Do you remember the first time you ever flew alone?
 

I was recently going through old family albums and came across pictures of my parents dropping me off at Kai Tak to fly off to Bombay on Pan Am - my first flight alone. From the looks of it, i was only around 7-8 years old. I'm pretty sure that this was around the time of my first flight alone...

Although, between 10-13 - i was in boarding school in the UK and i used to fly BA between London-Bombay-Hong Kong quite regularly. These were my best memories of traveling as they used to put us next to the older people on the plane and i always used to get

They used to have a program called 'Skyflyer' or something to that effect which was a Frequent Flier Program for kids travelling alone. In the membership pack, they gave you a logbook (leatherbound), luggage tags, membership cards, and a metal pair of wings!

Around this time, I also joined the BA Executive Club (which i have since lost any status). And just for joining i received a nice leather A5 size leather portfolio with two luggage tags, membership card, and a nice BA pen - all this at the lowest level upon joining!!! Nowadays you get squat!

Do you have any memories of your first flights alone?

My first time flying alone was in college -- I flew from New York to Boston to visit my girl friend on, I think, the Eastern shuttle (on a discount student pass out of LGA). The flight up was uneventful, but the flight home was when, for some reason, my flying phobia kicked in. I'll never understand why, but it too another 30+ years or so to get over it.

Absolutely...I remember my first time alone. It was waaaaaay back in 1994, and I flew DL IAH-DFW-BTR to take some CLEP exams at LSU, where I was accepted to attend college at the time..before I moved on to Texas A&M. It was great, and I felt like I was a high roller at 17.

The best part was that I smiled and acted dumb (which I was....errr....still am) to the DL agent in BTR, and she upgraded me to FC for the BTR-DFW segment! Talk about beginner's luck as a non-elite! Only other time this happened to me was on MSY-IAH on the flight that I qualified for CO silver for the first time back in 2001.

Ah, memories!

Nope. Some time back in the early 70's. I remember a number of things about flights in general back then but hardly the specifics of my first flight. I remember stuff such as, my mother instructed my brother and I to lie about our ages, if we were ask, since we were under some kind of airline imposed age limit for unescorted minors. I remember we were always seated in the first economy bulkhead row seats E and F. We dressed up in our "Sunday clothes" and were always on our absolute best behavior. Flight attendants were always super nice and we knew if we timed it right and waited until they were done with the service and didn't look busy, we could ask really politely and ALWAYS get a cockpit tour. And then there were those super cool little plastic Captain’s wings pins for our shirts and playing cards and such. And I always looked forward to the meals and thought it was some extra good special food. And lastly I remember my mother or father (depending on which way we were flying) would escort us to the gate and the other parent would be waiting right there at the gate on the other end when we got off. Some of my fondest childhood memories. I'm pretty sure most of those flights were Continental and were probably DEN-PHX which I suppose was a nonstop on Continental back then and thus why we always flew CO but I'm a little fuzzy on that level of detail.

About 90% of that stuff has changed for the worse in my lifetime. (And I'm not THAT old)

One summer in the late 80s or early 90s, my brother and I flying from LAX to GSO to spend some time at my Aunt and Uncle's place in NC.

I remember connecting in ATL and riding the van or sedan on the tarmac to get us between flights.

Not sure of the date, but I think Wilbur was my pilot.

July 1977. BTV-LGA then JFK-SFO. Someone in New York had hijacked a Greyhound bus and was running around on the runways at JFK so the second flight left a few hours late. IIRC the flight crew opened the bar while still on the ground to placate the passengers (we had backed from the gate and then sat while the police sorted out the bus thing). I remember one foreign passenger deciding during the takeoff roll that right then would be a good time to walk to the galley for another free drink...

I don't recall the movie but I do remember flying past Chicago and being able to see the shape of the city along Lake Michigan.

We arrived in SFO late (probably past midnight) so I decided to spend the night in the airport.

First solo (well, unaccompanied minor with my younger sister) was a transatlantic segment from Germany (home at the time) to Minnesota (intermediate stop to new home) when I was 12. Mid 80s, and an experience that stuck with me:

More here, if you're interested.

As a military family that moved around, and then a Delta family that moved around, one of the few constants in my entire life has been airports. There's something reassuring about the roar of jets and the smell of fuel :)

Karachi-Dubai-London about 10 years ago (I was 7.) I was extremely excited, until it sunk it that I would be travelling alone at which point I burst into tears at check in.

The nice lady at the desk upgraded me to J though, which was nice. :)

I honestly can't remember the first time I flew alone..but I will never forget sending my first-born child on a plane alone. He was flying LAX/SFO to visit my brother. During that decade I was able to walk him to the aircraft door. I looked at the cockpit crew and they were my age or younger:eek:

It was sometime in the '50s, ORD/PBI.

Since there were no frequent flyer programs back in the day, I am not sure which airline I flew, but I remember the new red coat that I wore. I thought I looked so spiffy.

Interestingly, my flight habit of alternating between reading and looking out the window, were exactly the same then as they are today.

I also remember the first time I sent my first-born (age 9) on a plane by herself SEA/SRQ to visit my sister. She thought she was really hot stuff, until she found herself seated next to a 10 year-old boy who was flying from Capetown to Sarasota. He had had to spend a night in London with some flight attendants. I am not sure how that worked, but that is the story he told my daughter. She was impressed.

It was the first time I flew. A year after college I flew from Columbus, Ohio to ORD for a job interview. Even though it was a short flight, I was hooked on flying.

I remember it felt kind of funny...like eating in a restaurant alone.

A few years later, both of these are very natural :confused:

wow you guys are hard-core! My parents are uber-protective, and would probably prefer that I not get on planes alone now (I am 30!). The first time I flew alone - much to their chagrin - was ORL-DTW when I was 20.

They were so nervous about me flying by myself that my father flew with me to Paris 6 weeks earlier to make sure I landed safely and then stayed for a week to make sure that I continued to be safe... what a joke once he realized that no one in France wanted to speak to him in English when I was able to speak in French. ;)

The trip home was exciting -- I came to the airport the night before, since the metro and OrlyBus didn't start running early enough to get me to the airport in time for my flight. There was a boy scout troop also camping there, excited to go to a jamboree (I had no idea that those were real!). They were from some small village a few hours from Paris, and were so excited to meet a "real live American!" -- I felt so special! I learned a bunch of French boy scout songs and they gave me a delicious packet of mentos as I left in the morning. :)

My father moved from India to London (alone) around the age of 20, and my mother joined him in the states when she was around 20 (again alone). Both of my sisters made their first big solo trips also around the age of 20. I guess that's our family tradition. :)

First* flight was a short hop PHX-LAX on HP, one of their $19 each way fares.

If your parents don't like you flying alone, have them consider the alternate. Me and my two brothers and sister took a flight to LAX together. My mom was nervous enough about having all her kids on one plane, then the night before there was the USAir/Skywest crash at LAX. My mom about had a fit, but we went anyway.

*Actually I was on a flight as an infant, but don't remember it.