Unaccompanied minors?

Delta and Continental both fly direct into Edinburgh, Delta from Atlanta and Continental from Newark.  My dad today raised the possibility of him or my mother accompanying my kids only as far as the hub (Atlanta or Newark), then having the kids fly as unaccompanied minors directly into Edinburgh from there, where I would of course be waiting for them.  Hmmm...not sure how I feel about that, to be honest.  They are pretty well travelled, and they wouldn't be navigating any plane changes by themselves.  But they're my babies...know what I mean?  (Even though they are 10 and nearly 13, they are still my babies!!!)

Does anyone have any experience with this, either having flown by themselves as children or having their own children fly as unaccompanied minors?  Any advice/warnings/words of wisdom?

When my sister and I were almost the exact ages of your girls (my sister 13, me 10) we flew as unaccompanied minors from Houston to Trinidad and Tobago in order to visit family for the summer.  It was a pretty painless experience- as I recall the airline staff took great care of us and we never felt lost or confused about where to go.  If you think your girls can handle it, they probably can.

It is true that being UAM on an airline, they are going to be treated like royalty by the flight attendants.  In fact your kids would probablly be safer on a flight then in most places on their own.  They will be tracked, escorted, etc etc.  Your parents would have to check the kids in at the hub, which means they wouldn't be transferring by themselves.  Once they are out of an guardians hands they are accompanied the whole time by airline staff at the gate (with nice read and white tags around their necks to make them feel OH so special).  Most flight attendants love UAM's because they get to dote on them and break up their routine (assuming your kids are well behaved).  All airlines flag these special passengers to make sure that they arrive safe and sound.

I would say if your kids are up for it, then it would be nothing but a huge safe adventure for the two of them.  They will probablly have one of the better plane flights in their life.

My kids flew last summer when they were 16 and 14.  I was a little nervous about it, but it was a direct flight between Newark and Heathrow.  They were fine, really grown up.  Your kids are probably like mine and have flown transatlantic a lot. 
The only thing that you can't rely on is the unexpected.  My kids got caught up in the BAA strike last summer, and had to delay their flight for a few days, which was no problem.  But apparently, if you change your ticket at the last minute, that's a red flag to the airline so they were taken aside and searched and interviewed.  They were pretty upset by the whole thing and my mom was livid because she could see what was happening but couldn't go through the gate herself. 
In the end everything was okay and I don't mean to scare you.  I guess if you feel your kids are old enough to stay calm in stressful situations and get along for 7 hours then go for it.

I think at their ages they will be just fine. Im still not quite ready to let my 8 and 11 year olds go alone yet.

DH flew unaccompanied as a child from Nairobi to Heathrow and BA.  He got really good treatment he said, although that was sometime ago.  I think he was just a little younger than your children.  To be honest, he forgot he'd done that until we were flying out of Paris last month.  I'm sure you're children will be fine.  We watched a 6 year old girl who was getting on our flight, the only time she was let out of her hostesses sight was to use the toilet before she boarded.  Otherwise, she had to be where ever the woman who was responsible for her was.  She made it fine, and they even helped her with her luggage, and customs and everything.  But that was air france.  I don't know about Delta or Continental. 

My kids flew for the first time unacc. when they were 8 and 11 and they flew with American Airlines, via Chicago into Tulsa. My ex paid the handling charges and they were treated great.

Caitlin flew unacc. last year from LGW to Dallas on BA and they did a great job as well. I was told that the airport has a lounge for children flying alone that is locked and they are not allowed out to wander. That a airport rep comes and collects them. They have tv and video games for them to use.

my little sisters (twins, aged 11 at the time) flew victoria - vancouver - newark unaccompined two years ago.  they loved it.  they had a room like MeShell described with video games, snacks, etc in vanvoucer.  my sisters still talk about how much fun the "adventure" was.

i def. think it helps is there's two of them flying together.  they can support each other emotionally if need me. 

there's an infamous story in my family that my mother was supose to drop us children (me & my two older sisters- we were probably 7, 9, 11 at the time) off at newark.  we were supose to fly to salt lake city by ourselves and our grandparents were to pick us up.  well when she got to the airport my mother was too afraid to leave us.  so she bought a ticket and flew with us.  flew there and back in the same day.  my father didn't know until us kids got back home and told him all about mommy coming on the flight with us. 

Love your story, Meggles...sounds like something I would do!

I mentioned to the girls that I was considering that as one of our options to get them to Edinburgh in November.  They're actually all for it.  "Don't worry, Mom."  "We'd be fine."  "They'll take good care of us." Etc., etc., etc.  If they had reacted with nervousness or alarm I would have stopped considering it then and there.

They are quite experienced travelers (planes, trains, ships, etc.) and really quite well behaved, especially in public.  (They save their quarrels and snarkiness for me...sigh...)  I think they could handle it.  Only question is if I could!

I'll dig a little deeper and see what the costs would be.  I suspect it might still be cheaper to have them fly accompanied by one of my parents.  Does anyone know...do I have to call the airlines direct for quotes for UAM?  Can a travel agent give me quotes?

Thanks,
c.e

Yes a travel agent can do unacc. minor. but they would probably charge you a booking fee, I know cause we have to.

Last year when I sent Caitie to the US I did it direct with BA.....and called their skyfliers office.

As a flight attendant, I can tell you that UM's are a priority. Believe me, there is hell to pay (quite rightly) if procedures aren't followed. They are normally boarded first with an agent bringing them on. A F/A will seat them and chat with them about safety procedures & show them things like the call bell, bathroom locations, etc.
The F/A in charge will keep their tickets & baggage claim stubs. Any paperwork (landing cards, etc) will be filled out by a F/A. Upon landing in EDI, they will be turned over to the agent greeting the flight, along with their paperwork. On Delta, the UM's wear little sticker badges with the Delta insignia on it, which will identify them as UM's. They will be fine!

Next summer will be a first for us.  And I would only send them on a direct flight where I can see them to the boarding area and then someone will be right there to pick them up.  They are extremely responsible (will be 13 & 15) and are actually looking forward to it.  They've travelled a lot so they know what to expect, what to do etc..

My best friend had a horror story though with her 17 year old sister.  She was travelling Edmonton to DC and had one connection.  The flight was late getting to the connection and there wasn't a flight until the next morning to DC.  So they locked her in an office  overnight and wouldn't let her leave.  My friend was frantic trying to find out where she was when she didn't show up in DC on schedule.  It took several hours but they finally found out where she was and she finally arrived on the first flight the next morning.    The airline - don't remember which one - should have been shot!

my son has flown 3 times alone, london-chicago with BA. he was 14 the first time and i didn't pay the extra fee to have someone track him.(his choice). of course this limits him to direct flights but he is always highly motivated, so he never complains about any of it. i was told by BA to have him carry a letter, giving permission for him to travel alone and i've also added important phone numbers both here and in the states. once he did have trouble coming through immigration here because we'd moved and he couldn't remember his new address and got nervous and forgot my mobile number........

on the positive side, he got upgraded to first class when he flew home in june!!! he said he was all settled in his seat when they called his name overhead to make himself known to a flight attendent, he thought he was in trouble but they said let me show you to your new seat...in first class!!!! not sure if they were expecting a young business man in an armani suit but they got a scruffy 15 year old in cargo shorts, t-shirt, sneakers shuffling along with his backpack!! he loved it!!
in general, i think most kids who are fairly independent, can cope by 14 years old, and i see it as a huge learning experience!!

I have 2 girls who flew have flown unaccompanied here and back for 2 summers now - at ages 7 and 11 at their youngest. Every time I'd ever brought them across with me, I showed them how to do things for themselves on the plane and in the airport. The youngest was a bit apprehensive the first time alone but the oldest was already a seasoned cross Atlantic traveller so she was quite confident and helped a lot. Besides the fact they are never really left alone.

They both prefer BA to Delta flights because they get their own TV and feel it is more room to get comfortable in the seat. So I pay $50 or the equivalent in pounds for each child, each leg (so $200 extra total) to have them watched but for me I feel the extra is worth it. There was a booking fee but it was small compared to the rest of the ticket.

Wow...I didn't think UM could fly internationally?