Need Advice on Best Airlines for Children Flying Unaccompanied

i would search for an airline that had direct flights, even if it meant you have to drive to a major airport to get there. The direct flights are the best way to go. Most airlines have regular protocols set up for minors traveling alone. I would also get the 10 year old a cell phone & charger to take on the trip and while at Dad's. That way you can reach them or they can reach you. Try to find out what the kids will do doing in Massachusetts so you can help them plan what to take. Find out who will be supervising them while they are with Dad. Will he be off the whole time they are visiting? Good luck!

You fly out with them. He flies back with them. Way too young to fly alone.

I'm sorry you are in such a difficult situation. I have to say, I would not even consider allowing them to fly alone, and I'm under the impression that they have to be older to fly alone. You should split the cost of an adult chaperone ticket with your ex or find another responsible adult willing to chaperone them.

At that age, they will both be considered unaccompanied minors - you have to be 16 to accompany a minor so your 10 year old will also be unaccompanied. They will only be "allowed" to fly a direct flight. On American Airlines, the fee for an unaccompanied minor is $100 each way plus applicable sales tax.

Here is more info:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/childrenTravelingAlon...

Also, think about how they would do in an emergency situation. If the plane should land somewhere unexpected - be delayed, etc. Personally, I don't think a 10 year old is old enough to fly alone much less a 5 year old. I would suggest that an adult fly with them. You may want to speak to your lawyer about having this written into your custody agreement.

I know that paying for an additional round trip ticket is expensive but really, that is part of the price of divorce. Which is very, very expensive.

Some airlines will not allow a minor under 7 to travel without an adult, so that would be my first question. I would recommend talking to a travel agent. You can definitely get a "gate pass" to go through security and all the way to the gate with your kids. Their father can similarly get a gate pass at the other end to meet them as soon as they get off the plane.

Any airline is fine. Just get a direct flight. There will be 2 of them so with plenty of snacks and things to do, they will be fine. I used to fly alone a lot when I was around 10. Even flew home alone from Europe (with two stop overs) when I was 14.

While I think they are a bit young to be flying solo, sometimes that is what happens due to divorce and moving.

We use American Air and Southwest Air exclusively. We fly a lot and I often see some very young children flying alone.

Expect to pay a premium of about $100 each for flying alone. You are able to accompany them to the gate and someone should be able to meet them at the arriving gate as well. Make sure the flight is a non stop flight even if it costs more.

I would make this an adventure and not let them figure out how scared you are. Make sure they have snacks and I would seat them on the bulkhead aisle which is closer for the attendants.

It is sad that they have to pay this price for divorce. Personally, if they are not seasoned flyers and don't know what to expect, etc. I think the first couple of times flying that you or your ex should accompany them so they learn the ropes of air travel.

edit: My first choice would be to have the father pay for you or another adult (grandparent) to fly with them.

Does your 10 year old have a phone? I know he/she is really young, but is there a way to get a temporary phone without the internet? I could be opening a can of worm for suggesting this (hard to go back to no phone).

My kids have flown unaccompanied before, because my parents live several states away, and it has not been financially feasible to buy extra tickets for us to go with them to see grandma and grandpa. We have used Delta, United, and Southwest for these unaccompanied trips, and they have all been absolutely wonderful. The way it works is that you purchase the unaccompanied minor tickets for them. There's quite a bit of paperwork involved (who will be bringing them to the airport, who will be picking them up, contact info for all involved), and you will need to actually speak to someone at the airline to book this ticket. Anyhow, when you get to the airport the day of travel, you check in at the ticket counter. They will ask for your ID, and will give you a pass that will allow you to take your kids through security and all the way to the boarding gate. You can wait with them there until the plane boarding happens. At that point, a flight attendant is assigned to your children, and will be responsible for them the whole flight. (My kids have even been bumped up to first class several times - yahoo! Typically they give them special snacks, even on Southwest.) When the flight lands, everyone else gets off the plane, and then the flight attendant brings the unaccompanied minors off the plane. On the other end, whoever is picking them up will have checked in with the ticket counter and been given a pass to go through security and meet the plane at the boarding gate where the plane lands. The ticket agent there re-checks this person's ID (it HAS to match exactly to what the paperwork says, or they won't release the children to that person), and when the kids have been safely delivered to that person, the flight attendant and responsible adult who's picking them up both sign off on the paperwork.

It sounds scary for your kids to travel alone, but believe me, they are NEVER alone the entire time. It is actually a very secure process.

Do not fly Delta.
My daughter is engaged to a man who has 3 children living in Texas. They left yesterday to fly back home from Milwaukee to Houston. The kids range from 11 - 5, in December they came up with no incident but yesterday when they were to go back to Houston the person at the Delta desk told my daughter and soon to be son-in-law the kids could not fly unaccompanied. They had all the necessary paperwork, the person at the desk was incredibilly rude and refused to help in any way. Just told them to call the reservations desk. When they asked the agent at the desk to place the call she refused. My son-in-law placed the call and the reservations agent told them they should not have been issued a ticket and the kids could not fly alone. They then issued a complimentary ticket for my son-in-law to fly with them to Detroit to catch their flight to Houston. When he got to Detroit they gave him another hassle and it was so bad he started to cry. He finally got the kids on the plane to Houston and came back, luckily they flew him into Appleton, we are 100 miles from Milwaukee.
When the kids came up a week ago they had an 8 hour delay in Houston and their Mom spent the entire day with them at the airport.
My son-in-law works on an oil rig for a TX company currently assigned to a rig in Africa. He flys every 4 weeks back and forth. Delta has left him hanging in an airport in Africa for hours. Africa is not a safe place to be in fact they have bodyguards to accompany them if they need to leave the rig. The bodyguards left him alone at the airport thinking he was leaving soon. Also, their supply boat captain was kidnapped last fall. This is not a place where you want to be left hanging for hours waiting to leave.

DO NOT FLY DELTA.

My son was 11 when he had to fly alone. Delta Airlines was great. I paid extra for his ticket but it was well worth it. We were met at the gate by the Delta employee who stayed with him on the plane. When they landed in Atlanta, they escorted him to his next flight, where another employee stayed with him on the plane and once they landed at their destination, they stayed with him until the authorized person I had named on the ticket picked him up. They did the same on the return trip. He had never flown before and he became the life of the plane. Everyone made him feel so comfortable on the plane.

I liked Patty K's suggestion to have you fly out with them and have your husband fly back with them. If that is not possible, you should at least buy your 10 year old a cheap cell phone with pre-paid minutes to take with her on the trip.

It is a little daunting that the five year old has never flown before, and the 10 year old probably doesn't remember what it is like to navigate an airport or be on an airplane. Is there any way the three of you can find some super cheap airline tickets to anywhere for a weekend so that you can just practice flying?

Good luck to you! I'd be nervous too.

I think the best airline for an unaccompanied minor is the one with the fewest (preferably zero) stops/no need to change planes from your local airport to his.

That may mean driving a much longer distance to bigger airports for both of you instead of using your local airports; eg, you are more likely to find a direct flight from Denver to Boston than you are from Colorado Spring to Providence.

Also, check with the airline when you buy the tickets, because I think you can get permission to go to the gate with a minor, instead of having to leave them at the security line. That way you can make sure they get on the plane. And if they are on a non-stop flight, your husband can do the same at the other end. This will minimize the things you have to worry about.

That said, I flew for the 1st time in my life at age 10 as an unaccompanied minor and loved it.

If you look online, per the Airline's website, they will often have the rules or policies of children traveling unattended and what to do etc.

And, I would also recommend, having some kind of "consent to travel minor without parent" or "Consent to travel for minor aged children" type form. So that they can also carry it on them, (you retaining a copy of this form for your own records). Look online for these forms. It is typically free, and they have templates for you to use.
I have done that. Or a "consent to travel minor with one parent" type form.
These types of forms, sometimes have to be, Notarized.

And to have, copies of their medical/insurance info. and some kind of I.D.

And, take CURRENT photos of your children, BEFORE they go on that trip, so that if they are lost or anything, you have CURRENT photos of them to show officials. And info on their current height and weight etc. per descriptions of them.

And mostly, there should be formal legal documentation/custody orders, that they CAN go, out of state and travel and do that.
Everything needs to be legally processed and determined.

And make sure, they have ROUND trip, tickets purchased.... and, a time frame, in which you KNOW the kids will be returning.
AND a contact number for your Ex, AND his CURRENT address of his residence... and/or of his current Employer and their phone number too. Should you have to contact him and cannot and you then need to contact his office or Employer or anything, just in case or just in case you cannot make contact with your Ex or if he does not answer his phone or cell phone. And if he will not give you this information freely, then I would not trust, him.

AND have or get a cheap cell phone for your 10 year old, to use, ANYTIME. Teach him/her how to use it. And how to call you no matter what time it is. AND that, his/her Dad cannot take it away from him/her.

A 10 year old, flying with a 5 year old, is daunting.
They are not a "babysitter" and may NOT even know... how to manage their younger sibling, much less on a flight.
I would not consider this.
And there are probably age limits? Per how old a kid is in order to fly by themselves????
LOOK into that.

And lastly, you do not HAVE to, allow this. Unless your and your Ex's custody "rules" are allowing it.
If you do not even have, any child custody papers per the courts nor anything legally formal about your "separation" and do not have ANYTHING, per custody or who has rights, I would not do this.

I have an 11 year old and a 7 year old.
I would not let them fly alone... even if my 11 year old is very mature. I would not have her be a "parent" to my 7 year old much less "manage" him on that entire trip. Even if they are good normal kids. Even for a parent, managing a young kid on a flight can be daunting.

I'd offer to meet him half way to switch kiddo's. Indianapolis, IN is right at half way from Colorado Springs and Boston MA. Of course if the Mass. town is on the west side of the state it would be more like St. Louis MO. If the Mass person went through Pittsburg PA they save several hundred miles too.

But I wouldn't let the kids fly alone at this age. I'd take the week before Memorial Day and take a couple of days to get to St. Louis and do some sight seeing. Going to the top of the arch would be something they would not forget. Then coming back I'd simply drive straight home. Take a friend with you if you don't want to do all the driving. I like having company.

If cost of gasoline is an issue I'd still think it would be less than paying for 2 tickets round trip.

It would take a day for each of you to travel to the middle if you got up and drove straight through with minimal stops. From Colorado Springs to Indianapolis it's just over 1000 miles, from Colorado Springs to St. Louis MO it's just around 880/900 miles, from Colorado Springs to Pittsburg PA then to Boston is about 1999 miles.

https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&gl=us&daddr...