Travel with Children - 2 Teens Boston to London Virgin Atlantic

My daughter and her friend (each 14) are flying together this summer from Boston to London on Virgin Atlantic. They will be registered unaccompanied minors. As this is a first for us, I have a few questions and wondered if anyone could help. Thank you so much in advance.

Both girls are American citizens and will have American passports, but my daughters friend is also Finnish and may choose to travel with her EU Finnish passport. Will this make any difference when they go thru customs?

Would they be treated like relatives and kept together (tickets booked together on one credit card)?

The Virgin Atlantic website states they will be accompanied thru customs. If they were chosen for additional screening, would a female Virgin Atlantic employee stay with them?

I did not choose the flights but they are already booked and paid for by the other childs parents. They chose to have them fly on an evening flight that will land in London in the morning their time. Will the flight attendants make the kids sleep? How bad of jet lag do you think they will experience. This is the first in international travel for my daughter, but not the other child. It is the first alone experience for both.

I don't know about Virgin but when I had UM (unaccompanied minors) I didn't "make" them do anything. I just checked on them more often. We usually seated UM's together anyway, even if they weren't traveling together. Do they have their seats already?

Can't talk about U.K. Customs but the ground agent will keep the UM's with them.

Both girls need their American passports for entering the U.S. The girl with Finnish nationality can't use it to go home but she can use it to enter the U.K. They might do better just staying in the same line together. I've even asked foreign passport controls which passport they want.

The time difference is only 6 hours and it'll be worse returning to the U.S. They need to try to get their bodies in the new time zone as fast as possible; go to bed at bedtime, don't sit up using the computer, iPhone or watching T.V., get up at some sort of morning time, get out of the house or hotel room and be outside with other people... I'm a big melatonin fan and if they want to use it, they have to buy it in the U.S. and take it with them.

Will the flight attendants make the kids sleep? How do you propose the flight attendants do that?

It's a short flight (6.5 hours or so) and they will probably stay up for the duration, fooling with the inflight entertainment system and absorbing the adventure, which is sure as heck what I did crossing the Atlantic at their age. More power to them. Tell your daughter to watch for the sunrise as they fly across the Irish Sea. Jet lag? Oh yes. It'll be mighty. They will probably crash hard the afternoon of arrival day, by which time they will have been up for more than 24 hours. You can advise them to try to stay on their feet until 1000pm local time no matter what on arrival day, which is the best way to beat jet lag, but in point of fact they'll do what they want. Which is kind of the point of them traveling on their own. :)

As registered UMs they'll be escorted through Immigration, but they'd be in the same line anyway and kept together. There is no TSA-style screening or search on arrival, so no need to worry about being "chosen for additional screening." They line up to get their passports stamped, then they go get their bags off the carousel, then they march through the green / nothing-to-declare lane and out into the wide world. Presumably they are being met and not taking the Tube into the city on their own or anything like that. I believe usual practice is for a Virgin rep to keep custody of the kids until they are handed over to a previously named party in the arrivals hall.

The friend with two passports should just make sure to use the same one on returning to the US she did entering the UK, and not mix them up, but she probably knows that.

The friend with two passports should just make sure to use the same one on returning to the US she did entering the UK, and not mix them up, but she probably knows that.

Not true. Most of us with two passports use one for one direction and the other for the return. They don't have to match at all. In fact, I'm supposed to "mix them up". I have to use my American passport going to the U.S. and my French one entering the EU (I don't necessarily enter through France since I'm in a border area). My French one expired and I was actually scolded for arriving in Germany with my American passport and my French identity card. He let me pass after a tongue lashing in German (wrong language but hey...)

If she's born in the U.S., she'll get away with just using her American passport. She does have to show the airline consistently the same passport, but if she forgets, it's no big deal. They'll just ask since they're used to people with two nationalities.

Good point about the security screening but the same logic applies. While going through security on the way back, if either is selected for additional screening, the airline staff will not let them just be lead away alone. Security will keep the agent with the UM's. It's a female security agent who would do it, not the airline personnel but the agent will not be far. It's highly unlikely to happen anyway.

U.K. Customs also will consider both girls to be visitors, regardless of nationality. It's by where they live. It doesn't make any difference unless they're bringing a LOT of expensive presents, which I don't recommend they do anyway for a number of reasons ;)

I'm glad they're UM's because that means it's less likely anything can go wrong. Many of the UM's we had on int'l flights were divorce cases visiting the other parent. We often got attitude from them. While we sympathized with the fact they were not happy about making the trip, we did have to keep them in line. If the airline staff seem kind of strict to the girls, this is why. I've had UM's try to sneak off, etc. Tell the girls, you're going to have fun but the other UM's might be be in such a good mood. Don't joke around or give the staff attitude. Set good examples for the other UM's, who will probably be younger.

Not true. Most of us with two passports use one for one direction and the other for the return. They don't have to match at all. In fact, I'm supposed to "mix them up". Well, whatever you say, but my wife is US/UK dual and once got a terrible chewing out for "mixing them up" on a US-LHR-JNB trip. I am always inclined to keep things simple, especially when kids are traveling on their own.

Why would your daughter's friend travel with two passports? It's just one more think to misplace. She MUST use her US passport to re-enter the US anyway.

I can't speak for other countries, but citizens of the US are required to use their US passport when entering the country (and, technically, leaving, but it's not common for US officials to want to see a passport when leaving the country). See, e.g.,: US State Department Services Dual Nationality (http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html)

Thank you everyone. I asked about them "making the sleep" because I have heard they can be strict with UM and that they might treat them like young kids. Since they are young teens, they would probably prefer to stay up. I just wanted to prepare her to listen to the rules and obey.

Her friend plans to use her Finnish passport because they will be traveling to France and Italy during the summer and her parents said that it is less hassle to travel in Europe with it. But my daughter is only American so will only have her US passport.

They are so lucky to have this amazing opportunity and I am excited but also a little scared for my daughter. As this is her first time and I haven't traveled outside of the US in 14 years I want to give her up to date information, not my outdated memories.

I am excited but also a little scared for my daughter. As this is her first time and I haven't traveled outside of the US in 14 years I want to give her up to date information, not my outdated memories.

Don't be scared. There's pretty much nothing that can go wrong. The first time I did this trip alone (also BOS-LHR, but on BOAC in 1972) my parents didn't even know there was a UM service and I figured everything out by myself. I did fine and was thrilled to be away from mom and dad and out on my own. The 747s were just coming in, I flew one of the airline's first ones, and I felt like king of the Atlantic back there in 41K. Today the airlines have things a little better organized for kids traveling without adults, but while the flight attendants will certainly know they're there, they won't be closely chaperoned and there are no "boarding school" rules to follow. The kids can do what they want as long as they don't run amok, which I'm sure they won't.

Your kid will remember this trip 50 years from now, so don't freak out about it. She should remember that you gave her the wings to go off alone, not that you were scared about it

PS. If she's taking her mobile phone, which might be a good idea in case of delays / hiccups with her flights, make sure she knows what data services cost when you roam out of the US, or if she's anything like my teenager you might as well be buying the airplane she comes home on.

They would be separated at UK immigration if one enters on an EU passport and the other on a US.

We are a family of four with six different passports (four US, two EU) . When I travel to the EU by myself or with my two passport child, we show the US passport to the ticket agent when leaving the US (impt. this will be reported to DOHS) and the EU passport in London upon entering to UK which, like Finland, is part of the EU. The passport control line for EU passports is much shorter and moves faster. There won't be routine passport or ID controls within the Schengen area of the EU (continental Europe), so we then put our passports away. When I/we leave Europe for the US we only show our US passports until we are back home. You can really get into trouble entering the US if you are a US citizen but choose not to show your US passport (long story...).
IF I travel with my one passport partner or child we both go together through whatever line at home and abroad as US citizens. After all, we are one family so we stand in line together.... I suggest the girls cement their friendship by staying together through the passport lines wherever they face them.

Thank you everyone. I asked about them "making the sleep" because I have heard they can be strict with UM and that they might treat them like young kids.

Don't worry. I have seen UMs on many flights, and they are pretty much ignored by the FAs, unless they are really young.

PS. If she's taking her mobile phone, which might be a good idea in case of delays / hiccups with her flights, make sure she knows what data services cost when you roam out of the US, or if she's anything like my teenager you might as well be buying the airplane she comes home on.

:):):)

If she's taking her mobile phone, which might be a good idea in case of delays / hiccups with her flights, make sure she knows what data services cost when you roam out of the US, or if she's anything like my teenager you might as well be buying the airplane she comes home on.

Thanks for mentioning this. She also will want to keep the recharger with her, with a U.K. adapter. If there is a delay on either end, she might need to recharge it.

Not to mention the passports again but I recommend that they stay together in the non-EU line.

I'd recommend they stay together, too. We haven't had any problems traveling as group with mixed EU and US passports entering either line, but we generally travel through Amsterdam, Paris, or Germany rather than the UK.

[I]Thanks for mentioning this. She also will want to keep the recharger with her, with a U.K. adapter. If there is a delay on either end, she might need to recharge it. Just a quick thought on adapters - on a recent trip to Europe I brought along a car charger that takes either a USB or American plug and charged devices in the car. Don't know if the OP's child will be traveling by car any, but it is something to consider when getting adapter.

Love my car adapter but that was a tip specifically for the airport.