I knew from seeing the lines of moms waiting to pick up their darlings at school in the afternoon, even at high schools, that kids these days are babied, but i had no idea you had to be 15 to travel alone without attendants. When I was 14 I not only traveled alone, but waited out a snow delay at PHL all on my own. I suppose I was a bit freaked out waiting most of the day for a flight out, but I learned a lot and it was a character-building exercise.

Now I understand completely why DL has this requirement (legal CYA), but I see UM service is available for 15-17 year olds. Really, do we expect today's kids to spring forth at age 18 fully capable of taking care of themselves when they haven't had any experience stretching their wings even a little before then?