I don’t know if there is a policy, but I guess you can ask. My kids have always traveled together, brother and sister. Generally the airlines keep track of where they put your kid - and my kids report back that the stewards/stewardesses check on them frequently, probably with an eye to ensure your kid is not disturbing her neighbor.
They also get moved up into business class if there are empty seats when the plan lands so they can keep track of them better deplaning.
I flew as an unaccompanied minor at age 11, and the airline staff were very attentive and helpful. I have no problems with the idea, though it is incumbent on the airline to look after the kids in a professional manner.
I dunno. I agree it doesn’t seem “necessary” to send your kid halfway across the country to summer camp if there’s one closer (as there almost certainly was), but I’d say the lesson to take home is: “don’t entrust your kid to the care of mouthbreathers who don’t give a shit”, which IMO encompasses pretty much everyone except me.
Completely beside the point. A service was paid for and the airline were obliged to deliver it, through hell or high water. Since hell and high water happen regularly, they’re supposed to know how to deal with it calmly and efficiently.
Air travel is a high-risk business, and the price of failure is huge. That’s why only highly competent organisations are allowed to do it. Nothing short of excellence is expected, and quite frankly, when staff start losing interest in minor details like, say, where some particular kid has got to, it’s time to call in the men with clipboards. Can you imagine NASA saying, “yeah, well, we guess there’s a shuttle up there somewhere, but we’re not quite sure where; I guess it’ll turn out OK, though.” I exaggerate, of course; but the attitude seems the same.
Reading the article, it sounds like the biggest problem was the offshoring of practically all front-line customer service to India. Indian “customer service” utterly sucks. Most can’t speak English worth a damn and just read a script. Customer’s flight got canceled? “Everything is fine, thank you for calling, come again.” Customer’s child is lost? “Everything is fine, thank you for calling, come again.” Customer reports terrorists about to blow up an airliner? “Everything is fine, thank you for calling, come again.”
I’d like hard stats on missing children who have gone missing as a result of flying unaccompanied. Anecdotes don’t cut the mustard. Craig, you worked for 20+ years in the business. What are the stats for children who have disappeared on unaccompanied flights? How come they’re not published? I can think of MANY news outlets that would be all over that kind of story like a rash.
In fact, I’d like a quick interview with you. I’d be interested in covering this missing kids story myself. I have a number of media contacts who would probably be interested. How many? I guess to begin with, you could just stick with UA (or whoever you worked for). Say in a five-year period? I simply CANNOT believe I haven’t seen these stories in the press! My GOD! It is SCARY! Is it a cover-up? The media in cahoots with the airlines? But if that’s the case, how come they’re so quick to report on holiday airline strike chaos, etc? So strange! You’d think disappearing children would be a MUCH bigger story! 
I would trust an airline with a child more than I would trust somebody to babysit. Airlines follow strict rules, regulations and guidelines. Baby-sitters or child minders, in general, do not.
My oldest dughter has done UM from Taipei to Copenhagen once, and from Copenhagen to Taipei 7 times. She always seemed happy when picked up in the airport. I let her fly alone without UM from Venice to Copenhagen last summer, that worked all right, she later told me.
My second daughter is currently about to try her seventh time as UM with Thai, she seems fairly happy too.
According to her it seems that they are not allowed to run around on their own at any time. I gave her some Thai money this time for use in BKK airport, and well, she asked me why. I said so she could buy something there. She said that she was taken off the plane, put in a room with a TV with some other kids for an hour, and then put on the next plane.
None of them seem scared about getting on the planes, be it UM or with me.
14 year old daughter flew from Seattle to Barcelona on her own. Change at Heathrow. All it took was a conversation with ticket agent and she was treated like a queen with moment by moment attention. Anything she wanted, she got. (except for the glass of wine that she thought she needed.) Actually, denied so I am told. Today I think she got a small glass anyway).
Another time, my 8 year old grandson came to visit. I happened to have a past student as flight attendant on that flight. Straight from Seattle to Taipei. Actually, she switched flights with another F.A. and so was there to watch over the lad. Good to have a friend when you need one. He arrived and went home same way.
Airlines expect this sort of thing, that is, kids flying alone. If you make it clear what is happening, they will pay extra special attention to the ward. You just need to make sure they understand. The kiddy will get a hand in hand escort to wherever they need to go and make the correct connections. 8 year old needed it but my 14 y.o. did it on her own. Smart kid.
Now that I have been here for 11 years, I have 3 flight attendants at China Air and one at Eva. It’s nice to ask for a favor and get it it without hesitation.
United is in the news again…NOT good news…
Maybe it’s time this airline is disbanded. The gang of ruffians they are.
It says at the end that they weren’t actually banned and got their tickets refunded . Click bait .
im sure they were happy their tickets were refunded after being kicked off the flight
I would not set foot on another united flight even if it was free
What do you think would be the better solution here? It seems from the article that the airline policy is that kids above 2 should wear masks, this particular kid is refusing and having a tantrum, and the parents can’t convince the kid otherwise.
It seems the airline only had three choices - (i) relax the mask policy, (ii) wait for the screaming kid to change her mind before taking off, or (iii) kick them all off the flight. I know what I’d prefer - either (i) or (iii), with my tendency towards (iii) increasing the closer I’m sitting to the screaming kid.
Need to relax the rule on kids
In the beginning of the video the guy is wearing a bandana face covering, after a while he is wearing a normal mask but not covering his nose, I’m guessing the crew had a argument with him about the bandana issue that’s not showing in the video.
The mistake UA did was letting this people entering the aircraft.
Balling one’s eyes out sounds incredibly painful and rather unnecessary, IMO.
United Airlines is back in the news—and as usual, not in a good way.
Guy
Passenger with a cat.
Sorry?
Guy
Have you not read the article you posted?
