<p>Both my sons have been travelling on their own since the summer after 6th grade. They attended different summer programs that were a plane ride away -- and we simply didn't have the money to accompany them. </p>
<p>They haven't had any problems and are very comfortable flying on their own -- this includes layovers. They have flown both in the US and multiple times internationally.</p>
<p>A few hints for those who have never had a child fly alone:</p>
<p>**for a few extra dollars, you can have your child fly as an accompanied minor (even older kids can do this). This might be the best option if your child has not flown alone before and doesn't have much experience flying even with others or if they are particularly nervous.</p>
<p>**don't book the last flight of the day (if the flight is cancelled, your child is stuck at the airport for the night)</p>
<p>**try to book a non-stop flight. If you can't, make sure the layover is long enough that your child has plenty of time to make the connection (at least an hour). Remember that flights can be late, so a one hour layover may end up being only 30 mins long if the original flight if running late. </p>
<p>**if you have a layover, try and pick a smaller airport to layover at. The larger ones can be overwhelming to first time flyers. </p>
<p>** check the arrival and departure times and try and arrange them logically. too early of a departure and everyone is running around like mad trying to get to the airport on time -- which isn't a pleasant way to start a trip and may add to the nervousness of an inexperienced traveller. Too late of an arrival and it is dark, which bothers some people. Check with those who are picking up the child on the other end and dropping them off on the return flight to see what times work best.</p>
<p>**buy early for the best choice of times. low bidding on priceline is not the way to go when sending your student.</p>
<p>We also have a set of rules that we set up for both our kids when they fly. These always make everyone feel better and keep problems down to a minimum.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>carry your cell phone with you and make sure the charger is in your carry-on (we instituted this rule after my oldest had to spend the night in the Miami airport and his cell phone ran out of batteries. Luckily another traveller let him use his charger)</p></li>
<li><p>get your boarding pass online the night before you leave.</p></li>
<li><p>select your seats online (if possible) ahead of time.</p></li>
<li><p>bring only carry-on luggage if possible (it just makes things easy). This is not possible, of course, for longer trips or when you head to school.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure the following items are in the carry-on: $20 in cash, a calling card, cell phone, cell phone charger, picture ID (you can get a state ID for any age, which is just like a driver's license except you can't drive), important phone numbers (mom, dad, phone number of whoever is picking the student up, any other emergency numbers -- like the school), itinerary with flight info, including ticket information, snacks and water (those peanuts don't satisfy the normal appetite of a teenager -- and food at airports cost tons of money), something to occupy the kid (book, video game, etc) and any special info for medical issues (written) that could be given to an adult if the child has an issue (think diabetes, peanut allergy, etc). </p></li>
<li><p>Call home once you are on the plane seated (before take-off), call once the plane touches down (before you deplane). This includes any additional take-offs and landings during a layover. If there is a layover, I also have them call me when they reach the next flight's gate and again just before boarding.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have a layover, the first thing the student must do is find their next gate and go there -- even if they have a 3 hour layover. then they may get something to eat or check out the airport. Kids invariably underestimate the time it takes to get from one gate to another -- particularly at large airports. </p></li>
<li><p>Finally -- they have to call once they get picked up and again when they get to their destination.</p></li>
<li><p>don't wear any clothing article or anything else with the child's name on it that someone standing close could read. Even though your 13 year old knows better than to go with a stranger, if they are confused and overwhelmed it might be easy for a stranger dressed in a business suit to address them by name and say they were told by the airline to "help" them. </p></li>
<li><p>Our rule is that the only people that my sons are allowed to talk with or ask for help are uniformed security guards or uniformed airline personnel. this is only if they are the ones that approach for help. If someone else approaches them and offers to assist them -- they must ask for a picture ID and may not leave the area where other passengers/personnel are. This may sound like I am being paranoid -- but better safe than sorry. My kids know that they are not allowed to accept offers to "wait in the private lounge, gold club, etc" even if the airline is just being nice. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Anyway -- that is a long post, but we have not had any major issues and my kids are comfortable flying. Yes -- they have missed flights, had emergency landings (that was exciting for them), been rerouted to other airports, had lost and damaged luggage, and spent the night stuck in the airport -- but they treated it as an adventure and always kept their cool. Being able to call mom and dad at anytime is great for calming them down.</p>
<p>final suggestion for parents -- always stay calm no matter what your child tells you is the issue (youngest had a late flight, caused him to miss the connection, got a later connection -- which then had an emergency landing due to a medical emergency at a different airport, got yet another connection, then weather caused the plane to be grounded and he spent the night at the airport. He still thinks that was a "cool" trip). your nervousness will cause them to panic even more.</p>
<p>And -- when all else fails, tell your kids to cry and look pitiful. This works well when your child has missed their flight, etc -- people are always willing to help some poor kid on his own. works wonders at getting to the front of an hour long line at security when your kid has 10 minutes to get to the gate.</p>