Unaccompanied Minor Fee
Mar 4, 2015, 7:53 am
#16
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 123
For my $100 I got two Delta employees that took my daughter (14 years at the time) to the holding room and then texted their friends for two hours. They ignored my daughter while she pointed out that it was time to board. Then they ignored my daughter while she pointed out that the plane was leaving.
So yeah, you don't always get what you pay for, regardless of the price.
So yeah, you don't always get what you pay for, regardless of the price.
Jan 12, 2017, 5:13 pm
#18
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 1
I understand a UM fee that is reasonable and related to the actual cost. Alaska charges me $50 each way for my son to fly and see me. He is 10 years old. The flight on Alaska includes a layover. During the layover he sits at the counter and does homework while the Alaska employees work. His layover is an hour one way and an hour and a half the other. I don't mind this fee.
Delta on the other hand charges $150 each way. The Delta flight is a direct flight. That means that we accompany our son to the departure gate and pick him up at the arrival gate. The Delta employees only have to walk him from the gate door to his seat on the plane. They provide no other service they aren't also providing to the other customers.
So, Delta charges $200 more than Alaska for significantly less work (almost none). $300 in fees for the UA is as much as the actual ticket, sometimes more.
What makes me most frustrated is that many families can't afford this. And when you have split families it can lead to children being prevented from seeing their non-custodian parent (or at least as frequent). Thankfully I only have one child, but $700 a month to have my son visit isn't great. I can't imagine if there were multiple children, even just two.
Delta clearly isn't just offsetting the cost of additional insurance they need, because Alaska manages just fine with the $50 fee. That $100 extra each way Delta is charging can only be describe as corporate greed. It's sad. It hurts families. More importantly, it hurts children.
Delta on the other hand charges $150 each way. The Delta flight is a direct flight. That means that we accompany our son to the departure gate and pick him up at the arrival gate. The Delta employees only have to walk him from the gate door to his seat on the plane. They provide no other service they aren't also providing to the other customers.
So, Delta charges $200 more than Alaska for significantly less work (almost none). $300 in fees for the UA is as much as the actual ticket, sometimes more.
What makes me most frustrated is that many families can't afford this. And when you have split families it can lead to children being prevented from seeing their non-custodian parent (or at least as frequent). Thankfully I only have one child, but $700 a month to have my son visit isn't great. I can't imagine if there were multiple children, even just two.
Delta clearly isn't just offsetting the cost of additional insurance they need, because Alaska manages just fine with the $50 fee. That $100 extra each way Delta is charging can only be describe as corporate greed. It's sad. It hurts families. More importantly, it hurts children.
Jan 12, 2017, 5:23 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 2,881
Only one fee is applied for a group of up to four children.
Can't all fees be called "corporate greed"? If Alaska is the cheaper option, why not just choose Alaska? They're a great airline with fees that work for you.
Delta clearly isn't just offsetting the cost of additional insurance they need, because Alaska manages just fine with the $50 fee. That $100 extra each way Delta is charging can only be describe as corporate greed. It's sad. It hurts families. More importantly, it hurts children.
Jan 12, 2017, 5:53 pm
#20
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,989
I understand a UM fee that is reasonable and related to the actual cost. Alaska charges me $50 each way for my son to fly and see me. He is 10 years old. The flight on Alaska includes a layover. During the layover he sits at the counter and does homework while the Alaska employees work. His layover is an hour one way and an hour and a half the other. I don't mind this fee.
Delta on the other hand charges $150 each way. The Delta flight is a direct flight. That means that we accompany our son to the departure gate and pick him up at the arrival gate. The Delta employees only have to walk him from the gate door to his seat on the plane. They provide no other service they aren't also providing to the other customers.
Delta on the other hand charges $150 each way. The Delta flight is a direct flight. That means that we accompany our son to the departure gate and pick him up at the arrival gate. The Delta employees only have to walk him from the gate door to his seat on the plane. They provide no other service they aren't also providing to the other customers.
What makes me most frustrated is that many families can't afford this. And when you have split families it can lead to children being prevented from seeing their non-custodian parent (or at least as frequent). Thankfully I only have one child, but $700 a month to have my son visit isn't great. I can't imagine if there were multiple children, even just two.
Delta clearly isn't just offsetting the cost of additional insurance they need, because Alaska manages just fine with the $50 fee. That $100 extra each way Delta is charging can only be describe as corporate greed. It's sad. It hurts families. More importantly, it hurts children.
Delta clearly isn't just offsetting the cost of additional insurance they need, because Alaska manages just fine with the $50 fee. That $100 extra each way Delta is charging can only be describe as corporate greed. It's sad. It hurts families. More importantly, it hurts children.
End of day, while similar in context, Delta and Alaska bundles their product differently and priced them accordingly. Choose the one that works best. If two telco offers different mobile plans and different minutes, is one more greedy than the other and leads to children not able to call and speak to non custodian parent (or not as often) in your view?
FYI, United Airlines also charges USD 150.00. Not sure if it is per child. https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...lneeds/minors/
American Airlines also charges USD 150.00. No mention of max no. of children. https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...ied-minors.jsp
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
2 or more unaccompanied minors from the same family, traveling on the same flights, will only be charged $150 (plus tax) each way