Originally Posted by
thatflyer
Hummm times have changed haven’t they?
From the age of 5 I was chucked on a plane by myself (being supervised by a flight attendant) to flying long haul from LHR to HKG. Back then it was something like a 23hr flight with a stop in Bahrain.
Did it every summer holiday and stayed happily with my grandparents. My parents couldn’t afford to come with me but they wanted to ensure I still was connected to my roots and family.
I am sure it played some part in my development 37 years ago.
at the risk of hurting your heroic feelings, no, times have not changed. With increased mobility and divorce rates and flying becoming cheaper, there are a lot more kids flying solo these days than in your or my time, though not on ba which refuses them.
they are much less looked after than you would have been 37 years ago because airlines have cut a lot on personnel, and many of them travel on their own not just every summer holiday but sometimes every fortnight or every week.
What is proposes here is cery different however, it is not kids travelling on their own but kids travelling with their parents, and the ensuing question of whether in that case, the parents should look after them or make them someone else’s problem. In other words, if on the flights you mention your parents had been travelling along - same days, same flights - do you think that they would have expected some strangers to keep an eye on you or would they have done so themselves?