hughw

Hi,
My daughter is 12 years old and quite independent....We'd like to book her as a "Youth" Unaccompanied Minor LGA to YUL and return, without paying for AC escort.. At YUL, she'll be meeting her uncle at her gate who will be arriving from BOS about a half hour before her and then returning to BOS a half hour after her flight departs for LGA....I'd ;like to know if the agents at AC checkin at LGA can issue an escort pass to me so I can walk her to the gate....and ditto, so I can meet her at the gate on return....My understanding is she'll be going through passport control at YUL.
Thanks,

zkzkz

I don't actually know the answers. I know gate passes exist in US airports but I don't know what the AC staff there will do to facilitate it.

But I would mention something else... make sure you have a backup plan for if one or the other flight is delayed or even canceled. BOS-YUL and LGA-YUL can both be easily affected by weather and there's always the possibility for delays for no reason at all.

The new LGA is nice but it can be a bit confusing to navigate. At YUL the US terminal is really small and you can't really go wrong there.

Another thing. Give her a letter from a guardian authorizing her uncle to travel with her. Immigration gets super suspicious when minors turn up in the company of non-parents.

Nitehawk

I'm not sure how her uncle will be able to meet her at the gate. International arrivals generally force passengers to Canada customs as soon as they deplane. Uncle can probably wait at the entrance to Canada customs, provided his flight is on time.

For departure she will have to preclear US customs at YUL. Her uncle should be able to go through with her and wait at her gate. Hopefully her departing flight is on time.

Is everyone flying AC?
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expert7700

​​​​​​Definitely YMMV but I would say less than 50/50 on departure from LGA and far less odds on her arrival.... Since she would at least be present during checkin, the agent might be...new? or want a story to tell the bar.
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I would not fault the agents at all for denying to break policy.

The irony is clear: 1) she doesn't need unaccompanied service due to independence, yet 2) she needs you to escort due to .?..

canadiancow

Let's be clear on the terminology.

If you book her as a UM, you are paying the UM fee, and she will have an AC escort.

If you don't book her as a UM, then you are not paying the UM fee, and she will not have an escort. And she is not an "unaccompanied minor" in that case.

There's basically no chance of a BOS-YUL pax meeting a LGA-YUL pax "at the gate". The area you're forced into is not one you can just loiter in.

For the return, he can definitely escort her the whole way... unless her flight is delayed and his isn't, in which case at best he can leave her at the gate while he goes to take his flight.

You need to decide if "an escort" is what you want, or if you want her to fly "independently". It might even be worth considering (I am not a parent, and I do not know your daughter, so this is your choice) paying the UM service on the outbound (due to the difficulty of meeting her on arrival) and not on the return (since the uncle can actually get her to the departure gate).

I (and the calf) were flying WAW-MUC-SFO while my 17 (ish?) year old cousin was flying WAW-MUC-YYZ. But the timing of those flights, and the setup of MUC, was such that I knew I could walk her to her gate when it was time for her to board. But she flew YYZ-CDG all on her own, and I met her in the public arrivals area of CDG, since I had no way of "meeting her at the gate". Nor did I feel the need to, since she was 17 and had the ability to contact me.

But as for the escort pass for you... is it POSSIBLE? Sure. Is a random AC agent likely to do it for a "UA Gold, CO Plat, CO Million Miler"? I doubt it. As an SFO-based AC SE MM, I bet I could get it done at SFO. I'm not sure though. And I would not depend on it anywhere else. This is what the UM service is for.

zkzkz

Fwiw gate passes in US airports are absolutely not that unusual and minors or elderly parents are the common reason. It shouldn't be hard to get one in LGA. It's just that I don't know whether AC agents will know the procedures to do it. If they don't at the check-in desk you could ask at the ticket desk or even ask UA ticket desk staff. You might consider asking LGA Twitter what you need to do to get a pass.

Fwiw I think the real risks to worry about is not that a 12 year old can't navigate a glorified shipping mal. The real risks are what will they do of something unusual happens. If their flight is cancelled or diverted or something of theirs is stolen or they're injured or they're detained by security or immigration. These are things an adult may have the resources or experience to deal with but a teen may not. As long as you ensure they have resources and a backup plan if anything weird happens they should be able to navigate the airport.

songsc

Totally agree that flight delay/diversion/cancellation are the biggest risks here, and, even as an adult, I don’t find it easy, or at least pleasant, to deal with. That’s just part of the travel that one has to accept and deal with. It’s really important that OP’s daughter has some way to communicate with OP in case any of these happen.

krispy84

I think this comes down to a simple question, is the child able to negotiate international air travel on their own or not?

If yes, gate passes etc can be worked out on the day, or not, as the case may be.

If no, OP needs to book (and pay for) a UM service.

Adam Smith

I forgot a hoodie on a YYZ-LGA flight once, which I realized just after I left the airside area. AC staff gave me a gate pass - technically I think it was a BP for the next flight that was unticketed and had no seat assignment - so I could go get it.

But that was 2015, so take that for whatever you think it's worth.

canadiancow

I had a chat with SFO years ago about getting a gate pass (I don't recall who I wanted to go with or meet), and they told me they basically only do that if the passenger is unable to walk on their own.

I just wouldn't depend on it working, especially if your goal is to bypass a paid service they offer

hughw

Hi. We're intending to have our 13 year daughter fly RT from EWR to YUL in April. She's very mature so we're thinking she can fly independently without using the unaccompanied minor program. Her grandparents will be flying to and from YUL about the same times and will meet her airside in YUL and go through security and US passport control at YUL on her return. It would be great if my wife or I can get a gate pass at Newark to walk her to the gate, and meet her on her return. Is it possible to get such gate passes at Newark?

taupo

The easiest gate pass is a latitude ticket for the same flight.

expert7700

ugh, yet another unaccompanied minor that wants special accompanied privileges for free.

instantly reminded me of OP way back from....spring

Shame the OP never updated how a similar situation worked out for them.

Different NYC area airport going to YUL, and the(ir) SAME. EXACT. minor was 12 not 13.

Groundhog day?
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Adam Smith

Moderator note: similar threads merged.

Stranger

Actually while in both stories we are dealing with a minor that will be unaccompanied, the whole point is that the kid is old enough not to travel as a UM and they are trying to avoid paying the hefty UM fee.

If you bring a true UM (paid for) to the airport, at least in Canada they will give you a gate pass.

This said, I am pretty confident my 13 years old granddaughter would be able to take care of herself alone. Would actually enjoy the experience. However when visiting us these days she comes with her younger brother and as a child she is not allowed to take careof him so he has to travel as UM. Then the escort works for both, and we get a gate pass.