travelling alone

My Sons Girlfriend is travelling to Orlando alone [MAN-MCO] and is very nervous about travelling alone and finding her way through customs etc.
She is flying over in economy, and back, with my son in PE
Would Virgin look after her if I asked? Can anyone offer any advice please?

I doubt Virgin would provide much (if any) assistance to an adult lone traveller at the airport. (Assuming she is of adult age & no special needs).

There used to be a really good arrivals guide on the Orlando Airport website that showed all the stages of the arrivals process (including pictures of the immigration & customs area) - but it seems to have vanished in favour of a newer guide clearly aimed for domestic arrivals only. There are some videos on YouTube of the arrivals process which may help - but obviously they do not include any footage of the Immigration & Customs hall.

The cabin crew will obviously answer any specific concerns she may have, but the arrivals process is very simple. If she appears nervous she can just tell the officials that she does not like flying alone - they must see nervous flyers all the time who have just been terrified for 9hours or so on the flight to Florida.

Cabin crew are very used to dealing with nervous flyers in the air so let them know when boarding.

The airport is a different story though - unless she qualifies for special assistance (ie a wheelchair) I doubt any extra help would be available. On arrival at MCO she'll be among 400-odd people going the same way and following the same procedure so best advice is go with the flow. Or maybe she could find a sympathetic fellow passenger who'd accompany her through the arrivals process? 10 hours on board is plenty of time to get chatting to your neighbours.

Are they both on the same flight, even if they're in different cabins?

If so, why not request seats upstairs for both of them and they'll leave the plane at the same time so they'll arrive at immigration together. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

Jilly

Are they both on the same flight, even if they're in different cabins?

If so, why not request seats upstairs for both of them and they'll leave the plane at the same time so they'll arrive at immigration together. Sorry if I've misunderstood.

Jilly

I was thinking that --- or upgrade/downgrade to each others cabin?

As I interpret it she's on her own outbound but with her boyfriend coming back.

http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-t ... ssistance/

Its the airports responsibility to offer assistance. Not V's

If your that worried - buy some crutches off ebay & tell her to put on a limp

The on-board crew will be very use to having nervous passengers on-board. I really don't see what the drama is about going through Immigration, Baggage Claim or indeed the Airport in general at Orlando. Whilst I've never been to that airport, there will be signs which will be in English, the staff (for the most part) will all speak English as their native language and Virgin will have a customer assistance desk and ground staff will no doubt meet the flight.

As someone else suggested just follow the masses, read the signs or do what I do when I need some help and find someone who works at the airport and say something like 'Excuse me, I've not been here before - which way do I go to....../how do I...../where is the nearest toilet please.....'

It's not difficult!!!

Not for most V-Flyers, certainly, but remember there is a significant proportion of the population that is scared of flying and for many people airports - particularly in other countries - can be very stressful places. Our American cousins aren't exactly renowned for their warm welcome at immigration.

Hello!

I have some experience of this, as I'm a nervous flyer at the best of times but the first time I flew alone I was awful. I was very panicky and had rung up before hand to let them know that I was a scared/nervous flyer. But I was struggling when at the airport and went to the assistance desk. Someone took me through security and dropped me off at the gate where they passed me over to the flight crew who were wonderful.

At the other end it was a different story though, the crew asked someone to take me through customs but they just dropped me off in the queue and said goodbye.

Hope this helps.

Remember to get the ESTA in plenty of time!

And as has been said - "go with the flow". There will be hundreds of people in the same position, arriving at that airport for the first time. The signs are usually very clear!

If your that worried - buy some crutches off ebay & tell her to put on a limp

Whilst I realise [or hope] this suggestion was tongue in cheek, as people feigning disability really make my blood boil.

It's often said the jet-bridge to an aircraft is nicknamed the "Lourdes Jetbridge" as a minority of people who insist on pre-boarding due to medical conditions at the departure airport make a miraculous recovery during the flight and are able to close on sprint to immigration on arrival.

Similarly, I used to work at a theme park in the UK. Back when I was there people could claim practically any medical condition (including deafness) as to why they were unable to queue up & got issued with ride access passes to avoid the queues for them & a helper (although in practice they gave the whole party passes). These people would avoid queues all day and get way more rides in than able-bodied people who had to queue (they also used to charge the disabled guests half price too).

Thankfully they have clamped down big-time now & you need to show a blue badge / NHS letter stating why you are unable to queue. Deafness is no longer accepted & they don't let you re-ride until you have waited the time of the current queue. They also charge disabled guests full price, but let them bring a helper for free.

Back to the OP - tell your sons' girlfriend to speak to the crew when making a toilet visit in the quiet time after the main meal service. There will be in all the galleys / sat on jump-seats nearby, I am sure they will be happy to explain the arrivals process & answer any questions she has. They will happily help her with / check her Customs declaration form if she has any queries about it, but she remains 100% responsible for the information on it, as she has to sign it.

In Immigration, if she is nervous, just tell the officer it is her first time travelling alone (don't say to the USA unless this is true, as they can see all your previous arrivals & departures on your current passport number). If her return booking is on a different e-ticket, it would be advisable to have a printout of that - just in case the officer thinks "Aah, OK, travelling on a one-wy ticket and meeting her boyfriend in the USA" - they may think you are intending to marry and overstay.

All I can say is that in 15 odd visits to Orlando, I've only had one rude immigration official. Most are very friendly and helpful. Yes, they are understaffed (blame US Austerity) and the afternoon rush mush be daily hell for them.