<p>My 15-year-old son is heading from Ohio to Austin, TX, on Thursday night. (It was supposed to be Thursday early afternoon but his January finals schedule got goofed up by a “snow day” for cold weather last Friday so we had to switch the flight to later in the day.)</p>
<p>I am not flying him as an unaccompanied minor. (Way too embarrassing) His first flight lands in Memphis at 7:50 p.m. and his second leaves at 8:50 p.m. - that’s good - an hour layover. If he misses the second flight or the second flight is cancelled, I am pretty sure there are no more flights out of Memphis to Austin that night. (He’s flying NorthWest)</p>
<p>The weather forecasts are perfectly fine for tomorrow night for Cleveland, Memphis and Austin, but I am still worrying (I am a great worrier). He’ll have a reasonable amount of cash. He doesn’t have a cash card or credit card. Should I send a credit card with him? I have one I rarely use. But it would have my name on it…</p>
<p>If he got stuck in Memphis, I don’t think anyone would rent a hotel room to him anyway, so I suppose he’d be waiting in the airport til his next flight. Is the Memphis airport okay? My husband has connected through there before a number of times but I have never been there.</p>
<p>If there’s a weather problem the airline doesn’t help you but there shouldn’t be a weather problem. So at least I am thinking if there is a delay and he misses his flight, or if his flight is cancelled, the airline will still get him to Austin somehow. </p>
<p>Thank heavens for cell phones so I will know how he is doing!</p>
<p>Responding as a fellow worrier – I wonder if his flight were cancelled if you could call and pay to have him fly the rest of the way as an unaccompanied minor? Just so they would have to keep an eye on him? – although I’m sure he would be fine hanging out at the airport overnight until an early morning flight.</p>
<p>An hour is enough time IF the first flight is not very late, and I guess at some airports flights do routinely leave on time (not my local one, however). But if that first flight has originated somewhere else or is on the turnaround leg of a trip, your son is at the mercy of the first leg of his first flight.</p>
<p>Honestly I don’t think it is an especially good idea for a fifteen year old to be in the airport alone overnight and connecting to the last flight of the day to his destination is an invitation for that to happen. Avoiding embarrassment is all very well but in this case safety would take precedence in my book. And having him alone in an airport without recourse to a hotel room and without access to authority seems like a very poor idea. It might be different if here were a with a group of friends (psychologically if not actually safer)… I don’t know if a credit card is the answer but I do think something more than a cell phone is in order here.</p>
<p>An hour in Memphis is PLENTY of time to get to his connection. And if for some reason your S gets stranded there you have many options to have him put up for the night. My preference would be to book and pay for the room online. As for the unaccompanied aspect of the trip, a fifteen year old young man should be able to handle it. The Memphis airport isn’t exactly 42nd Street.</p>
<p>PS, Try not to worry. Chances of him getting to Austin Thursday night are very good.</p>
<p>This was all so much better when he was on a mid-day flight and there was a second not-full flight available later in the day. </p>
<p>He’s 5’10" 180# and he, like my daughter, thinks they both have a lot of “street smarts” - but mattmom, you are right - he is only 15. Like fendrock, I think he would be all right hanging out in an airport overnight - and NewHope’s idea for an online hotel room booking sounds like a reasonable possibility too. I think if something odd happens with his flight out of Memphis I will at least talk to the airline.</p>
<p>Here’s hoping that good weather in all three cities bodes well for a smooth trip for him. But I am going to send him with a toothbrush in his carry-on… I know, I worry way too much.</p>
<p>DD flied as an unaccompanied minor for the first time when she was 12. We were very specific with her…we told her NOT to leave the secure part of the airport (where the gates were) and to stay near the departure counter where her flight was departing. As it happened, she had no difficulty on her connections, but at the end, her relatives were not there. They had been given permission to meet her at the gate because she was unaccompanied. DD (as we told her) went straight to the counter, told the airline employee, and they let her use a phone. Relative was just delayed and came very soon thereafter. </p>
<p>In the event of flight cancellations LOTS of people will be in the same boat from the cancelled flight. The worst thing that could happen is that this kid would be sleeping AT the gate waiting for the flight departure. We’ve done this and the airlines actually hand out pillows and blankets (until they run out). It’s not the end of the world. Personally, I would want my kid to stay in the secure part of the airport.</p>
<p>An online reservation is a good idea except if all goes well with the flight connections you will likely be too late to cancel without paying for the room–my recollection is that there is often a 4 p.m. deadline. Another option might just be to research the local airport hotels, Holiday Inn or Hampton Inn or whatever and have him take a taxi to whichever one you make a last-minute reservation at. Seems to me he would need a credit card to show them, since the reservation would be on a a card. The name difference probably isn’t an issue–the worst that would happen is that the credit card company would call and check with you.</p>
<p>At 5’10" & 180 lbs. he should be fine as a mature 15 year old. Consider having him travel with a carry-on sleeping bag in case he gets stuck overnight. Many sleeping bags weigh less than 4 lbs. so it is light & can also be used as a pillow.</p>
<p>You could also get him one of those ‘travel cards’ from Visa or American Express that have $100 bucks or so on it. They can be used like a credit card and are usually purchasable at the grocery or a drug store. That way he has usable money without carrying cash. Make sure his cellphone is fully charged.</p>
<p>My d travels back and forth to school and she is 15. No troubles yet…</p>
<p>I personally would not want him to leave the airport and go to a hotel, no matter how it is paid for. If he is too “embarrassed” to travel as unaccompanied minor, (which is totally understandable) then having a well thought out Plan B is the best solution. My son traveled often at this age, and Plan B made all of us more comfortable. Try looking online at the services (restaurants, shops, etc.) at the Memphis airport so he will know where he can get food in case of the worst case scenario. Stay at the gate where it is secure is my advice.</p>
<p>I’m sure it will all be fine but as a former hotel manager I can tell you that the hotel will not rent the room to the child with just your credit card and not you present and most have a policy of not renting to anyone under 18. If he had a credit card in his name and he looks 18 he might be able to get by. If you book the hotel online they will still likely not take someone who is obviously under 18.
If he doesn’t make the flight, it won’t do any harm for him to wait it out at the airport.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice. We have plan B and even a plan C in case there is some weird mechanical problem or who knows what. </p>
<p>Plan A is the usual, get off the plane, check to see where your next gate is, go there and scoot onto the next flight or wait til it’s time to get on the next flight. Plan B happens if he and a group of people are delayed - he will hang out with them at the airport, staying near them and the gate, as long as necessary. As you said, ebeee: wait it out at the airport, talking to us periodically on the cell phone. He knows that when you have a connection late it the day, you might possibly end up having to sleep at the airport. He’s an experienced traveler and there is nothing unusually dangerous about the Memphis airport. Now that we have talked about it, it doesn’t sound so bad. </p>
<p>Plan C happens if he is somehow stranded all by himself or something really unusual happens or he gets scared - a very kind Memphis college confidential mom will rescue him for the night. </p>
<p>This community is nothing short of amazing.</p>
<p>(And yes, I gave him the seldom-used credit card to carry with him, even if I can’t really think of why use it. He acted like he was humoring me when he put it in his billfold.)</p>
<p>Is it possible to purchase one day membership to the first class club or lounge for the airline he’s flying? Check it out, but this might give him a relatively sheltered, staffed place to wait if he’s delayed. With snacks. Also, you might want to call the hotel that’s on the airport property, explain the situation, and see if they’ll let you book a room for him by phone if the worst cast scenario arises. We had a situation with D flying to a summer program across the country at that age, which necessitated an overnight stay at an airport hotel before the program’s bus could pick her up the next day. We arranged the whole thing with the hotel manager well in advance, arranged for her to be picked up and deposited at the hotel, and chatted with her on a cell phone throughout. Perhaps we were insane, but it worked out fine.</p>
<p>Our son was 16 and traveling alone from Indianapolis to Portland when he got stuck at the Indy airport due to weather. I got on the phone with the airlines and talked to the people at the ticket counter. They took him under their wing (hah, it’s a pun) and let him sleep back behind the ticket counter where the agents take a snooze. I’m sure the night was no fun for him, but I felt a lot better that he wasn’t sleeping on a chair somewhere in the airport.</p>
<p>Good luck to him tomorrow! I’m sure it’ll be fine. :)</p>
<p>What I love about you all is that you don’t just say “Don’t worry - it will be fine.” I know it will almost certainly be fine. But I appreciate the help with thinking about all of the “what if’s”</p>
<p>I’m a parent of college age kids and live in Memphis. The Memphis airport is good and has relatively few delays on connections, esp if weather is good as it should be tonight. He should have no problems. I am willing to be a standby local parent option - let me know by reply if you want to connect for that reason. I wouldn’t worry though.</p>
Plan B happens if he and a group of people are delayed - he will hang out with them at the airport, staying near them and the gate, as long as necessary. As you said, ebeee: wait it out at the airport, talking to us periodically on the cell phone. He knows that when you have a connection late it the day, you might possibly end up having to sleep at the airport. He’s an experienced traveler and there is nothing unusually dangerous about the Memphis airport. Now that we have talked about it, it doesn’t sound so bad. </p>