UM covid embargo on klm partner airline transfers?
Mar 13, 23, 3:36 am
#1
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Join Date: Mar 2023
Posts: 2
UM covid embargo on klm partner airline transfers?
3 months after purchasing the second UM ticket within a few months, 10 days before my 11 yo’s scheduled flight to Norway from the US via AMS, I received an email from delta saying he was denied to fly as a UM. The representative at the delta UM desk did not see and flags on his ticket and said he was all clear. After calling her superior, she came back saying there was an embargo on UM’s transferring from delta/klm and vice versa that has been in effect since COVID. I had to buy a full fare ticket to accompany him, they would not give me any sort of fare reduction due to their mistake. In the notes on the original ticket I purchased, the agent wrote i had been notified of the embargo when in fact I had not. Why would I have purchased the ticket if they let me know this?
Was able to talk with a klm agent at the T2 desk in ams to called up and said they have no such embargo in place, that it’s delta. Delta’s website says that they allow such UM travel and when I search I cannot find any info on said embargo.
my son will be flying three times a year to visit norway and it’s important I find him a safe route to travel. We have traveled the klm/delta route for 10 years knowing that one day he would travel alone.
any pointers on getting to the bottom of this before his next trip in july is greatly appreciated!
Was able to talk with a klm agent at the T2 desk in ams to called up and said they have no such embargo in place, that it’s delta. Delta’s website says that they allow such UM travel and when I search I cannot find any info on said embargo.
my son will be flying three times a year to visit norway and it’s important I find him a safe route to travel. We have traveled the klm/delta route for 10 years knowing that one day he would travel alone.
any pointers on getting to the bottom of this before his next trip in july is greatly appreciated!
Mar 13, 23, 4:46 pm
#2
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Would a connection to/from AF at CDG be allowed?
Also, would the use of codeshares make any difference?
I suspect that both answers are no, but it would help to understand exactly what the rule is.
You don't state what specific airports you need, but perhaps taking a KLM (rather than DL) TATL flight would work. For instance, if you're not starting at a major airport, could the UM fly to JFK on DL and then be transferred to KLM there? Could you fly only as far as JFK with the UM and personally deliver the kid to KLM there? If so, would DL allow the UM to have a single ticket using a through fare? On second thought, it might be better to have the UM on a KLM ticket so that DL would just see you boarding together for the DL domestic segment(s).
For Norway/Denmark/Sweden, SAS has the most service and they're a *A partner of UA. That's likely to be your best nonSkyTeam alternative, although I don't know whether UA is accepting UMs now.
How close is the child to not needing (and not being required to use) UM services? DL requires UM service until an older age than most other carriers, so you might want to consider doing a lot of teaching on this trip. This would be a good thing anyway so that then kid can learn to recognize what should happen in order to be able to protest if, for example, the child is being put onto the wrong plane or isn't being taken to the gate on time.
Also, would the use of codeshares make any difference?
I suspect that both answers are no, but it would help to understand exactly what the rule is.
You don't state what specific airports you need, but perhaps taking a KLM (rather than DL) TATL flight would work. For instance, if you're not starting at a major airport, could the UM fly to JFK on DL and then be transferred to KLM there? Could you fly only as far as JFK with the UM and personally deliver the kid to KLM there? If so, would DL allow the UM to have a single ticket using a through fare? On second thought, it might be better to have the UM on a KLM ticket so that DL would just see you boarding together for the DL domestic segment(s).
For Norway/Denmark/Sweden, SAS has the most service and they're a *A partner of UA. That's likely to be your best nonSkyTeam alternative, although I don't know whether UA is accepting UMs now.
How close is the child to not needing (and not being required to use) UM services? DL requires UM service until an older age than most other carriers, so you might want to consider doing a lot of teaching on this trip. This would be a good thing anyway so that then kid can learn to recognize what should happen in order to be able to protest if, for example, the child is being put onto the wrong plane or isn't being taken to the gate on time.
Last edited by MSPeconomist; Mar 13, 23 at 4:58 pm
Mar 14, 23, 3:49 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 8,963
Not allowing connections for UAMs has become pretty standard on US airlines - at least I think UA has the same policy.
I would put in a complaint and ask for compensation - ideally the difference between the historical fare and what you actually paid. Going forward consider KL only - which is better in economy and with UAMs in any case. Or direct if you final destination in Norway is Oslo - but I suspect it is not.
I would put in a complaint and ask for compensation - ideally the difference between the historical fare and what you actually paid. Going forward consider KL only - which is better in economy and with UAMs in any case. Or direct if you final destination in Norway is Oslo - but I suspect it is not.
Mar 14, 23, 7:23 am
#4
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Would a connection to/from AF at CDG be allowed?
Also, would the use of codeshares make any difference?
I suspect that both answers are no, but it would help to understand exactly what the rule is.
You don't state what specific airports you need, but perhaps taking a KLM (rather than DL) TATL flight would work. For instance, if you're not starting at a major airport, could the UM fly to JFK on DL and then be transferred to KLM there? Could you fly only as far as JFK with the UM and personally deliver the kid to KLM there? If so, would DL allow the UM to have a single ticket using a through fare? On second thought, it might be better to have the UM on a KLM ticket so that DL would just see you boarding together for the DL domestic segment(s).
For Norway/Denmark/Sweden, SAS has the most service and they're a *A partner of UA. That's likely to be your best nonSkyTeam alternative, although I don't know whether UA is accepting UMs now.
How close is the child to not needing (and not being required to use) UM services? DL requires UM service until an older age than most other carriers, so you might want to consider doing a lot of teaching on this trip. This would be a good thing anyway so that then kid can learn to recognize what should happen in order to be able to protest if, for example, the child is being put onto the wrong plane or isn't being taken to the gate on time.
Also, would the use of codeshares make any difference?
I suspect that both answers are no, but it would help to understand exactly what the rule is.
You don't state what specific airports you need, but perhaps taking a KLM (rather than DL) TATL flight would work. For instance, if you're not starting at a major airport, could the UM fly to JFK on DL and then be transferred to KLM there? Could you fly only as far as JFK with the UM and personally deliver the kid to KLM there? If so, would DL allow the UM to have a single ticket using a through fare? On second thought, it might be better to have the UM on a KLM ticket so that DL would just see you boarding together for the DL domestic segment(s).
For Norway/Denmark/Sweden, SAS has the most service and they're a *A partner of UA. That's likely to be your best nonSkyTeam alternative, although I don't know whether UA is accepting UMs now.
How close is the child to not needing (and not being required to use) UM services? DL requires UM service until an older age than most other carriers, so you might want to consider doing a lot of teaching on this trip. This would be a good thing anyway so that then kid can learn to recognize what should happen in order to be able to protest if, for example, the child is being put onto the wrong plane or isn't being taken to the gate on time.
Not sure if SAS is still out of the UAM service for TATL flying on its planes:
https://www.flysas.com/en/fly-with-u...panied-minors/
But here are what the charges would be:
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS
To use the Unaccompanied Minor service, you’ll pay an assistance fee in addition to the flight ticket.
Available for purchase online for children aged 5–11 for trips within Scandinavia and Europe.
The Unaccompanied minor service charge is collected per child, per one way on SAS flights.
CHARGES
Domestic: 350 DKK, 350 NOK, 350 SEK
Within Scandinavia and from Scandinavia to Europe: 450 DKK, 450 NOK, 450 SEK
From Scandinavia and Europe to Asia, Canada and US: 50 EUR
From Europe and Asia to Scandinavia: 50 EUR
From Canada and USA to Scandinavia and Europe: 90 CAD, 70 USD
Between Finland and Europe/Asia, Canada and US: 50 EUR
To use the Unaccompanied Minor service, you’ll pay an assistance fee in addition to the flight ticket.
Available for purchase online for children aged 5–11 for trips within Scandinavia and Europe.
The Unaccompanied minor service charge is collected per child, per one way on SAS flights.
CHARGES
Domestic: 350 DKK, 350 NOK, 350 SEK
Within Scandinavia and from Scandinavia to Europe: 450 DKK, 450 NOK, 450 SEK
From Scandinavia and Europe to Asia, Canada and US: 50 EUR
From Europe and Asia to Scandinavia: 50 EUR
From Canada and USA to Scandinavia and Europe: 90 CAD, 70 USD
Between Finland and Europe/Asia, Canada and US: 50 EUR
Last edited by GUWonder; Mar 14, 23 at 7:34 am
Mar 14, 23, 2:08 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2023
Posts: 2
Thanks all for the replies, he has flied unaccompanied before. Yesterday when i flew thru ams i spoke with the klm agents at T2 who called their superiors and said that they have no current embargos on interairline um transfers. When i asked at the delta help desk in slc , the agent showed me the embargo and it says that its klm’s covid embargo. She couldn’t give me any pointers on who to speak with. Clearly there’s miscommunication between delta/klm on this. Since he starts in bzn and ends in bgo there are no airlines who fly direct. I appreciate the pointers!
Mar 15, 23, 9:51 am
#6
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From BZN, you could fly with him to/from the closest USA airport with KLM service to AMS--it might be ORD--and then hand him over in person to a KLM staff member. DL might not permit boarding if he has a single ticket, so you might need to break the fare and get separate tickets for him BZN-ORD (or wherever) RT and ORD-BGO RT, which is likely to be more expensive than a single ticket with a through fare.
Even if SAS hasn't yet brought back its UM service, the rules posted above by GUWonder suggest that SAS permits unaccompanied travel if the child is at least 11 years old, although of course you would want to check whether a notarized parental permission to travel of other form is required by SAS. (There should always be a medical power of attorney document when kids travel without a custodial parent or guardian at the destination.)
The inconsistency between KLM's rules and what DL says are KLM rules (probably DL didn't bother to update or perhaps KLM failed to communicate the changes to DL) might be an issue that needs to be escalated to DL's executive office. Do you currently have a ticket to fly to BGO to pick him up at the end of his stay there or are you planning to just have someone check him there as a UM and hope that there's no problem upon arrival back in the USA for the KLM to DL transfer?
Even if SAS hasn't yet brought back its UM service, the rules posted above by GUWonder suggest that SAS permits unaccompanied travel if the child is at least 11 years old, although of course you would want to check whether a notarized parental permission to travel of other form is required by SAS. (There should always be a medical power of attorney document when kids travel without a custodial parent or guardian at the destination.)
The inconsistency between KLM's rules and what DL says are KLM rules (probably DL didn't bother to update or perhaps KLM failed to communicate the changes to DL) might be an issue that needs to be escalated to DL's executive office. Do you currently have a ticket to fly to BGO to pick him up at the end of his stay there or are you planning to just have someone check him there as a UM and hope that there's no problem upon arrival back in the USA for the KLM to DL transfer?
Mar 15, 23, 2:42 pm
#7
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From BZN, you could fly with him to/from the closest USA airport with KLM service to AMS--it might be ORD--and then hand him over in person to a KLM staff member. DL might not permit boarding if he has a single ticket, so you might need to break the fare and get separate tickets for him BZN-ORD (or wherever) RT and ORD-BGO RT, which is likely to be more expensive than a single ticket with a through fare.
Even if SAS hasn't yet brought back its UM service, the rules posted above by GUWonder suggest that SAS permits unaccompanied travel if the child is at least 11 years old, although of course you would want to check whether a notarized parental permission to travel of other form is required by SAS. (There should always be a medical power of attorney document when kids travel without a custodial parent or guardian at the destination.)
The inconsistency between KLM's rules and what DL says are KLM rules (probably DL didn't bother to update or perhaps KLM failed to communicate the changes to DL) might be an issue that needs to be escalated to DL's executive office. Do you currently have a ticket to fly to BGO to pick him up at the end of his stay there or are you planning to just have someone check him there as a UM and hope that there's no problem upon arrival back in the USA for the KLM to DL transfer?
Even if SAS hasn't yet brought back its UM service, the rules posted above by GUWonder suggest that SAS permits unaccompanied travel if the child is at least 11 years old, although of course you would want to check whether a notarized parental permission to travel of other form is required by SAS. (There should always be a medical power of attorney document when kids travel without a custodial parent or guardian at the destination.)
The inconsistency between KLM's rules and what DL says are KLM rules (probably DL didn't bother to update or perhaps KLM failed to communicate the changes to DL) might be an issue that needs to be escalated to DL's executive office. Do you currently have a ticket to fly to BGO to pick him up at the end of his stay there or are you planning to just have someone check him there as a UM and hope that there's no problem upon arrival back in the USA for the KLM to DL transfer?
If OP flies WS, can go and connect to KLM in CALGARY/EDMONTON/VANCOUVER.
Mar 15, 23, 10:26 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2023
Posts: 1
I’m having a similar issue for my teen to go from PDX to VLC. Delta is the only airline that will do UM with a layover. I can’t book it now due to the embargo. I also called KLM and they have said the embargo won’t allow it. But the rep told me it could be over 3/31/23. We will see. 🙏
