15yo flying alone?

[Desnik]

My 15yo DD will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale on JetBlue, alone for the first time to spend a week with her grandma before our Disney trip. On the JetBlue site it states a 15yo is Not considered an unaccompanied minor!

So, my questions are:
What type of ID does she need? Currently she has nothing.

Will I be able to bring her to the gate? Or will they make me just drop her off at the security check point?

Her grandmother will be picking her up in Ft. Lauderdale. Will they let her meet my daughter at the gate?

I'm more concerned about her in Florida. On our side, in NY she will be leaving from Stewart airport. It's a small airport & she has flown out of there with us numerous times. But in Florida, she'll be clueless & I could see her getting lost once she's off the plane.

Any help will be appreciated! She isn't flying back because she will meet us in Disney (driving there with her grandma) and after our Disney trip we are all driving home together to NY. It's just getting her there has me a nervous wreck! lol

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Minors need no id for domestic flights.

You can ask a ticketing agent for a gate pass; so can Grandma. They may or may not give you one.

Your daughter will be fine even if you can't go to the gate. Just make sure you understand security procedures and your airline's policies. Make sure she has a cell phone.

 

[rwdavis2]

Minors need no id for domestic flights.

You can ask a ticketing agent for a gate pass; so can Grandma. They may or may not give you one.

Your daughter will be fine even if you can't go to the gate. Just make sure you understand security procedures and your airline's policies. Make sure she has a cell phone.

Good advice. Our 2DDs would fly together and go to the gate themselves once the oldest was 15 and the youngest was 12. They always had a cell phone. But they had flown enough in prior years to have the entire thing down pat. At first we would watch them through security, stay at the airport until they called to say they were boarding, and the plan left.

Once we were comfortable with it, by the time the youngest was 16 we made sure she got through security and left the airport. Now at 19 we just drop here off outside and go home.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Tell her to look for the baggage claim signs when she gets off the plane and follow them. She can meet Grandma there. Give her a chance to do this on her own.

 

[NotUrsula]

Tell her to look for the baggage claim signs when she gets off the plane and follow them. She can meet Grandma there. Give her a chance to do this on her own.

I disagree with that location if she is an inexperienced flier or if Grandma doesn't know the airport well. Many airports have several carousels, and when there is a crowd around looking for luggage, it's easy to miss someone there. The best place for Grandma to wait is probably opposite the security gates for the concourse where the plane has landed. Everyone exits that way, so there is less opportunity for confusion re: which carousel is the correct one.

However, I do agree that she should be allowed to handle the airside aspect on her own. An able-bodied 15 yo. shouldn't have any problem navigating security, waiting at the gate and boarding. I would wait around near the airport until you confirm that the flight has departed, but I wouldn't insist on holding her hand all the way to the gate; flying as a commercial domestic passenger isn't complicated, especially if the flight is non-stop.

 

[NC State Tigger]

Is this a non-stop flight? If so, having flown before, I would think a 15 year old would be fine.

Ft Lauderdale is a great airport. I have flown JetBlue to FLL several times in the last couple of years. Well marked and as op stated, if Grandma is not allowed to meet her at the gate, if she just follows the signs to baggage claim she could be met by Grandma there.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I disagree with that location if she is an inexperienced flier or if Grandma doesn't know the airport well. Many airports have several carousels, and when there is a crowd around looking for luggage, it's easy to miss someone there. The best place for Grandma to wait is probably opposite the security gates for the concourse where the plane has landed. Everyone exits that way, so there is less opportunity for confusion re: which carousel is the correct one.

It would be a good idea to meet at the carousel with the bags from her flight
I think meeting by security gates is more confusing if you aren't familiar with the airport. There can be many different exits.

I assume they would both have cell phones; this would make it easy to find each other.

 

[atwmommy]

If she has a school ID, take that. That's what our band uses when flying.

 

[NotUrsula]

Okay, okay; the choice depends on the airport.

Being the helpful librarian type that I am, here is a link to the map for FLL Terminal 3: http://www.ifly.com/fort-lauderdale-hollywood-international-airport/FLL-Terminal-3

There are two concourses in terminal 3: E & F. The JB gates are in F. There is one security exit from that concourse, and three baggage claim carousels downstairs that JB uses.

The map has a full list of various vendors and such attached; if they prefer this option it should be easy enough to pick one on the landside near F and meet outside it.

 

[wiigirl]

Tell her to look for the baggage claim signs when she gets off the plane and follow them. She can meet Grandma there. Give her a chance to do this on her own.

 

[goofy4tink]

Call JB and ask them. When dd and I flew to Seattle last month, I got to talking to a dad that was at the gate with his teenaged son. The son was about 16 or 17 and flying alone. Dad was given something that allowed him to go to the gate with his ds. BUT..he wasn't supposed to leave until the door shut and the plane pulled away!! It wasn't a case of his walking his ds to the gate and then saying goodby. He had to wait with him until the plane was gone.

But, at 15, your dd will most certainly be able to do this on her own. Watch her as she goes through security. Then, stay at the airport until she calls you and tells you she has arrived at the gate and is settled.

when she arrives in FtL, they will have the arriving flights listed on each baggage carousel..at least they did when I flew in there last winter. Grandma can head to the JB baggage claim area and see which carousel your dd's bags are coming to. Shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Desnik]

Thank you all for the help and advice. You all are helping ease my mind.

NotUrsula
Thank you for that map & info! I'm going to have her study it!

She's so excited & I'm really excited for her too, but the worry wart in me is so nervous! But, she's a smart kid and I know she'll be fine. It'll be a great experience for her.

Oh, and I'm going to give JetBlue a call too.

 

[MrsDoubtfire]

To OP ... Our DD14 (almost 15) has been flying solo since she was 11 - from Providence to MCO. We usually book thru SWA, but once bought her ticket from Jetblue.

When she was 11 on SWA, she flew as an "unaccompanied minor" since she was still considered that. I paid an extra $50, and my sister was able to bypass security with a pass and pick her up at the arrival gate. Since then, we just book her a regular ticket, and ask the agent at the check-in desk (at PVD) for a security pass for me and DH. We go thru security with DD14, and wait with her until she boards the plane... we actually wait until we see the plane in the air, but that's just us

AT MCO, my sister waits for her where the shuttle drops off the passengers. DD14 is always fine - she brings her ITouch full of songs and movies, snacks (has a peanut allergy, so carries her EPIpen on board with her), her laptop, and of course her smart phone. I still feel a little melancholy dropping her off at the airport - not so much that she is going, but that she is growing up so fast and I miss her when she is in FL every summer. We (the rest of us 3) fly down in August for our vacay, and the 4 of us fly back together. To be honest, I feel it makes DD feel very self-sufficient when she flys solo - and proud of herself

 

[Desnik]

To OP ... Our DD14 (almost 15) has been flying solo since she was 11 - from Providence to MCO. We usually book thru SWA, but once bought her ticket from Jetblue.

When she was 11 on SWA, she flew as an "unaccompanied minor" since she was still considered that. I paid an extra $50, and my sister was able to bypass security with a pass and pick her up at the arrival gate. Since then, we just book her a regular ticket, and ask the agent at the check-in desk (at PVD) for a security pass for me and DH. We go thru security with DD14, and wait with her until she boards the plane... we actually wait until we see the plane in the air, but that's just us

AT MCO, my sister waits for her where the shuttle drops off the passengers. DD14 is always fine - she brings her ITouch full of songs and movies, snacks (has a peanut allergy, so carries her EPIpen on board with her), her laptop, and of course her smart phone. I still feel a little melancholy dropping her off at the airport - not so much that she is going, but that she is growing up so fast and I miss her when she is in FL every summer. We (the rest of us 3) fly down in August for our vacay, and the 4 of us fly back together. To be honest, I feel it makes DD feel very self-sufficient when she flys solo - and proud of herself

Thank you for this. It helps me to hear this.


DD will have her cell with her (iPhone) so she doesn't need anything else to entertain her. (she'll have the tv too) And we'll be able to contact her and vice/versa. She wants to carry the least amount of stuff possible but I'm trying to convince her she needs a purse! lol

I called JetBlue & they said that the airports she'll be flying out of an into will allow a gate pass. So I will be able to go through security with her and see her off. Her grandma will be able to pick her up at the gate too! They are also going to have an attendant (in Florida) make sure if her grandmother isn't there by some chance, they will help her get to the baggage claim area. They took down my info, my MIL info & my cell # and noted her reservation. They also said she doesn't need any ID. If I feel like she looks older than 15, I can bring a copy of her birth certificate with me (which I will do). The airport can ask for it of they think she's not the age she says she is.

 

[tjmw2727]

My daughters friend joins us on vacation for a week or so every summer and I have always been able to get a pass for one person to meet her at the gate or escort her to the gate even after she turned 12 and was no longer a "minor".

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If she has a school ID, take that. That's what our band uses when flying.

Absolutely unnecessary for a domestic flight. Once again, no id is needed for anyone under 18.

 

[LadyBeBop]

DD will have her cell with her (iPhone) so she doesn't need anything else to entertain her. (she'll have the tv too) And we'll be able to contact her and vice/versa. She wants to carry the least amount of stuff possible but I'm trying to convince her she needs a purse! lol

Make sure her phone is fully charged. You don't want her listening to music all during her trip and disseminating to a drained iPhone.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Make sure her phone is fully charged. You don't want her listening to music all during her trip and disseminating to a drained iPhone.

Disseminating?

 

[Desnik]

Make sure her phone is fully charged. You don't want her listening to music all during her trip and disseminating to a drained iPhone.

Yes, I will make sure her phone is fully charged! But, she has an iPhone 5 & can shut down what she doesn't need & put the phone in airplane mode. When she does that & just listens to her music, it would take at least a full day, if not more, to drain the battery.