would you let your newly 16 year old fly to....

DandR

Korea by herself for the holidays???

She has a brother who is over there currently, so she will be greeted after she lands.

I'm sorta shocked by a family friend who is letting their DD do this...they are SOOOO over-protective in other ways, so to see them letting her do this, is sorta shocking.  I mean, they won't let her have a job besides babysitting for a few families who the parents know. 

I'm not sure I could let my kids until they are in college do that.....am I over - protective?

Across the country?  probably...across the world?  Eeek!  I don't think I could.

 

Mickschick

I think it depends on the maturity level or the 16 y/o. Would my parents let my brother fly across the world at 16? Absolutely not. Would they let me? Yes.

Are they letting her fly alone or do they have it set up where she will get assistance from a steward or stewardass?

I'm sure they are going to walk her to her gate and such and she's going to be greeted by her brother when she lands... so really the only place where she's going to be alone is on an airplane...so I guess it's not really that bad.

CleoKitty

Maybe. It would depend on the kid, I guess. Then again, I've never had a 16 year old, so who really knows...?

Halo79RN

well, people have younger children fly alone... they just notify the airline so they get special looking after and then they let the parents through the gate until boarding.  

would I??? to Korea?  probably not.. from NYC to NOLA (to the GPs)? yes.   

REOM

Well, one of my 8 year old students flew to Korea for the summer in June wtihout his parents!

Littlejen22

We let my 17yo SD fly to England to visit with DH's family (staiyed with her uncle) going into her senior year.  And honestly she was the farthest from responsible but it was to visit family and she really wanted to do it and we felt comfortable that they would look out for her.  If the girl's brother could be trusted to actually look after her and not let her get into trouble I do not think it is a big deal except for the language barrier, I think the brother's level of maturity might matter more than hers in this situation.

Littlejen22

Mickschick:

I think it depends on the maturity level or the 16 y/o. Would my parents let my brother fly across the world at 16? Absolutely not. Would they let me? Yes.

Are they letting her fly alone or do they have it set up where she will get assistance from a steward or stewardass?

I'm sure they are going to walk her to her gate and such and she's going to be greeted by her brother when she lands... so really the only place where she's going to be alone is on an airplane...so I guess it's not really that bad.

I do not know if you can even buy assistance for a 16yo, we did not even get assistance for my SD once she was 14 and flew across the country.

Actually DH did not even walk her to the gate when she was 14 b/c it is such a PITA to do that post-9/11.

penguingrrl

My mom let me fly from NY to Chicago to visit a relative at 13, and let me at 19 take my 13 year old brother alone to visit our father in Belgium.  So, if it was a responsible mature 16 year old and I knew there was someone meeting them on the other end I absolutely would do that. 

jen5-03

Yes. Absolutely. I just don't think there's that much trouble to get into on a flight.

Can a 16yo fly as an unaccompanied minor? It depends on the airline when you fly domestic, but I don't know if it's even an option internationally.

I was 14 when I flew to Taiwan by myself. Grandma took me to the airport, mom picked me up. They were expecting me to be checked in as an unaccompanied minor, but for some reason it was not allowed (I was too old? Or maybe we weren't pre-registered for it? It was 89, so who knows what the rules were back then). Anyway, it was fine despite having to change planes in Tokyo.

I also flew to Europe by myself at 16 - I was going with a tour group, but I flew on a different airline using my mom's frequent flyer miles. They met me after customs.

My SS is pretty well travelled and turns 16 next month. I would not bat an eyelash at him making a trip like that as long as a relative was meeting him. And I don't think he would be nervous at all either.

jlw2505

It totally depends on the child and honestly, the flight it self.  If this is a direct flight than her parents can get a special pass to be able to go past security and stay with her until she boards the plane and her brother can do the same on the other end.  Not sure what age it goes to but they also can have a flight attendant or airline personally there to help since she would be an unattended minor.  Again, this totally depends on the child - some at 16 would not be able to handle that.  My nephew has traveled alone starting at 17 but he has also gone on a number of 5-6 week trips through camp across the US and to Alaska and has worked at a couselor (he is college now) for a few summers and is totally reliable and trustworthy and all that great stuff.