United "loses" 10-year-old girl on flight

[Mizzougrad96]

This is just me, but if I'm that parent, and the airline keeps putting me on hold, then I'm making a call to the police.

Call the PD in both cities, and tell them you're daughter is missing at the airport, and the airline is unable to locate her.

Yep.

And I'll add my voice to the "**** United" chorus. I avoid them like the black plague. Hard to do in the Midwest where you're invariably going to connect through O'Hare at some point, but I try.

If I'm going through the Midwest, I usually try to go through Detroit. I love that airport.

 

[poindexter]

Most 10 year olds do not have a cell phone. Not even close.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I have a 10-year-old son and I know zero other 10-year-olds who have cell phones. Maybe at age 12, maybe not, but it's very rare at age 10.

The point is, the United people specifically told their customers there would be a person waiting at the gate to chaperone their child. And when their child asked to use the phone to call her parents, she was not allowed to do so. This one is all on United.

 

[JC]

I don't know a single ten year old who has a cell phone.

How wouuld a cell phone have prevented her from missing her flight, or get her luggage there on time? If United let her call her parents that takes care of the issue of not having a cell phoine. There should be no shared responsibility this is 100% on United Airlines.

 

[BTExpress]

A 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 31 percent of 8- to 10-year-olds have cell phones. And that was two years ago.

And it's a good bet that most of those 8-10-year-olds weren't even traveling across the country alone.

How wouuld a cell phone have prevented her from missing her flight, or get her luggage there on time?

It could have given her parents peace of mind that she was safe --- the most important thing --- and the parents might have been able to help her make that flight she missed.

Sure, everything would have been rosy had a corporation done what it promised it would do.

I prefer to have a backup plan in place. Because corporations kind of suck sometimes.

 

[RickStain]

I remember when I was 12, my parents, and my cousin's parents, put us on a Greyhound bus in Lansing, Mich., to get to Upper Michigan for our summer camp. It was one of those buses that stopped in every little burg, so it was something like a 14-hour drive when just going by car would take you six or so. ****ing ******* cousin had a lunch bag that contained food for me, too, except no one (including him) told me he was supposed to share.

As for the "bad parents" comments on the site -- christ, it's a cliche that when anything the least bit bad happens to a child, the first and loudest comments are about how I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TO MY CHILD I WILL BE WITH THEM BY THEIR SIDE ALL THE TIME UNTIL ONE OF US DIES BECAUSE I'M SUCK A GREAT ****ING PARENT WHO LOVES MY KID MORE THAN I LOVE MASTURBATION SO **** YOU YOU AWFUL PARENTS GET CHILD SERVICES ON THE PHONE. I've seen comments, based on bad things that happened, that basically say if your child gets raped or murdered out of your sight, that's what you and your child deserve for being so careless.

*applauds*

 

[kingcreole]

My eldest got her cell phone at age 11, but only because her father bought her one for her birthday, and who am I to tell him what he can and can't buy his daughter? But other than that, it seems most kids get their first cell phones when they enter middle school.

The biggest question I have for these ****tards at United is why didn't anyone call airport police or security when they realized a little girl was stranded and alone? I would think a lot of these problems could have been solved quickly with a simple call to police, or let the little girl call home.

 

[Armchair_QB]

My eldest got her cell phone at age 11, but only because her father bought her one for her birthday, and who am I to tell him what he can and can't buy his daughter? But other than that, it seems most kids get their first cell phones when they enter middle school.

The biggest question I have for these ****tards at United is why didn't anyone call airport police or security when they realized a little girl was stranded and alone? I would think a lot of these problems could have been solved quickly with a simple call to police, or let the little girl call home.

Yeah, telling a kid who just told you she's alone at the airport that she can't call her parents takes a special kind of asshole. And they seem to be in abundance on United's payroll.

And the future convenience store owner in Delhi who told her parents "It does not matter." needs to be ****ing shot.

 

[SockPuppet]

We recently had an awful customer service experience trying to get a credit card for our son who starts college in a few weeks. Similar sort of out-sourcing, it's-not-our-fault, you-have-to-talk-to-someone-in -THAT-department runaround.

Standing ovation for the letter written to the United CEO and I hope it goes viral. He and his company need to be flogged.

 

[jackfinarelli]

Regarding United Airlines, my wife has flown just under 1,000,000 miles on United Airlines over the past 35 years. My total mileage is a bit less; I have flown just over 400,000 miles on United Airlines. Obviously, neither of us would have racked up that quantity of miles if United's service was routinely as shoddy as described here.

One can only assume the vast majority of that mileage was logged before the mega-merger with Continental.

It remains to be seen whether or not the combined companies will equal a great deal less than the sum of their parts.

About 95% was prior to the merger with Continental for my wife and for me.

 

[jackfinarelli]

My wife and I sent both of our sons on flights without us when they were 10 years old or a bit older. Of course, there were adults there to meet them at the other end of the journey and in those days the adults could get right to the gate to meet our kids as they got off the plane. That does not happen today because TSA will require a boarding pass to let you thru security.

Regarding United Airlines, my wife has flown just under 1,000,000 miles on United Airlines over the past 35 years. My total mileage is a bit less; I have flown just over 400,000 miles on United Airlines. Obviously, neither of us would have racked up that quantity of miles if United's service was routinely as shoddy as described here.

Do you fly through O'Hare? I had years where I would routinely fly around 75,000 miles and most of it would be fine. But if it was United through O'Hare, it was the biggest joke of all-time.

Flying through O'Hare on United - - or any other airline for that matter - - is something I prefer to avoid. I do it only when there are no other reasonable choices.

My older son lived in Chicago for about 6 years so I had plenty of opportunity to fly to and from O'Hare - - usually on United - - because there was no other reasonable way to get there.

Once we went to visit him and took Amtrak's overnight train from DC to Chicago. That avoided O'Hare but it was not a hugely wonderful experience on its own.

 

[mpcincal]

I think BTE actually makes a pretty good point on the cellphone for the kid, but all the other comments (on this board and on the story's website) blaming the parents for sending the kid on the flight are beyond idiotic. These "unaccompanied minor" flights have been going on for years, and if the airline employees have even a modicum of competence, there shouldn't be a problem. And there's probably a good reason the girl went to that particular camp in Michigan, and there would be anytime this is done.

And I think this goes way past "Well, it's United..." or "it's the airline industry, what'd you expect." From the original mistake, to the way it was handled at the terminal, on the phone, at the call center, were all ****-ups on an epic scale. No matter how bad a company's customer service usually is, there's just no excuse for what happened here.

 

[WolvEagle]

Sorry, mpc, but I still must respectfully disagree about not blaming the parents. Yes, United screwed up on many, many levels. There's no excuse for what it did - or didn't do.

Still, isn't 10 a bit young to be put on a plane, instructed to fly 2,000 miles and make your way to summer camp by yourself? What, did they shove that girl out the door? See ya. You're on your own, kid.

And, with all the nut jobs in this world, why in the blazes would you send a 10-year-old girl into this situation by herself?

There is no way in hell my late wife or I would have done that with our kids. No frickin' way.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

The Delta concourse in Atlanta can get pretty nutty, but nothing, nothing compares to the United concourse at O'Hare. If you go on the other side of the food court where the gates are for a different concourse, I think it used to be Continental, not positive what it is now, but the difference between the people on each side is very telling.

The people who are there for United flights look like they're either on edge or have a defeated look to them.

You go to the other side and it's normal. It's hard to describe, but that's how ****ing bad United is.

 

[FileNotFound]

I'm a longtime Continental frequent flyer, and I was really hoping that the combined airline would keep Continental's level of customer service. Alas, that doesn't seem to be the case. I haven't bumped into any problems post-merger, but I suspect it's only a matter of time.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

My wife and I sent both of our sons on flights without us when they were 10 years old or a bit older. Of course, there were adults there to meet them at the other end of the journey and in those days the adults could get right to the gate to meet our kids as they got off the plane. That does not happen today because TSA will require a boarding pass to let you thru security.

Regarding United Airlines, my wife has flown just under 1,000,000 miles on United Airlines over the past 35 years. My total mileage is a bit less; I have flown just over 400,000 miles on United Airlines. Obviously, neither of us would have racked up that quantity of miles if United's service was routinely as shoddy as described here.

Do you fly through O'Hare? I had years where I would routinely fly around 75,000 miles and most of it would be fine. But if it was United through O'Hare, it was the biggest joke of all-time.

Flying through O'Hare on United - - or any other airline for that matter - - is something I prefer to avoid. I do it only when there are no other reasonable choices.

My older son lived in Chicago for about 6 years so I had plenty of opportunity to fly to and from O'Hare - - usually on United - - because there was no other reasonable way to get there.

Once we went to visit him and took Amtrak's overnight train from DC to Chicago. That avoided O'Hare but it was not a hugely wonderful experience on its own.

Years ago, I had to go to Chicago for a wedding and a fellow writer, who I traveled with all the time, called me and said, "Let's book our flight to Milwaukee and then drive."

It was a genius move.

 

[mpcincal]

Sorry, mpc, but I still must respectfully disagree about not blaming the parents. Yes, United screwed up on many, many levels. There's no excuse for what it did - or didn't do.

Still, isn't 10 a bit young to be put on a plane, instructed to fly 2,000 miles and make your way to summer camp by yourself? What, did they shove that girl out the door? See ya. You're on your own, kid.

And, with all the nut jobs in this world, why in the blazes would you send a 10-year-old girl into this situation by herself?

There is no way in hell my late wife or I would have done that with our kids. No frickin' way.

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. Sure, it's not ideal, but it's something that's been done plenty of times with no problems. To blame the parents, in my mind, is to absolve the company who made major mistakes at every juncture. You wouldn't have done it, fine, I respect that; but, it doesn't make them negligent parents in my view.

 

[PCLoadLetter]

My top United experience:

Got snowed in making a connection in Seattle. Had to spend the night and return for a 7am flight.

I arrive at the United desk with a few thousand other people. They keep announcing that the entire airport is shut down because of snow - no flights in or out. Please do not speak to us -- call your travel agent.

I kill a little time, but there's absolutely no place to sit because of the crowds, so I decide to just wander to my gate and park there. (It was pre-9/11.) I get there... just in time to see my plane pulling out of the gate, getting ready to take off.

I go to the desk, asking them what the hell happened. I explain that at the United desk they're telling everyone the entire airport is closed. The guy behind the desk tells me "They're United -- We're United EXPRESS." Then, in a sing-song voice, he loudly adds "Your fault!"

With that I put down my carry-on, and start going over the desk reaching for that little ****er's throat. You've never seen airline employees move so fast. He bolted while three other employees jumped between us, apologizing for the "misunderstanding."

I then waited seven hours for the next flight.

 

[JakeandElwood]

My wife and I sent both of our sons on flights without us when they were 10 years old or a bit older. Of course, there were adults there to meet them at the other end of the journey and in those days the adults could get right to the gate to meet our kids as they got off the plane. That does not happen today because TSA will require a boarding pass to let you thru security.

Regarding United Airlines, my wife has flown just under 1,000,000 miles on United Airlines over the past 35 years. My total mileage is a bit less; I have flown just over 400,000 miles on United Airlines. Obviously, neither of us would have racked up that quantity of miles if United's service was routinely as shoddy as described here.

Do you fly through O'Hare? I had years where I would routinely fly around 75,000 miles and most of it would be fine. But if it was United through O'Hare, it was the biggest joke of all-time.

Flying through O'Hare on United - - or any other airline for that matter - - is something I prefer to avoid. I do it only when there are no other reasonable choices.

My older son lived in Chicago for about 6 years so I had plenty of opportunity to fly to and from O'Hare - - usually on United - - because there was no other reasonable way to get there.

Once we went to visit him and took Amtrak's overnight train from DC to Chicago. That avoided O'Hare but it was not a hugely wonderful experience on its own.

Years ago, I had to go to Chicago for a wedding and a fellow writer, who I traveled with all the time, called me and said, "Let's book our flight to Milwaukee and then drive."

It was a genius move.

Why wouldn't you just go to Midway? Cost?

 

[LongTimeListener]

Sorry, mpc, but I still must respectfully disagree about not blaming the parents. Yes, United screwed up on many, many levels. There's no excuse for what it did - or didn't do.

Still, isn't 10 a bit young to be put on a plane, instructed to fly 2,000 miles and make your way to summer camp by yourself? What, did they shove that girl out the door? See ya. You're on your own, kid.

And, with all the nut jobs in this world, why in the blazes would you send a 10-year-old girl into this situation by herself?

There is no way in hell my late wife or I would have done that with our kids. No frickin' way.

People have been doing this for decades. So much so that airlines actually have procedures in place for it and even have a standard charge for it. I would bet that hundreds of campers have made it to this place in Traverse City under this system.

The difference is that United has decided to charge for this service and then not provide it.