieght luggage, etc. as that additonal step in process overseas for payment could be upsetting ( you usually have to go to another set of windows to pay for any overweight, which can easily make you miss your flight).

he neeeds to learn to read monitors and double check for gate changes, and know to go to airline desk if there are cancellations/re-routing, and request he be allowed to make a call to notify other end of such changes.

i always tell my students to never walk in any direction too far without being absolutely sure they are going the right way. that mistake could cost you.

which airports will he be transferring in?

hetismij

Tell the airline they have a UM (unaccompanied minor) on board and they will take good care of him - he will be taken through passports, security customs etc by groundstaff and handed over to aircrew at the plane, and will be met by ground crew at any airports he lands at on the way.
It is important to inform the airline before hand so they know.
They deal with UMs all the time, and know how to take good care of them.

StCirq

Airlines do not consider a 15-year-old an unaccompanied minor these days. It's 12 and under for most of them. And "clearing customs" is not the issue - it's getting through immigration. Customs is a matter of declaring purchased goods, not a matter of being accepted into the country he's traveling to. He will almost certainly be on his own and have to get wherever he's going without assistance (though flight attendants will help him if necessary). Just make sure he's got his passport and airline ticket.

hopscotch

UM conditions and costs are different between the airlines. Here is info from the NW site:
"Any child between the ages of 5-14 who will be traveling without an adult 18 years of age or older must participate in our Unaccompanied Minor program. The program is optional for children between the ages of 15-17. Unaccompanied minors cannot be booked online and are restricted from traveling on some flights."

capxxx

Here are some more things to think about.

If he has an e-ticket, but not a credit card (for id), he won't be able to use the machine to get his ticket. He'll need to explain his problem to an employee at the ticket counter, who can use his passport and print his ticket.

If an adult is helping him at the airport, have the adult ask for a ``fake boarding pass'' (I forget what they're called, but the airlines can issue them), so the adult can get through security to walk the boy to the proper gate and sit with him until he boards the plane.

Is he making a connection? Talk about what to do if the plane is delayed, or he misses a connection. A friend once saw a solo teenage girl in this situation -- she had no idea what to do and just sat in the airport crying (the rest of the family was in transit and couldn't be reached. The friend sorted her out and sent her on her way. )

Tell him to check the departure gate and time more than once, while waiting -- they do change.

When my son travelled alone in Europe, he was questioned a lot more closely by the airlines and officials (what was the purpose of your trip, where did you go), but he wasn't delayed in any serious way.

A way for him to call you if he needs help in transit might go a long way in easing tension.

It sounds like some kind of emergency return trip, for which, if so, I am sorry you have to worry. Big picture: he'll be fine. All the employees all the airlines are willing to help him get home -- he just needs to know to ask for help if he needs it.

dfr4848

Due to our experience, capxx makes a couple of points that are worth repeating. Have him check the departure boards several times for any gate or time changes. Have a backup plan in case he runs into any problems (even if he's able to get an escourt; there could still be a screw-up along the way).

Our daughter went with one of her high school's groups to China when she was 15. On the return trip she was separated from the group during one of the connections (though as it turned out it was not her fault). Fortunately, she had flown enough that she was generally familiar with the procedure, but we had gone over a backup plan with her. She kept following the monitors and maps of the airport and (despite being told the wrong terminal by one airline employee) she got to the right gate and was even ahead of the group.

Just review things with him so he will have some confidence and doesn't "panic" and he'll do fine.

okoshi2002

Thanks everybody for all the wise advice.

A fifteen year old is at that awkward age when he is no longer a child (he is bigger than I am )but not an adult yet either. Learning to ask for, and getting help, for such a creature will be the challenge .

Thanks for your help.

FainaAgain

A question to those who know: would he need some legal paperwork, like permissin from both parents to travel? And anything in case of medical emergency?

I know if a relative (grandparent, aunt) take a child out of the country, they need all of the above.

TxTravelPro

Looks like he will have 2 connections?
Please make sure there is PLENTY of time for the connections!
I know AA and DL stop the Unaccompanied Minor requirement at 15... we have paid it for 10 years! Last year was the last time - woohoo!

I say you know your kid better than we do. I know 15 year olds that could easily handle it and others that would fall apart if there were any disruptions.
This has been such an odd weather year with lots of storm delays. Be sure to prepare him and give him money just in case something happens.
Honestly, I don't know what a 15 year old would do if he got stranded overnight at an airport. He would have to go to someone and tell them he is alone and needs help... I guess the gate would be a logical place.
Just prepare him for it so he knows what to do... just in case.

hopscotch

I started flying my daughter UM to Italy when she was 7. She visited her aunt nearly every summer. She made connections in several European airports, with UM support. Since the age of 17 she goes adult. At 19 she flies to Italy again next week with a connection in CDG. The babe is out of the nest.

If your son has not flown alone before I urge you to use UM. The airline has complete custody, control, and responsibility. Your kid could easily get lost if he goes as an adult. The plane is not the issue. Age 14 is too far from maturity to even think about putting him in an airport alone.

hopscotch

Oops. He is not 14, 15 already. Still too young.

capxxx

I do know a boy who needed a signed letter from his parents giving him permission to travel to Europe under his own supervision, and authorizing him to seek his own health care.

If it is about getting him from Italy to the US, there should be no need for the travel letter. Maybe you do want a letter that explicitly allows him to seek medical care for himself, since he is a minor ...

Another thing to mention: if your are within 20-15 minutes from flight time and stuck in the security line, it is ok to speak up and ask permission to move to the front of the line, explaining that your flight is boarding.

My son was about this age the first time he traveled solo. I spent 3 months beforehand thinking of every possible contingency, and telling him what to do (he was very patient with me, and kept eye-rolling to a minimum). My husband's solution was to buy the kid a cell phone. As it turned out, he had one of those flights where everything falls apart, and he did know what to do -- when your flight is cancelled, hand your ticket over to the agent at the desk and they'll figure out a new plan for you. He was fine but may hair turned several shades greyer that day.

I agree that the important thing is how sensible and how experienced he is.

Frances

Just to take a little further the possibility of being unexpectedly stranded overnight. Some years ago I rang Finnair to ask what would happen if my daughter a U.M. was on a plane which missed the last connection to her destination. I was worried about what they would do with her overnight and had read a horror story about two children in the same situation being locked in a cupboard for safety's sake(that was not Finnair).
The airline were unhelpful and obviously had no policy that they were able to tell me about and so I didn't book with them.
Ever since I have made sure I didn't book connections on the last flight of the day.

okoshi2002

I am glad I asked the question.

We are going to avoid having our 15 year travel alone if at all possible after reading all of the above !