masonp123

So - my girlfriend and her 3 kids (16, 14, 10) are flying Southwest in July to meet me at a conference in Orlando, for a full week. First time flying for all three kids, and she's not a frequent traveler - flown maybe twice in the last 10 years. Knowing them - they'll be loaded down with luggage and stressed out/excited. They're all pretty small folks. Since I won't be there to assist, I'm trying to do what I can to ease the process for her. Already arranged a car from her home to MDW, and I'll take care of the 24 hour check-in and make sure they have BP's.

My question: does anyone know of a way to hire someone to help carry the luggage, explain security and boarding (perhaps airline/airport employee who can actually escort them through), and generally ease the whole process? Any other ideas? I'll explain the whole thing to them before I leave - just want to make it as easy as possible.

chgoeditor

I'm not aware of any fee-based service that's available. If one of them were in a wheelchair then they'd have an escort, but from what I've seen of the wheelchair aides, they're not necessarily helpful guides.

That said, first-time fliers navigate airports and get on planes every day. If she'd never been to a Bears game before, would she be able to figure out how to get to Soldier Field, find the ticket window, buy a ticket and find her seat? An airport isn't particularly difficult to navigate, particularly when you have four people who can all read and carry their own bags.

Southwest also has guides on its website:
Moving through the airport
Boarding your flight

If you're really concerned, maybe the two of you buy refundable tickets and spend a day there as you walk her through the process?

masonp123

I appreciate your reply, and expected this type of response.

She and I traveled to Europe last month so she knows the routine (her 2nd flight in close to 16 years). Will she be able to herd the crew through the process and make the plane? Of course-she's not a dolt. Will she and the kids make it through the process in a manner that will allow them to ENJOY the experience (which I want them to do as I have big travel plans for them)?

Like I said in my OP, it would be nice to have one other adult there to help w/ luggage (like most extremely infrequent travelers they're likely to pack the whole house for a weeks vacation) and help provide an air of experience/calmness to the typical chaos of an airport. But she'll manage just fine without that. AA offers its Five Star Service which would be ideal for this situation - check it out: http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/fivestarservice.jsp


We take it for granted because we do it so much, but next time you're in the Arrivals area of an airport, try looking around with 'fresh' eyes - it really is chaotic and can be extremely off-putting and unpleasant. Hell - I find it unpleasant and I have it streamlined and get access to the quickest lines at security and into the lounges. What used to be an exciting and intriguing experience for first-time travelers has been reduced to a nearly universally shabby, intrusive, hectic, unpleasant and off-putting trial. And then there's the boarding process...

glg

One of your big concerns seems to be the luggage, but this is easily solved. Tell her to have the car drop them right at the curbside check-in. Then the driver is assisting with getting the bags.

All the other concerns can be eased by just being a little early. Make sure the kids have something to do if/when things go fine and they're at the gate an hour ahead of time.

squeakr

and Google did not show any but...

1) lying is stressful anymore. So asking that they enjoy the experience may be asking a lot. I love to travel and fly often and still hate the hassle it's become.

2) Could she pay a friend to come with her, at least to help with bags, get them to security without too much trouble?

3) I know kids need stuff but it sounds like she doesn't know the ins and outs of packing as light as possible? That's something you could help with.

I admire your wanting to make this relatively painless but even for seasoned travelers, it's not.

XLR26

It's really not that hard. The only way they'll half way "enjoy" the experience is if they pack light. Tell her and each of her kids that they should only pack one bag each - and no more. That way they can each be responsible for their own stuff. The kids s are certainly old enough to listen and follow directions so,again, this really shouldn't be hard. At all.

aktchi

The only suggestion I would make is to allow plenty of extra time. Life becomes less stressful and more manageable if you have time to make mistakes, ask questions, correct your course, even pause for a moment.
Make a conservative estimate of when she should leave home, and then leave one hour before that.

Sweet Willie

spot on +1