Kids traveling solo on a direct long-haul flight

[rinso]

KLM was indeed very good with small children travelling alone.
I have had no contacts in the past few years, but I never heard that they changed.

[Karhunkoski]

Does anyone have experiences with their kids this young travelling as an unaccompanied passenger?

Don't have kids, but I traveled alone as a youngster. I loved it. I got my own (pretty) air hostess, who mollycoddled me every 30 minutes or so.

But the experience was sold to me as a "fun" thing by my parents. I guess if my mother had been fussing and worrying and fretting, I would have picked up the vibes and not been so keen on the idea.

[catfish78]

My nephew has been doing the trip from the US to Finland for the past 4 years solo, with Northwest/KLM. He always has a connection to make, and has never missed a connection. The supervisors take care of them and when in the airport they don't get the opportunity to roam.

[enk]

Is there a direct flight from Stockholm? I was talking with my mom about
my oldest (who will be 9 next summer) going for a week or two there.
No direct flights from here, but there are direct flights from Stockholm.

As a child, I flew every summer to my grandparents' house by myself on
direct flights, but these were within the continental USA, albeit it from
one end to the other.

-enk

[catfish78]

My nephew has been doing the trip from the US to Finland for the past 4 years solo, with Northwest/KLM. He always has a connection to make, and has never missed a connection. The supervisors take care of them and when in the airport they don't get the opportunity to roam.

Thanks for the response about KLM! Need feedback from experience about this particular airline. How old was he when he began these solo trips? That's the question I'm most interested in. The KLM flight assistance for young kids started at 5 yrs so I am assuming the staff are pretty vigilant about looking after the children.

His first solo trip was age 9. So right at your wee ones age. He is a easily traveler. I flew with him back on one occasion to the states and all he needed were a few comic books and his Nintendo DS and he was a happy camper.

[enk]

Is there a direct flight from Stockholm?

Unfortunately, no, there's no direct flights. They all fly in to Seattle and although it's only a 2 hour drive from Vancouver, it would just be an added hassle for my 70 yr old mom to deal with all the red tape that would mean for her...EU/Can kid being transported without parent(s) to the US, being picked up by Grandma and then transported over the border by a non-parent...and then returned the same way. Too many check-points at which some "i" wasn't dotted or "t" crossed.

Way too many in this day and age. One thing by the way that I forgot
to mention, SAS has video screens in the back of their seats that
have quite a few games (and old ones to boot: Centipede! ) for
kids to play on the long-haul flights.

I myself prefer KLM for other reasons, but they've been jacking their
prices up way too high lately, so I've been flying SAS.

-enk

[Karhunkoski]

How old were you? How far were your travels? My 9 year old is more interested in cars than girls so I'm guessing you were a tad older than that!

Between 11-15, journeys up to 6 hours, and change of planes.

[enk]

I myself prefer KLM for other reasons, but they've been jacking their
prices up way too high lately, so I've been flying SAS.

Guess it depends where you're going to. Unfortunately, to fly SAS, we'd have to switch in TO or somewhere in the US, making the trip that much longer. KLM is about 250 euro cheaper than any other carrier for our destination. We traveled KLM last summer and they, too, had mini-screens in the plane. Kept the kids occupied for the entire 10 hour flight with games and movies.

Good to know if they drop the prices to Chicago any time soon!

-enk

[rinso]

KLM was indeed very good with small children travelling alone.
I have had no contacts in the past few years, but I never heard that they changed.

Have you had personal experience with KLM with your kids using the Flying Solo service?

No, but I knew several of their staff who were allocated for those jobs (sporting club). They were very motivated about it and I wouldn't hesitate to leave my children in their care.

[RA]

Cory, the last time I ever flew with my parents I was 9. I also flew solo at 7. Mostly Kenya-Finland and back and this involved layovers depending on the airline in question. It was always lots of fun. The hostesses took great care of us kids and with KLM they even had a special lounge for the kids that flew solo. I flew solo through Russia once in the early 80sand that was a bit scary 'coz we (another under-age kid that was flying with me) got lost in Moscow airport. In the end we did wind up in the righ place and we had a really long layover, but they took care of us really well. We were fed and even got beds to sleep in and they came to wake us up when it was time to go. I don't think you should worry too much. He'll be very well taken care of and he'll have a great time.