<p>Northeastmom - program into his cell phone all the numbers of the airline, hotel, etc. that he may need - no need wasting time looking them up when he’s on the road.</p>
<p>Does he have an iphone? There are various travel apps I’d recommend, such as Flight Track, TripIt, and any of the taxi service ones (where you can click and it will search for nearby taxi companies).</p>
<p>Like ClarkAlum, I fly a lot (monthly trips to Europe, probably another trip every month to the US or Canada and then irregular trips to Asia, Latin America, Australia). I never check bags that carry what I need to wear the next day (for example, I might fly to London on the way to Paris. I wear the suit jacket but actually never sit down with it. If I am flying business class, I give it to the flight attendant to hang up. If I am flying coach (rarely do this transatlantic), I fold it and put it on top of my carry-on in the overhead compartment. I leave the pants to the suit in the suitcase. I’m not great at ironing, but I find that if you turn the shower on to hot and close the door with your suit hanging from a hanger (where it doesn’t get wet), the wrinkles generally come out. I wear no-iron cotton dress shirts as they refresh very easily in moist air. </p>
<p>So, advice to your son. Don’t check anything he needs. Unlike oldfort and another poster, I have definitely had bags lost on American Airlines, Continental, USAir, AirTran (bag destroyed), Singapore Airlines, Qantas, United. And follow my procedures for suit and shirt. Never fails.</p>
<p>I’ve had bags lost or destroyed on all the finest airlines as well :-). Including bags missing for over a year.</p>
<p>shawbridge, thanks for the great tips. He will definitely have a couple of “no iron” cottong shirts.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl, yes, he has an iphone, and is would easily find his way to the phone numbers and places he needs. I have this thread saved so that I can remember to have him program airline, and cab numbers. At this point I don’t know if he’ll stay on campus or in a hotel. If he is in a hotel, I will have him program that number, and I’ll need to call the hotel to see if it will an issue prior to booking a room since he is under 21 y/o. Oh, and I will definitely tell him about those travel apps too! Thank you.</p>
<p>Good luck, northeastmom! I’ve been “lucky” insofar as I have twins and when they’ve flown places without me, they’ve been together … so I haven’t had to take that great leap of faith!</p>
<p>Thanks, pizzagirl. My son just assumed one of us would travel with him. When I let him know that will be flying on his own, I saw the look of surprise and fright in his eyes. I know that he’ll be fine. We aren’t going to try to have him bumped, and he will be on a direct flight. I just worry about them checking his carry-on at the gate. This is something I want to review with him so ends up with some clothes when he gets there!</p>
<p>Remind your son to check to make sure he has all of his belongings before he departs the plane. Check for cell phone, wallet, ID, etc. This sounds like an unnecessary caution, but during the flight, things can get moved around and forgotten.
Daughter left her wallet on the plane this Christmas break, and it was not found. She is an experienced air traveler, but the plane was rocky on landing and the wallet fell out of the pocket of her backpack. Dealing with the consequences definitely added stress to our holiday. Even if he thinks he has everything, he should double check his belongings.</p>
<p>While waiting in the long line to report the missing wallet, I was surprised by how many others had similar mishaps.</p>
<p>moonchild, thanks! I will need to discuss watching his wallet and belongings as he goes through security as well. I feel like a mother hen needing to teach her 5 year old to watch out for strangers, and how to cross the street safely once again…sigh</p>
<p>northeastmom…this trip is a GOOD experience for your college bound kiddo. Our DD goes to school across the country. The reality is that she flies by herself on all trips home and back to school. We needed to feel confident that she could handle herself in if travel plans got screwed up. This trip is your son’s “test trip”. He needs to learn to manage travel snafus…and they are typically unpredictable. No matter what you do…you won’t think of everything. Just have your cell phone ON.</p>
<p>Here are some unanticipated “things” that have happened to our kiddo (and this is just a sampling)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Direct flight from San Jose to San Diego…she called us from LAX. What was she doing there? FOG in San Diego. Oh well. Thankfully it cleared BEFORE she needed to make overnight accommodations or rent a car to drive the rest of the way.</p></li>
<li><p>Starting leg of flight was delayed so much that DD was going to miss her connection (the last one of the day) to the destination. No one knows why…it was not weather related. SHE had to deal with the airline and got herself rebooked onto a flight that was through a different connecting airport.</p></li>
<li><p>Yesterday…got off the plane in San Jose and went to the baggage claim…NO BAGS. Turns out they were sitting in the office as they had arrived on an EARLIER flight. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Stuff happens. Some is just not predictable. The best advice to give your kid is to be polite and pleasant in the event something goes wrong.</p>
<p>“Remind your son to check to make sure he has all of his belongings before he departs the plane. Check for cell phone, wallet, ID, etc. This sounds like an unnecessary caution, but during the flight, things can get moved around and forgotten.”</p>
<p>My 20yo son just returned from a semester abroad in Amsterdam. Flying to/from Amsterdam posed no problems but while there, he took several trips alone (and some with his group). While traveling alone by train to Berlin, he was watching the exits and “forgot” to check his seat as he got up. He just grabbed his backpack. Just a moment too late, he realized he left his iPod on the seat. As he watched the train pull away, he knew it was too late to do anything about it. Luckily he had his passport and money. I’m sure he was more careful while traveling after that episode.</p>
<p>My then 20yo DD was flying alone to Italy for her summer abroad program.
Due to a delayed departure, she had a VERY short layover in Germany. Although her next flight was with the same airline, departing from an adjacent gate, they made her go out and return through security again. The lines were insanely long and she spoke no German. I’m sure she had a look of panic. She caught the attention of a worker and pointed to her ticket and said “help” in English. The worker quickly wisked her away with lots of yelling, pulled her through security. Earlier she had had trouble going through security because she had just purchased her one way ticket within weeks of the trip (last minute change from the Greek program). Turns out she was designated a security risk in the US with some notation on her boarding pass - so they went through all her things. But turns out, the German workers got her through security and pointed her to her gate. Told her to run or what my DD assumed meant run. Got to the gate. No passengers, just one attendant who pointed to some stairs. My DD rushed down them only to find a door to the outside. She figured what the heck, hoped no alarm would sound and she pushed her way through. Once outside, she saw a bus about to depart. Turned out to be the right bus, with some American students on board laughing at her. She was just relieved to finally be in the right place. NO WAY she would have found that bus on her own. So make sure your son knows to ask for help if he needs it. My DD wishes she had taken time to learn a few important German phrases before her trip.</p>
<p>She just flew to France on her own (Christmas Eve) and told us she inquired at the US gate about possible delays in Paris and how to transfer from one gate to another to make her next flight. She was told “no problem”. But it turned out she had to take a bus again and go quite a distance even though both gates were in the same terminal. Those airport maps aren’t always as easy as it looks. This time she took a french travel book in her purse.</p>
<p>Like thumper says, stuff happens. Having a cell phone is a huge advantage. Make sure your son has the phone # of his interviewer. Seems an obvious thing, but sometimes the obvious eludes my son.</p>
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<p>THAT is the quote of the day!!! (and describes our son, too)</p>
<p>That describes OUR son too!!</p>