What age is reasonable to let a 13 year old travel by plane with two others both 11?

Shock horror - my daughter travelled on her own at the age of 8 as an unaccompanied minor 40 years ago having told us that she wanted to visit her auntie in New York for Xmas. The following year she insisted that her younger brother accompany her.
Regarding Wildswan16's comments, Pan Am did leave her sitting in the luggage reclaim at JFK but my brother in law stormed the gates and found her.
Both children were delighted with the experience and still regale their friends with their adventures.

Back in the seventies my two nephews aged 6 and 7 travelled from London to Belfast unaccompanied. They were to stay for the school holiday with my mum and dad. Unknown to us, they were late for their flight and missed it. We were at the airport searching for these two little boys. To say we were frantic is an understatement. Eventually we phoned their mother and she said they'd missed the flight and would be on the next one. Looking back, I don't know how our family allowed the boys to travel alone in the first place, even if the airline was taking care of them. On their return journey my mother travelled with them and came back on the next flight. Even at 11 and 13 I think it's quite scary to fly alone.

My GD travelled regularly as an unaccompanied minor from 4 years old between Holland and UK. At that time KLM accepted them. Always had a copy of her passport etc round her neck and what languages she spoke. Did this many times until moved back to UK and never had a problem. Always found escorts kindly and she was never released at the arrival airport without identification proof.

Travelling as an unaccompanied minor is different to travelling alone. When my GS travels as an unaccompanied minor there is a £50 charge each way and a lot of paper work. He has to carry a paper signed by his parent and notarised which costs my daughter £70 a year. She use to get the headmaster to sign it but now it has to be officially notarised and the child questioned. Didn't help the first time when he was asked by the Notary " Do you want to go and visit your father" and he said " No"

There is a special service whose employees take the children to the plane and then they are in the care of the plane staff.

I think some airlines will let children travel alone from 12. But they are travelling like an adult and have to negotiate the airport alone after they have gone through departures. So depends on the ability of the child.

My dd flew to Australia one Christmas on her own at 11 but this was BA and a long time ago. She was what they called an UnMin (Unaccompanied Minor) so was 'handed over' to them, so to speak, at check in, and delivered at the other end to her friend and friends parents. I forget whether we had to pay extra for the service.
I imagine the more expensive, traditional airlines will still provide this service but can't imagine the budget ones doing so.
I used to work for an airline long ago, and sometimes we had children as young as 8 travelling as UnMins, going from e.g. Africa where parents were working, to their boarding school in the U.K. But with such young children there would be an 'auntie' provided by the airline, presumably for a fee, to look after them. It was v sad sometimes, though - the children crying and not wanting to go at all.

I've actually just remembered that quite recently a young nephew of ours, no more than 12, flew on his own as UnMin from Singapore on Sing. Airlines. Unfortunately we'd been given quite the wrong info about when to meet him at Heathrow, so there was a worried call from the airline and Dh had to shoot off, but nephew was quite unconcerned - staff had looked after him v well and taken him for a burger!

Riverwalk the poster is talking about a two hour flight you don't get escorts on short flights well certainly not on most airlines nowadays

Yes Gracesgran but they need to learn at an age appropriate time and I'm not sure 11 & 13 is that time. There are so many things to consider for each individual it's got to be a personal decision for the parents. I am not suggesting they should be risk averse but sometimes that risk is not worth the end result.

My dd flew as an unaccompanied minor from 10 on British airways within the UK. I was working & she went down the country & back to my mum during summer holidays. Had an issue one summer when BA decided to strike & I couldn't get her home in time for the start of school! It took a great friend driving me down & collecting her & driving us home!
It's my understanding the staff on the plane don't sit with the kids but do check on them regularly & they are escorted through the airport each side by staff so I would say it's safe. If there are 3 of them will they behave together on the flight?

Depends entirely on the child in question, my daughter flew alone at age 11 and was far more savvy then some adults who fly. On another note my sister and I travelled unaccompanied, by train from London to Hull changing at Doncaster at the age of 3 and 4, needless to say this was in the days of steam and we were looked after by guards, who did the changeover for us, we got to see the engines and generally were spoilt rotten. My how things have changed!!!

I regularly used to travel alone from home in Zambia to school in England, starting from age 11. If the children are sensible, know what's going to happen, know who to ask for help - I think they'd be fine.

My daughter travelled on a plane alone when she was 3 and a half. In those days they operated a scheme where a cabin crew member would take personal charge of a lone child, collect them from the gate, take them from the plane, and then take them to arrivals gate the other end to be met. My daughter was a very confident child who accepted strange adults easily, so there was no problem with her on the two hour journey from her grandparents (where she had asked to stay on after we left) back home to us.

So many of you are talking about what you or your relatives did many years ago, so much has changed

The original post was NOT about children travelling with an escort which you pay extra for the service which can be wonderful or not I experience a boy of about 11/12 flying to NZ when I last did, he was sat down and left by his escort there was a long delay and quite a muddle of gate changes he looked and seemed very scared,unsure and frankly bored stiff I felt very sorry for him

Stansgran you will need to check with the airline I don't know any that will let a child under fourteen fly alone it's sometimes sixteen I mean alone not with an escort which can be any age

Ryanair is sixteen ba is fifteen I think easyJet is fourteen I don't know the rest

BlueBelle we didn't have to pay any extra for that service, the crew member wasn't sitting with them all the time she could carry on her usual work just remembering to check and say a few words when she went past up the aisle.

my grandchild aged 12 has just flown from Perth via Dubai to Boston USA and back as an unaccompanied minor. I took her back to the airport at Boston and filled in all the paperwork and gave them a letter from her parents to say I was the right person to hand her over etc. They told me not to leave the airport until the plane had actually taken off. I had to watch the departures board until it showed the plane as having left. Her mother was able to track the whole trip through an app she had down loaded. GD had a good trip and is proud of herself attending a family event in Boston.

I understand all that ingejones and emilyhatbun but unless I m totally wrong the original post was asking what age a child could travel ALONE not asking if a child could travel with an escort
A poster further up said she paid £50 a time

Thanks BlueBelle, I thought she just meant without an actual adult relative or something like that.

Ingejones I don't know either as the original post was quite vague and Stansgran hasn't come back to offer anything else but I presume she wouldn't have been asking if a 13 year old could travel with an escort as we know the answer would be of course they can
The original post read to me that there was a 13 year old who would be in charge of two 11 year olds and travelling completely alone looking at stansgrans profile she has a 13 year old granddaughter and an 11 year old grandson so presumable the 13 year old in charge of possible two 11 year old (maybe boys) and I personally don't wouldn't put that responsibility on a young girl and also I m aware that most airlines won't let a 13 year old fly alone

I m just trying to answer the question which seemed to be asked I might be quite wrong in my interpretation who knows

Thank you emilyH you have reassured me. I had no idea about the app. DD is worried but her husband and his family have set this up. I'm worried because DD is worried. She is normally it'll be fine person but she has form, an awful lot of form for missing planes. I just hope it's not an inherited gene.

www.opodo.co.uk/blog/unaccompanied-minors-rules-by-airline/

Many seem to set 13 as the youngest age they will allow to travel alone.

Whatever has changed in the world it is the world these children have to get used to. Wrapping them in cotton-wool is not helping them. A proportion of those brought up in this way, now Generation Z, have very little resilience when it comes to getting through the more difficult parts of life.

You are wrong Bluebelle The OP asked at "What age is reasonable to let a 13 year old travel by plane" not at what age they could.

My link above will answer your question and might be a good rule of thumb.

Wasn't there a news item recently about an airline bumping an under age boy when the flight was overbooked?

My two flew as Unaccompanied Minors every summer holiday from Gatwick to Alicante from when they were 6 & 8 to stay with my parents for 6 weeks. We had to hand them over with the necessary paperwork which was put in a bag around their necks. We stayed until the flight had left and my Dad had to have his passport with him to collect them at the other end. One year the airline employee looking after them was a bit harassed as he had about 20 in his care. My Dad said 'I'll take those two please' and the man said 'only two?!!!!!' Dad said that he found it so funny! As they are now aged 30+ I expect things have changed. Also, there are lots of expat kids and those from other countries who fly to the U.K. Unaccompanied for school. It probably depends on the airline.

Two of my DGC, 14 and 10 travelled on their own, short haul but the eldest carried a letter with full details and permission which was looked at. The parents kept in touch by phone until they actually boarded and then on landing. Must admit this is a very mature 14 year old.

In the 70's my sister and I frequently flew unaccompanied to Norway. We were 8 and 10 (max) the first time. Somebody took us to the airport and handed us over to the flight company. They looked after us until we were picked up at the airport the other end. Nobody thought anything of it. Today's children are just as capable if they were just allowed. As long as they have a point of contact to ask if things start to go awry, where is the problem?

Grace Gran it doesn't matter what age we think is right or wrong if the airline don't do it there's no point in worrying that was my whole point

I have a very mature 14 year old luluaugust who wanted to come alone to visit me but Ryanair is the airline who flies from her city and they cant travel alone until they are 16 although the ticket price is virtually the same so I go and fetch her and take her back quiet unnecessarily

Again ICanhandthemback you are quoting escorted travel as far as I saw from the original post it is to travel ALONE not with an escort, no one would worry about a child being escorted whether it was 50 years ago or today