We're thinking about letting our 10-year-old son fly to Savannah (from Washington DC) to visit his aunt, uncle, and cousins for a week this summer. I've noticed solo kids on the plane before, wearing tags, getting extra attention from the crew, et al, and it seems to work ok.
Are there any tips you can share about this experience? My son is rather self confident, but I'm sure there will be some nervousness. (I remember travelling alone on the train to see my grandparents when was his age, and it was a combination of nerves, excitement, and pride at being trusted to do something so "grown up".)

My daughter flew alone when she was 7, and did indeed receive extra attention and safety precautions (even I had to show ID to pick her up at the airport). I don't recall which airline she flew on, as this was a few years ago, but I think it was probably Continental. All I can say as a parent is something like that is always risky, but my impression is that given the enormous liability the airlines must face in accepting solo children as travelers, they do their best to maximize the security of the kids. I think a lot also depends on the child.

My daughter, who is now 17, started flying by herself from Chicago to Minneapolis to visit her aunt when she was 7. She was proud to have her own visit with the aunt and her cousins, and has developed a special relationship as a consequence of these solo visits, beyond the one the rest of us have through frequent family visits.

She is a very confident child, but even so, walking on the plane with her escort required resolve and cost her a few tears. The flight attendant, who couldn't understand why she might be crying (??), was no help at all. Over the years we sent her on which ever airline had the best price, and BY NO MEANS do the airlines uniformly and always closely supervise these kids, or see to their needs. My daughter never liked wearing the hang tag, which not all airlines use, and I sometimes thought it made her a target, given the lack of supervision at some points. It is best if the flight is nonstop, but even then there may be unexpected delays at the destination. On the whole, for children strongly motivated to accomplish it, unaccompanied flying is fine.

My son started travelling alone via air around this age. He flew from Boston/DC/Boston each summer. I never left the airport until the plane was in the air and his dad met him at the gate. He loved the attention and always got a good seat. The flight attendants were very good. I believe it was Delta although not sure. His dad had to show ID before he could pick him up. When he got a little older 14ish or so, he did not want us hanging around but there are some great pillars to hide behind. There was one small incident where the moonies in DC took him for $5.00 but another life lesson learned on his part. I am not sure if one airline is any better than another in these situations. Always get a direct flight if possible. It is worth the peace of mind to pay extra if necessary. Are things worse now than they were 15 years ago. I think so. Just remind the flight attendants that they are accepting the responsibility when taking your child. They usually board first.

You people must be nuts! Airlines treat adults like cattle and you want to ship a 10 year old on to a plane? What happens if there is an emergency? Flight attendants are not paid babysitters!!! If you want to ship your kid somewhere so you don't have to deal with them either escort them yourself or better yet drive them there!

Fuming, get a clue. Children under 14 traveling alone pay full adult fare and have specially assigned escorts at the airports, and flight attendants are, indeed, responsible for making sure they're okay and looking after them in an emergency. Geez.

Actually, airlines ARE paid for this service: fees range from $30 to $65 last time I checked, with a minimum age requirement. No, flight attendants are not "babysitters," but they DO contract for safe escort, sort of like you can get a wheelchair if you need one, etc, and charge accordingly.

We are NOT "shipping them off so we don't need to deal with them," we are allowing them to go on a visit, usually to relatives, without us!!!! You must be cracked yourself, and like most people who post abusive comments, you of course do so anonymously!

Ignore that man behind the curtain!

For two years, I traveled extensively to Huntsville, Alabama, where a NASA Space Camp is located. One Friday afternoon, there were eight adults and ninety children on the flight out (American). Each one had his neck tag on, and each one was escorted at DFW to the proper connecting gate. When one travels a lot, one sees that children traveling alone are taken care of with the maximum of care. The flight attendents are not baby sitters, but they are trained to be thorough and, if necessary, stern. The ground-based staff are equally efficient.

Besides, think about it: if there were any risk at such travel, would not the scare be blasted across the airwaves? The airlines are involved in a cut-throat business; the LAST thing any airline would want is publicity about lax care of children.

Am not as adamant as Fuming, but the flight attendants do have to take care of other business. Was on a long, full flight once with a very young girl (6 or 7); she was not able to handle the situation.

Bill, you know this child. Some 10-year-old may not be ready, your's might. Has he flown quite a bit?

Dear Fuming: I respect your right to disagree with this type of travel. I did not "want to get rid of my son" it was his father's right to have him for the summer. Believe me, would I have preferred to "deal with him" - you bet I would. As for escorting him there, today I would have the means to do so and would - back then a hamburg and baked potato was a great supper. Hope you never have to live like that.

Dear Gary:

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about camp travel! Anyone who doubts that transporting unescorted children is lucrative business for the airlines has never been in the airport on a camp route! My daughter also went to French camp in Minnesota for two years--how could I have forgotten the hordes of kids in their berets, boarding at O'Hare, and transferring in Minneapolis for...I can't quite remember, somewhere near Moorehead, MN

I wasn't saying the airlines were LAX: just brusque and, on flights with 5-10 unaccompanied minors, had a tendency to leave them in a group over in a corner of the departure area with, it seemed to me who was waiting with my daughter until she was actually put on board and the plane took off, no supervision, rather than boarding them.

Marilyn:

The most interesting part of that particular flight was watching the flight attendants try to figure out how to get enough adults into the exit rows. They finally coerced everyone in first class to trade their seats for flight coupons. So, there we were--eight adults stuffed into two rows, while the entire rest of the cabin (and first class) were filled with children. Believe me, they had a lot more fun than did I.

Boy, I hope you all got LOTS of flight coupons! I personally would have held out for round-trip to Paris at the least. I'm sure they all had LOTS of fun. My daughter unfortunately figured out how to use the phone--I thought you needed a credit card for that!--on her flight, but luckily, no one was home, though it cost her $24 to find that out.

Bill,
Only you know how well your son can handle flying alone.

I don't have any children, but when I returned from Israel a couple of years ago, my mother and I were seated next to a young boy, between the ages of 8-10. He was Canadian and traveling from Israel (visiting relatives) to Canada (home). He was VERY well-behaved (THE best seat partner I've had on ANY flight!), very friendly without being intrusive, cooperative, and self-assured. This was a LONG flight (9+ hrs), and he was just great! The stewards took extra care to make sure he was comfortable - extra pillow and blanket, etc. My mother and I sort of took him under our wings, keeping him occupied during parts of the flight, helping him with his meals, etc. (we even gave him our desserts!) The best part of that leg of the journey was being able to converse with an intelligent, respectful, and well-behaved young man. So, yes, the flight crew DOES give extra attention to children flying alone, and if your son is lucky, he may even get a surrogate "grandma" (like my mom) to talk to!

My 10-year-old is rather unusually self-confident and verbal. He comes across to strangers as bright and articulate (and to his parents, on occassion, as somewhat full-of-himself). Fortunately, the flight is less than 2 hours. It's on a 50-passenger "Canadaair jet" (never heard of it!) We'd be driving from Baltimore to Dulles Airport so he can get a non-stop to Savannah, and he's just DYING to visit his Georgia cousins! I suspect he will very quickly conquer any nervousness. I was much more shy at his age when I first traveled alone on the train.
Of course, there's always a concern that he'll sit next to a creep. (That's why we give kids all the "watch out for bad strangers" talks... and at age 10 we can get rather more explicit about the reasons.)
I guess our other concern is that he will talk the ears off his seat-mate!

Bill,
My 10 yr daughter has been travelling alone for years. As some of the other posters have noted however I think it really depends on the child. My daughter is pretty outgoing and self confident. She is one of those types of kids who has "never met a stranger". (This is what probably scares me the most as she will literally talk to everybody!) I think that most airlines do their best but I don't rely on them entirely. I make sure that my daughter is fully informed about the details of the trip. What flights, what cities, what to expect etc. I think that the more information she has the better. I give her a long list of emergency numbers to take with her so she can always contact someone if she needed to. I have also taught her how to make a calling card call from the pay phone. One big thing I always stress to her is that she needs to take the lead and tell the flight attendant when she needs something or if she needs help. I really push her to be proactive. We also walk through some what-if situations and discuss what she would need to do it different cases. While I believe that the flight attendants do their best I try to remember that they have a full plane load of people who need their attention as well and that in reality my daughter will have to fend for herself good bit of the time.
All that said don't forget,
try to get direct flights
never leave the airport until the flight takes off, have someone specific meet the child and make sure the child knows who that is going to be.
Have your child call you from final destination airport

You can track flights on the web (I'll have to look up the website and post it) I usually do this to make sure everything is running smoothly. That way you will know if there have been any delays and when you might expect them to arrive.

Haven't any of you read the thread on kids on planes? The majority of people on this forum are against kids flying especially unaccompanied.

In my opinion, you parents are trying to turn your kids into minature adults instead of letting them be kids! Shame on you! As for the divorced mother who sends her kid to be with their father every year, it's too darn bad you could not have worked out your marital problems so your kid would not have to be shuttled back and forth. And your ex should be thrashed for moving so far away from his kids. Kids deserve better than this!

As for the rest of you parents, why not take your kids to see your relatives as part of your family vacation? Is it too inconvenient for you? Or, are you trying to find no cost day care for the summer? Shame on all of you!!

Man! Where did that guy come from?
Kids have been traveling by themselves to visit relatives for generations. I did it 40 years ago! My father did it in 1927! Back in the old days, the parents tipped the train porter to keep an eye on things. These days it's more organized. It's too bad you don't like the idea of kids flying (at all?), but that's how people travel these days. I was just trying to get some practical advice for my son's first venture into self-reliance (not to mention a chance to see his beloved cousins who live 700 miles away).

Bill;
I was around 10 when my parents sent me to visit relatives on their farm in the midwest. My so called relatives molested me and told me if I told my parents that I would never see them again. Through lots of therapy I have overcome this terrible ordeal. I have 2 children of my own now and I will NEVER let them stay with relatives alone. Most of the sexual abuse that young children incur is at the hands of "well meaning" relatives.

Ginger,

I'm sorry about what happened to you. It sounds really awful. But I think it is a stretch to say that parents shouldn't leave their kids in the care of relatives. That would be like saying that one shouldn't let one's kids ride in the car because they might be in an accident. Yes, bad things can happen when kids are out of their parents' care (or in their parents' care, for that matter). But life is filled with risk, and we all have to handle it in a reasonable and healthy way. I don't know how old your own children are, but to say that you would "NEVER" let them stay with their own relatives alone? Strikes me as a little extreme. My kids are still too young for an unescorted plane trip, but the test I use to decide whether they can be in the care of another responsible adult is whether there is any reason to believe the kids might be in danger. If not, I prepare my kids appropriately and send them on their way for overnights and other such adventures.

NoName, you have gone far off the deep end. There are plenty of good reasons kids ought to travel unescorted. One such reason is that they might learn a few things, and they might be able to go someplace that they could not go if their parents had to accompany them. My experience with unescorted kids visiting relatives was when a niece and nephew came across the country to visit me for 10-days. They were probably 11 and 12 at the time. There was no way their whole family could make the trip due to the expense, as buying even 2 plane tickets was a burden. I think the kids learned a lot about how to be a houseguest and how to manage their own property and money without parental guidance. Bill, things will probably go well for your son too.