I will be sending my 10 year old granddaughter home alone from Paris in mid April.
Can anyone who has done this share their experiences and tips? I know I have to pay the fee on check in and accompany here to the gate and wait until her plane goes. But are there any little tricks or problems at CDG negotiating this? What experiences and advice do others who have done this have to share?
thanks
Seems the airline you are using would be best able to answer your questions on procedures etc.
I suspect each airline does things a bit differently, so if someone tells you of their experience on Delta and you are using 'brand x', it may be of little use.
Identifying your airline would be advisable to get relevant feedback
yes. We are going through American Airlines. Will have the official requirements, but I am interested in people's personal experiences and any unexpected issues or tricks to make it more pleasant.
I think these procedures and plans from the air line work well when everything does go as planned. However, there are sometimes unforeseen issues that can come up if something causes the flight to be diverted. I think that is rare, but I would have a plan in place. Make sure she has a cell phone that can call her parents or you from anywhere. Have the numbers preprogramed. Make sure that she has at least some amount of money. Make it clear that she is not to go anywhere unless accompanied by airline personnel.
99.5% of the time, things go as planned. You just want her to be prepared for that .5%.
Yes good idea. I had already been thinking about planB instructions. With a direct nonstop flight there should be no issues, but there is always that unexpected event -- heck on 911 people ended up in Canada for days. Thanks.
Most US based airlines will not do unaccompanied minor ticketing if the flight is not nonstop. Direct (meaning there is a stop somewhere) is not the same as non stop. AA only allows connections in their US hubs.
Also, international is different than domestic. With the passport checking and going through customs things gets complicated fast. You probably will not be able to go to the gate at CDG with the child.
Before assuming that this is even possible, talk to someone at AA in detail to make sure your plan will work!
It is a requirement of unaccompanied minor transit that the guardian go to the gate and wait until the plane is away. So I am assuming it is possible. I guess I will find out if that is not the case. I assume there is some paperwork received at check in for this and that is one of the things I hoped someone with experience would know.
I already have the tickets and have of course conferred with the AA people. They won't sell an unaccompanied minor ticket except by actually talking with reservation staff. I was hoping someone who had done this would have some personal experience with it and advice on any of the unexpected things they encountered including how the security process actually works. The last time I did this was with this child's own mother at a similar age and on that occasion my husband sent her to meet me in London and it was before the post 9/11 changes in flying so my own role was meeting her at the exit from immigration.
It is a requirement of unaccompanied minor transit that the guardian
go to the gate and wait until the plane is away. So I am assuming it
is possible.
This isn't always the case when it comes to departures for international flights on airports outside the USA.
Under the section "children traveling outside the US," American says "you may not be able to escort your child through security in some airports. If this is the case, a team member will take your child to the gate and stay with them until the flight departs." I also looked at Air France (since their hub is CDG, so I would assume procedures are broadly similar) and it says that "an Air France member of staff will accompany him or her to the aircraft."
Of course, in all cases, the parent/guardian does have to stay at the airport until the flight departs, even if they aren't allowed to the gate.
Especially because there are exit passport controls at CDG, I think that you probably will not be able to accompany your granddaughter to the gate and should prepare for this; if it ends up that you can, well, that's a pleasant surprise.
thanks. Yes that sounds right -- so either we will walk her to the plane or turn her over to an agent from the airline for that.
Here are some “tips/reminders”:
Bring your ID with you for drop off and remind the pick up person to bring ID
Arrive earlier than usual at CDG — you’ll probably end up wasting time but I add an hour to my usual arrival time at the airport
You will have to complete an unaccompanied minor form — just saying but there is good chance it will take the agent a minute to get that for you
No doubt you have seen https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/special-assistance/unaccompanied-minors.jsp but if you have not, please note especially the preparing for travel section.
Gate passes were not available at CDG in 2015. Maybe they are now or maybe that was just Air France. There was a text from the airline confirming the child was on the airplane and in his seat.
Does the 10-year-old have a phone so you can be in contact after you hand her over to the person assigned to take her to the gate and make sure she gets on the correct flight? Is this a direct flight?
As an aside, one of my best seat mates ever on a flight was a 10 year old unaccompanied minor.
My 10 year old flies on her own locally (B.C. Canada) and loves it though only direct flights. I can’t speak to CDG but wanted to suggest you include a phone charger with her phone...just in case delayed at the terminal.
She doesn't have a phone and I hadn't really thought about that. There will be charging capabilities at her seat. Clearly we need to make sure that she has a phone for use during boarding and arrival. so add that to the list. Thanks.
I am not worried about her entertaining herself for a day long trip, but trying to make we have everything in complete order and know what we are doing.
I’m guessing since she’s your granddaughter, she’s a very confident young lady, In the event that you can’t accompany her past a certain point at the airport, are you comfortable playing a few rounds of “What would you do if ....” ahead of time so that she would know what to do in a given situation at the airport?
Yes definitely doing that. And we will make sure she has a phone for the trip back.
