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

[Azrael]

Flying unaccompanied kids is commonplace, and all airlines have a provision or program for it.

www.lufthansa.com/no/en/Unaccompanied-minors

www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/family/unaccompanied-minors-pol.html

www.usairways.com/en-us/traveltools/specialneeds/unaccompaniedminors.html

 

[PaperDoll]

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around allowing your 10-year-old to go on a trip which required changing planes at O'Hare, of all places. A non-stop flight, OK, because the parents can put the kid on the plane themselves and someone known and trusted would pick the kid up at the gate on the other end. But even if the unaccompanied-minor system worked perfectly, it still seems really stressful for a child that young.

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.

I agree with all the comments about Continental's superiority to United.

I'm sitting at a friend's house right now because United cancelled my flight home. I found out via e-mail this morning, about six hours before the scheduled departure time. I was automatically rebooked... but not until tomorrow morning.

It's supposedly weather related -- which, of course, means United isn't responsible for anything -- but mine was the only flight of the day which had been cancelled when I got the e-mail. Same thing as of an hour or so ago, when the flight would have departed.

Thankfully, my friends (and my boss) were very understanding about this mess.

 

[RickStain]

Kids are a lot more capable and resilient than some parents seem to think these days. If you have been teaching your child to be independent and responsible, why couldn't a 10-year-old change planes? What skill does it require that is beyond their grasp?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Unavailable for comment.

And I don't care if airlines off that "service." No way I'd put a 10-year-old in the hands of strangers when it comes to airline travel. If anything goes wrong -- and there is too much potential for them to screw up it up, as anyone who has ever had their luggage lost or found themselves on an overbooked flight or had to wait because they didn't plan crew assignments well, knows -- you are going to have one traumatized kid on your hand.

This isn't excusing the airline for all of the the things that lady documented. But I think the parents set up the kid for that to happen. If it means that much for your kid from Cali to go to camp in Wisconsin, book a RT flight for yourself and personally escort the kid there. If it's a matter of cost, then you should be asking yourself if it is worth the risk of what could happen -- and in this case, did happen -- because you can't afford to do it the RIGHT way.

 

[RickStain]

Traumatized? Seriously?

 

[The Big Ragu]

Of course.

There is a reason why several airlines won't allow any unaccompanied minors if it requires a transfer. Ones I found with a quick search were: Airtran, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, US Airways, Virgin America.

Yeah, airlines lose things, screw up in big ways, leave people stranded. For a 10-year-old, traveling alone, of course it is going to be a traumatic experience when mom and dad tell the kid to just follow the instructions of the person from the airline and the kid ends up alone in O'Hare airport with no way to each their parents. That has to be downright frightening for a kid that age.

 

[User 11148]

Forget the kid ... if you told me my 10-year-old daughter was missing, I'd be traumatized.

 

[LongTimeListener]

This isn't excusing the airline for all of the the things that lady documented. But I think the parents set up the kid for that to happen. If it means that much for your kid from Cali to go to camp in Wisconsin, book a RT flight for yourself and personally escort the kid there. If it's a matter of cost, then you should be asking yourself if it is worth the risk of what could happen -- and in this case, did happen -- because you can't afford to do it the RIGHT way.

In the big picture -- which is, granted, not this case -- I'd guess the most common application of this unaccompanied minor practice is with divorced parents or other shared custody arrangements. And in those cases there's a legal requirement to send the child off a few times a year, and financial and scheduling realities that prevent the adult from going along. So if this is United's procedure, to outsource this important function to a group that may or may not show up, that is definitely worth knowing.

In the small picture of this case, it sounds like there are plenty of kids who make it to the camp this way without a problem. Enough, anyway, that the camp has a standardized procedure for getting to and from the airport.

Side note, however: My 10-year-old son just flew as an unaccompanied minor. Southwest, no connecting flight, only an hour and a half in the air. When I got to the gate to check in, the employees thanked me profusely for showing up ahead of time. I got the impression a lot of adults aren't there when their kids walk off the plane. Which is ridiculous.

 

[dixiehack]

1. I'm stunned bydesign hasn't shown up to explain how it isn't United's fault.

2. Being alone in O'Hare isn't what scared the girl. Having her IV yanked out by an errant guitar was the culprit.

 

[RickStain]

I think you're severely underestimating 10-year-olds. They are capable of a lot more independence than the "traumatized" mark implies.

 

[dreunc1542]

2. Being alone in O'Hare isn't what scared the girl. Having her IV yanked out by an errant guitar was the culprit.

Well-played.

 

[imjustagirl]

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.

I'm guessing a large portion of those (though I'm not googling it) were some of those 911-only phones you can get kids. Used only for emergencies.

 

[waterytart]

Some time ago (at least 10 years), an airline suddenly had several children on its hands overnight because weather interfered with connections. They rented two motel rooms, one for boys, one for girls. Only problem was a teenage boy sexually assaulted a younger boy.

Is that something parents should think is likely to happen? Of course not. But count me squarely on the "not if it involves a connection" side of this debate.

 

[Riptide]

Airline's the idiot here, but I agree with BTE: The kid gets equipped with a cellphone for a trip like that. Any kind of emergency, the phone connection is right there, instantly and reliably, for the family.

 

[waterytart]

Airline's the idiot here, but I agree with BTE: The kid gets equipped with a cellphone for a trip like that. Any kind of emergency, the phone connection is right there, instantly and reliably, for the family.

The camp our daughter goes to forbids electronics. With this travel set-up, I figure you advise the camp the kid is traveling with a phone for obvious reasons, and would they pretty please make sure it's charged when they give it back to her for the return trip.

 

[Beaker]

Would a cellphone be ideal? Sure, but not every 10 year old can have a cellphone. Let's not blame the parents for that.

Point is, United was supposed to have routine procedures in place for these situations, which the parents reasonably relied upon. Clearly, United blew it.

 

[X-Hack]

Yeah... I'm in the camp where it's fine to put a kid on a plane as long as there isn't a connection. My brother (an infrequent SportsJournalists.com poster) and I did a Detroit to Newark circuit on the old New York Air (later Northwest) on a monthly basis for years to maintain joint custody arrangements after one parent relocated for a job. Never an issue - and it was airline staff who were involved in the handoffs. We got to know the gate agents at DTW very well too. In fact, years later, once when I was in law school in Boston, I took NW to go back after a visit home and our favorite agent and I recognized each other. He asked about my brother and upgraded me to 1st class.

But if it entails a connection - then I wouldn't do it until the kid is a teenager and a bit more independent.

And I wasnt aware hat you could no longer get a gate pass to meet an unaccompanied minor. I got one a few years back, well into the post-9/11 era, to pick up a 12-year-old cousin at Logan.

 

[Tom Petty]

i lost a 10-year-old girl once ... she ended up being downstairs playing wii. she almost was late for dinner.

 

[Azrael]

I wonder how soon United will change its age limits on connecting flights and unaccompanied minors?

www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/specialneeds/minors/default.aspx

 

[Gehrig]

i lost a 10-year-old girl once ... she ended up being downstairs playing wii. she almost was late for dinner.

Hopefully she had her cell phone.