For many parents and guardians, putting a child on a flight alone can seem daunting. Passenger wars, delays, turbulence: They all loom large in a caregiver’s imagination.
Life sometimes leaves no other choice. Hudson CritesThe 17-year-old from Marshall, Va., was 10 years old when he started flying unaccompanied to visit his father in Kansas and later in Georgia, said his mother, Chelsea Tippett. But the extra attention from airline staff made Hudson “feel special”, Ms Tippett recalled. Apart from a single tarmac delay, he had no problems.
In rare cases, children have had disturbing experiences. In December Spirit Airlines accidentally flew a 6-year-old in Orlando, Florida, instead of the destination of Fort Myers. Spirit apologized, fired the agent responsible and offered compensation to the boy’s grandmother for her trip to Orlando. But while the boy was unharmed, his grandmother expressed concern that he was kidnapped.
If you decide to fly your child unaccompanied, you will find that each airline has its own procedures, fees and itineraries open to children. While some may find the process complicated, flying alone can be exciting for your child, instilling some independence. Here’s what you need to know.
Before you book, learn the process
Regardless of the airline or route, flying an unaccompanied minor is different from flying an adult or a family. Airlines require a trusted pre-authorized adult to be present at the departure and arrival gates and will ask you at the time of booking to provide contact details for these adults. They will also need to present identification at the terminals.
The journey begins at the air ticket counter of the airport of origin. There, airline staff will check your ID and check the child, perhaps giving them a lanyard or wristband to wear. Agents will give you a pass to go through security with your child. You will escort them to the gate where you will hand them over to a gate agent. You must stay at the gate until the plane takes off.
In the air, the flight crew will watch – but not look after or sit with your child. If the flight has a connection, a crew member will disembark your child from the plane and a gate agent will take them to the next gate.
At the airport of arrival, the child will be handed over by staff to the authorized guardian or parent, who must have already checked in at the counter with the appropriate ID, passed security with the boarding pass and be waiting at the gate.
To learn more about this process, read the Department of Transport’s online guide, “When Children Fly Alone” followed by the selected carrier’s website.
Select airline and pay surcharge
Before buying a ticket, experts advise you to look at an airline’s on-time performance. “Consistent on-time performance is hard-earned and signals a carrier that has tight control over its operations,” said Ask the pilot author, Patrick Smith. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics has these numbers.
Booking procedures vary. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines require you to call. United Airlines allows online booking. JetBlue Airways also makes online reservations, but requires three hard copies of their forms upon arrival at the airport.
International flights may require a notarized letter of consent outlining where the child is traveling, who they will be staying with and how long they will be there.
In addition to the ticket price, flying an unaccompanied minor can be expensive.
Southwest Airlines charges $100 one-way for each child, regardless of distance. Alaska Airlines charges $50 per child if the flight is direct. a link adds $25. On Delta, a $150 fee will cover up to four children, and American’s $150 covers all siblings, with no cap on the number. United charges $150 for one child or two children flying together.
Limitations: There are many
US carriers allow children to fly as unaccompanied minors as soon as they turn 5 and before they turn 18. However, regardless of your child’s age, make sure they’re ready by discussing the details of the trip and your expectations for their behavior. No policy can replace your judgment.
Low-cost airlines Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air do not allow unaccompanied minors. Other airlines have restrictions that, in the broadest sense, differentiate between small children and teenagers. American and Delta restrict children under 8 from connecting flights. Both airlines allow children between the ages of 8 and 14 to take certain connecting flights.
On American, no unaccompanied minor is allowed to take an overnight flight that requires a connection or a flight that includes a connection on its last leg that happens to be the last such flight that day (“unless it’s the only flight,” the company adds). Minors are not allowed on codeshare flights.
United and Delta have similar rules. Southwest, JetBlue and Spirit do not allow unaccompanied minors on connecting flights.
JetBlue prohibits minors from flying to Europe and limits the number of unaccompanied minors to one seat in three. Spirit does not allow children on flights to Central or South America. Southwest does not allow children on any international flights. American, United and Delta allow minors to fly abroad, but restrictions on connections, codeshares and overnight stays limit options.
Exception
American and Delta allow children to opt out of flying as unaccompanied minors once they turn 15 — meaning the child can fly without the help of airline staff. JetBlue ends unaccompanied minor service at 14, while Alaska has an opt-out option at 13. Southwest boasts the lowest opt-out age: 12.
However, you should be able to accompany your child to the gate even if they are not flying unaccompanied. American requires you to do this for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17, even if they’ve opted out.
What to pack
Have a plan to prevent your child from getting hungry, bored and thirsty. If they are older, make sure they have emergency money and a charged phone.
When her two daughters, then 9 and 11, flew to Denver, Joey Conover of Charlottesville, Va., had a long list for their carry-on bags.
“Pack a backpack with an iPad, headphones, light book to read, a paper and colored pencils (markers can get dirty), a small travel toy, water bottle (bring empty and fill up at the airport), snacks, some kind of surprise or animal to play, hood and a sweetheart,” she wrote in an email.
“Write your name and phone number on the inside of their arm in Sharpie, and put a parent’s business card on a luggage tag in both their suitcase and backpack,” Ms. Conover said. (A sheet of paper with all of his ID information and his guardian’s contact information works, too. Just stick in an easy-to-access pocket.)