Feb 24, 2016, 8:32 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Unaccompanied Minor Travel
Q. What is "unaccompanied minor" service provided by an airline?
As posted by a FT Flight Attendant: "The UM (service) provides escorted service on and off the plane, as well as handoff to the correct party. It also includes making sure the child gets the proper inflight service (food and beverages). It does not provide entertaining the child or supervising them."
Q. How old must minors be to travel unaccompanied?
The age will differ by airline. Call or read the website of the carrier you will use. If it's multiple carriers, many airlines will refuse to allow an unaccompanied minor.
For one example, read American Airlines' UNMR policy: Link to PDF.
American Airlines: Unaccompanied minor service
Our unaccompanied minor service is to ensure your child is boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination.
We won’t accept unaccompanied minors when their itineraries include:
Our unaccompanied minor service is to ensure your child is boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination.
We won’t accept unaccompanied minors when their itineraries include:
- A connection to/from another airline, including codeshare and oneworld® partners
- Ground / co-terminal connections (unaccompanied minors under 15 years, can’t use ground transportation alone)
That will also differ by carrier, just as connection and other policies will differ. American charges $150 for one or two UNMRs each way.
American Airlines:
- The unaccompanied minor service fee is $150 (plus tax) each way
- 2 or more unaccompanied minors from the same family, traveling on the same flights, will only be charged $150 (plus tax) each way
The airline generally requires proof of age for the child traveling alone (birth certificate, passport, etc.). The TSA will likely require this as well.
Q. What documentation do minors require for international travel?
Your unaccompanied minor will generally require his or her own passport for international travel.
Be sure your unaccompanied minor has a letter signed by both parents / guardians (or copy of documentation showing there is one person with sole custody) granting him permission to travel and noting who s/he will be residing with (and I suggest another granting the adults s/he to secure medical care for the minor). The letter should probably be notarized.
US Department of State:
LETTER OF CONSENT FOR TRAVEL OF A MINOR CHILD
Because of increasing instances of child abduction in custody cases, and a growing number of children who are the victims of trafficking or pornography, an immigration officer, airline, or travel company may ask you to provide some form of letter of consent if your child is traveling internationally with only one parent or with another adult, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The sample letter below is a guide only. You may also wish to have the letter of consent notarized.
Link to PDF of sample letter.
LETTER OF CONSENT FOR TRAVEL OF A MINOR CHILD
Because of increasing instances of child abduction in custody cases, and a growing number of children who are the victims of trafficking or pornography, an immigration officer, airline, or travel company may ask you to provide some form of letter of consent if your child is traveling internationally with only one parent or with another adult, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The sample letter below is a guide only. You may also wish to have the letter of consent notarized.
Link to PDF of sample letter.
Q. What if the minor is traveling internationally with another adult (accompanied minor)?
See the letter authorizing travel, mentioned above. As well, you can ask the airline to add a "TCP* note" in his PNR (booking record) to show s/he is traveling with another adult(s) other than both parents (one parent, relatives, friends). It might be useful to do the same for the adult; this also may help the airline to assure they're not assigned different flights in case of travel disruption.
* "To Complete Party"
Unaccompanied Minors
Jul 17, 2007, 10:51 pm
#76
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Riverside, CA ONT
Programs: United 1K
Posts: 205
I know if it were my child or I was the child....Dad's status wouldn't matter if it meant a connection. I don't get why the OP wants United because of the connection when imo there's a better alternative.
I'd book LAX-MKE nonstop on Midwest and tell your child to enjoy the yummy chocolate chip cookies while she can and the comfy seat.
I'd book LAX-MKE nonstop on Midwest and tell your child to enjoy the yummy chocolate chip cookies while she can and the comfy seat.
Jul 18, 2007, 6:28 am
#77
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: RDU/AMS/OSL
Programs: SK*S, AA PLT, US*S
Posts: 241
Absolutely. Pay the fee, and Ill be out there, taking care of the kid!
In my experience, Ive only once had to get a kid on a hotel. As I work for a contractor, doing this for several airlines, its not really my decision to make. But that one time, we got the kid in a connecting room with a male FA, and we where there the next morning to get the kid.
However, I see children daily who refuse to have that little UM thing around their neck. And I understand, its not the funniest thing. But please, it makes our day easier, we recognize the UM from the first second. I have had UMs almost out of the jetway, due to distracted FAs. Not fun at all.
EDIT: An even more fun, when they call from the gate/jetway, telling us they av an UMNR onboard who need to be taking care off. We get there, and assist the kid thru customs, at the luggage claim etc, but they dont have any paperwork on them. I find the parent or whoever is meeting them, and we walk up to the airline. It takes a few minutes, the airline says that no UM-fee was paid, so no paperwork for me. (We then usually charge the airline for a meet and assist(MAAS) - but thats another story).
But then again, isnt it all good that the FAs care, and makes those calls, even if the kid is flying without the UM paperwork?
In my experience, Ive only once had to get a kid on a hotel. As I work for a contractor, doing this for several airlines, its not really my decision to make. But that one time, we got the kid in a connecting room with a male FA, and we where there the next morning to get the kid.
However, I see children daily who refuse to have that little UM thing around their neck. And I understand, its not the funniest thing. But please, it makes our day easier, we recognize the UM from the first second. I have had UMs almost out of the jetway, due to distracted FAs. Not fun at all.
EDIT: An even more fun, when they call from the gate/jetway, telling us they av an UMNR onboard who need to be taking care off. We get there, and assist the kid thru customs, at the luggage claim etc, but they dont have any paperwork on them. I find the parent or whoever is meeting them, and we walk up to the airline. It takes a few minutes, the airline says that no UM-fee was paid, so no paperwork for me. (We then usually charge the airline for a meet and assist(MAAS) - but thats another story).
But then again, isnt it all good that the FAs care, and makes those calls, even if the kid is flying without the UM paperwork?
Last edited by JoeW; Jul 18, 2007 at 7:22 am
Jul 18, 2007, 1:52 pm
#78
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,919
Hey I have been flying oround the world since I was 2 years old and lots of it on my own. Kids enjoy flying a whole lot more than us adults.... perhaps I should point out my second flight did not go so well...
DC 10 exploded its engine in the tail on take off in Kinshasa - black africa in 1974. We were extemely lucky our pilot got us back on the ground without too much other damage. This place had NO airport building only a tin roofed shack that had a gov official with a rubber stamp and an ink pad.... (you get the picture I trust) well Swiss air suggested all passengers without visas stay on board. My uncle and I (4 years old) were the first to be flown out 24 hours later. Believe it or not I flew home from Germany to South Africa 3 months later all on my own!!! My Grandma was afraid I would never get on another plane again but once at the airport I waved goodbye and off I went. Lots of people ask me if I can actually remember the event - OH YES!!! very much so. However I am not afraid of flying I just don't like loong flights anymore they get a bit tiresome (hey as a kid it was far more exciting when I was still allowed to go up to the cockpit at night and spen d time there
However I would agree spend those extra bucks and make sure your kids are safer. I guess most are not going to like being treated as a kid but if (God forbid) something did happen you would never forgive yourselves for not spending the money.
DC 10 exploded its engine in the tail on take off in Kinshasa - black africa in 1974. We were extemely lucky our pilot got us back on the ground without too much other damage. This place had NO airport building only a tin roofed shack that had a gov official with a rubber stamp and an ink pad.... (you get the picture I trust) well Swiss air suggested all passengers without visas stay on board. My uncle and I (4 years old) were the first to be flown out 24 hours later. Believe it or not I flew home from Germany to South Africa 3 months later all on my own!!! My Grandma was afraid I would never get on another plane again but once at the airport I waved goodbye and off I went. Lots of people ask me if I can actually remember the event - OH YES!!! very much so. However I am not afraid of flying I just don't like loong flights anymore they get a bit tiresome (hey as a kid it was far more exciting when I was still allowed to go up to the cockpit at night and spen d time there
However I would agree spend those extra bucks and make sure your kids are safer. I guess most are not going to like being treated as a kid but if (God forbid) something did happen you would never forgive yourselves for not spending the money.
Jul 19, 2007, 8:29 am
#80
Join Date: May 2002
Location: DTW
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 1,934
Wirelessly posted (My IV to the Net: BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)
Scary?
No, that is an adventure!
As a true FTer I would be the "escort" for my child. Barring that, depending on my kid's travel savviness at the time, I would most likely pay the fee for a flight with connections.
Originally Posted by Roger Lococco
Yesterday ...
Flight delayed by several hours. FA upon landing.
"Please make room for a 14 year old who is at risk of missing his connecting flight and may have to stay unaccompanied at the airport overnight."
Scary ...
Flight delayed by several hours. FA upon landing.
"Please make room for a 14 year old who is at risk of missing his connecting flight and may have to stay unaccompanied at the airport overnight."
Scary ...
No, that is an adventure!
As a true FTer I would be the "escort" for my child. Barring that, depending on my kid's travel savviness at the time, I would most likely pay the fee for a flight with connections.
Jul 21, 2007, 4:33 am
#81
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: SEA/YVR/BLI
Programs: UA "Lifetime" Gold, AS MVPG100K, OW Emerald, HH Lifetime Diamond, IC Plat, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 9,489
Here's another article on the topic, featuring the parents who didn't pay the fee or make any of the arrangements discussed in this thread but are still angry at the airline.
The zinger is at the end, which describes a minor mistake (heh heh) made by NW while escorting a minor:
But the protections don't prevent all foul-ups.
Last month, Blake Gammell was waiting at the gate at the Pensacola, Fla., airport to pick up his 11-year-old nephew after a Northwest Airlines flight. A gate worker had him sign the paperwork to take custody of the boy after the flight arrived. But when Gammell looked down at the child in front of him, he was puzzled. Instead of his nephew, he was staring at a 9-year-old girl. The airline had mixed up the children and put them on the wrong flights.
http://tinyurl.com/2p28nu
The zinger is at the end, which describes a minor mistake (heh heh) made by NW while escorting a minor:
But the protections don't prevent all foul-ups.
Last month, Blake Gammell was waiting at the gate at the Pensacola, Fla., airport to pick up his 11-year-old nephew after a Northwest Airlines flight. A gate worker had him sign the paperwork to take custody of the boy after the flight arrived. But when Gammell looked down at the child in front of him, he was puzzled. Instead of his nephew, he was staring at a 9-year-old girl. The airline had mixed up the children and put them on the wrong flights.
http://tinyurl.com/2p28nu
Jul 27, 2007, 11:49 am
#82
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, DeltaMM
Posts: 516
My 13 year old daughter has more stamps in her passport than most adults and has been flying both with and without parents for many years. She is confident about her abilities to get in and out of airports with a minimum of problems. Despite that, as a parent, I won't allow her to fly unaccompanied for another three years or so if there is any possibility of foul-ups, which basically means that she will not be flying unaccompanied 
. Already this year she was on two solo flights with irrops, and while she might have been able to handle it on her own, adults have enough trouble dealing with schedule problems much less a barely-teenaged girl. Perhaps the airlines would show her some mercy and help her before others, but they would certainly be under no obligation to do so. She is unexpectedly flying unaccompanied today, and I just got off the phone with Airtran to change her status to unaccompanied. Well worth the $25 in my book...
. Already this year she was on two solo flights with irrops, and while she might have been able to handle it on her own, adults have enough trouble dealing with schedule problems much less a barely-teenaged girl. Perhaps the airlines would show her some mercy and help her before others, but they would certainly be under no obligation to do so. She is unexpectedly flying unaccompanied today, and I just got off the phone with Airtran to change her status to unaccompanied. Well worth the $25 in my book...
Jul 27, 2007, 5:03 pm
#83
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
Programs: skymiles,
Posts: 304
Up to 12 I flew with an escort of the Airline (back then it was a free service!). I remember wearing a pouch on my neck with pertinent info on it. By 13 I was flying solo (mostly BRU - LGW) but a few trans atlantics as well.
Today, I couldn't imagine flying my kid like my parents did back then! I am chickend. That said, I had a lot of flying/travel experience under my belt. Heck I remember taking the hovercraft and sometimes, the ferry from Ostende to Dover and connecting to the trains for London.
If I had to do it today, I think I would have an escort for my dd up to about 14. JMO.
Today, I couldn't imagine flying my kid like my parents did back then! I am chickend. That said, I had a lot of flying/travel experience under my belt. Heck I remember taking the hovercraft and sometimes, the ferry from Ostende to Dover and connecting to the trains for London.
If I had to do it today, I think I would have an escort for my dd up to about 14. JMO.
Jul 28, 2007, 1:36 am
#84
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Co Mayo
Programs: BABlue,DeltaSilver
Posts: 31
Flight Oversees - Meet at Gate?
Sorry to tag along on this post. I have something of the same situtation going on next week with my daughter (just turned 15). First time flying solo and she is nervous. I would have booked a direct flight via Delta if I had been paying...but I am not. This is a one-way ticket as my daughter will be joining me to live here.
I think we have the ATL to ORD covered (her Aunt will fly up from ATL with her and I think that O'Hare will let her walk her to Intl Terminal). So she will not have to wait on her own. Anyone had any problems with ORD?
Flight of concern is from Chicago to Dublin (Aer Lingus). This airline states they will not help any UM's (Aunt is signing form), so I am out of luck with that. Anyone had any experience with going to gate in Dublin to meet a UM? If I can't do that, the next thing was..I was trying to find an inside map of airport (I can find baggage claim to meeting point - but that is it) so I could let her know how to get where. She has her instructions on what to say at passport control if we have to go this route.
I did mention to her that she should follow her herd getting off plane. Beware the ones that venture off on their own..they are lost..follow the pack. Normally, she would find humour in this, but lost on her right now.
Thanks for any help you might have!
I think we have the ATL to ORD covered (her Aunt will fly up from ATL with her and I think that O'Hare will let her walk her to Intl Terminal). So she will not have to wait on her own. Anyone had any problems with ORD?
Flight of concern is from Chicago to Dublin (Aer Lingus). This airline states they will not help any UM's (Aunt is signing form), so I am out of luck with that. Anyone had any experience with going to gate in Dublin to meet a UM? If I can't do that, the next thing was..I was trying to find an inside map of airport (I can find baggage claim to meeting point - but that is it) so I could let her know how to get where. She has her instructions on what to say at passport control if we have to go this route.
I did mention to her that she should follow her herd getting off plane. Beware the ones that venture off on their own..they are lost..follow the pack. Normally, she would find humour in this, but lost on her right now.
Thanks for any help you might have!
Jul 29, 2007, 10:58 am
#85
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: UA Premier
Posts: 202
I was an experienced air traveler at 13 and flew my first nonstop alone at age 9, but I say get an escort if you can't fly nonstop. I was perfectly comfortable at 13 entertaining myself in an airport for a few hours, but getting a hotel by myself and staying there alone would have terrified me. These things do happen.
Aug 4, 2007, 6:20 am
#86
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: VA Gold, UA, SPG Gold, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Ambassador
Posts: 3,644
Dont mean to offend either but I totally agree with the suggestion of having the child sit next to pax of same gender. WIth kids, you can never be too careful. Actually I even considered not sleeping on some overnight flights when my child was with me, just in case! Of course exhaustion took over and I relaxed and slept. I work with clients who have abuse in their backgrounds -when you hear the stories - nothing is too far fetched and you cant be too careful.
Personally I would not send my child (11 y.o) on a flight unaccompanied and she would not get on a flt by herself anyway and she has flown all over the world since she was little. For piece of mind, I would pay the fee too. Years ago, when I worked for Ansett (in OZ) I did accompany minors who were flying around Australia - it was a cool job.
Personally I would not send my child (11 y.o) on a flight unaccompanied and she would not get on a flt by herself anyway and she has flown all over the world since she was little. For piece of mind, I would pay the fee too. Years ago, when I worked for Ansett (in OZ) I did accompany minors who were flying around Australia - it was a cool job.
Dec 30, 2007, 12:53 pm
#87
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2
Unaccompanied Minors
Hi: Just found out this holiday that USairways no longer supports unaccompanied minors traveling connections. Are the rest of the airlines following the same policy? This has to be a major setback for families. Any thoughts?
Dec 31, 2007, 4:47 pm
#89
Join Date: Jan 2004
Programs: Inventor of the "Eskimojito" featuring Canadian Mint/Buquebus Rowing Team
Posts: 2,894
I know that WestJet (a Canadian carrier) recently suspended their program as well after a well-publicized incident where an unaccompanied minor left the gate area with a stranger. I'm not sure what other airlines are doing. Anyone else?
Dec 31, 2007, 10:31 pm
#90
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: retired from SFO Terminal 3
Posts: 7,437
Continental Airlines still transports UM (unaccompanied minors). You would have to check their website for the rules, ages and fees.
As an employee I deal with many UM's during the summer and holiday season. The biggest issue we have is the failure of the parents to be at the airport when the plane arrives.
As an employee I deal with many UM's during the summer and holiday season. The biggest issue we have is the failure of the parents to be at the airport when the plane arrives.