Mom says United left her son alone at airport
Aug 19, 2015, 12:57 pm
#1
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Mom says United left her son alone at airport
More great press for United. I know "stuff happens" but to leave a minor alone in an airport is pretty bad.
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/0...t/?intcmp=hpff
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2015/0...t/?intcmp=hpff
Aug 19, 2015, 1:06 pm
#2
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Meanwhile, Owen’s grandfather, who was at the airport, was given the wrong gate information and after seeking help at customer service, was told he needed to find the boy himself.
“They (customer service) made no attempt to track him down. We were left on our own to find him,” said Kirvan.
“They (customer service) made no attempt to track him down. We were left on our own to find him,” said Kirvan.
Aug 19, 2015, 1:22 pm
#5
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There could be more to it than this. Assuming the truth of the assertion that the UA CS rep told grandpa he was on his own finding the kid even after being told the kid was an unaccompanied minor, then this is a completely boneheaded CS response. That's the only thing in the story that I would say arguably rises above "stuff happens". I mean, kids do run away, even from their own parents. So the only potential issue isn't that the kid escaped supervision, but that when informed of it, UA's CS rep allegedly responded in such a mind-blowingly inappropriate manner.
Aug 19, 2015, 1:25 pm
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Aug 19, 2015, 1:40 pm
#8
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As a parent, I'd be upset at paying $300 and then getting little to no help when my child is missing in a large, hub airport like EWR.
Aug 19, 2015, 1:43 pm
#9
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We know what the FA's excuse is. We don't know what actually happened.
Shouldn't there be a UA representative at the gate waiting to escort the UAM? How did the kid slip past?
Shouldn't there be a UA representative at the gate waiting to escort the UAM? How did the kid slip past?
Aug 19, 2015, 1:59 pm
#11
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Bolding mine
This is key to the discussion so please post accordingly
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Aug 19, 2015, 2:08 pm
#12
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Over the top whining. The 11 yo kid was continuously texting his mother, left the plane when told not to, and:
And how come Grampa can't look at a monitor and figure out what the arrival gate is?
Basically, this kid was in continuous contact and was never "lost."
Meanwhile, Owen is scheduled to fly home Wednesday on a return flight as an unaccompanied minor.
Basically, this kid was in continuous contact and was never "lost."
Aug 19, 2015, 2:37 pm
#13
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Glad everything worked out ok in the end. A nice, but optional, gesture by UA would be to refund the $300, and maybe the woman will let it drop.
Aug 19, 2015, 2:51 pm
#14
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I'll bet if this 11 year old did not require an escort, his parents would have told him what to do and he would have focused on it. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the real issue was that he was stuck trying to locate his grandparents, who don't know how to text and were themselves more confused than he was.