Feb 24, 2016, 8:32 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Unaccompanied Minor Travel
Q. What is "unaccompanied minor" service provided by an airline?
As posted by a FT Flight Attendant: "The UM (service) provides escorted service on and off the plane, as well as handoff to the correct party. It also includes making sure the child gets the proper inflight service (food and beverages). It does not provide entertaining the child or supervising them."
Q. How old must minors be to travel unaccompanied?
The age will differ by airline. Call or read the website of the carrier you will use. If it's multiple carriers, many airlines will refuse to allow an unaccompanied minor.
For one example, read American Airlines' UNMR policy: Link to PDF.
American Airlines: Unaccompanied minor service
Our unaccompanied minor service is to ensure your child is boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination.
We won’t accept unaccompanied minors when their itineraries include:
Our unaccompanied minor service is to ensure your child is boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination.
We won’t accept unaccompanied minors when their itineraries include:
- A connection to/from another airline, including codeshare and oneworld® partners
- Ground / co-terminal connections (unaccompanied minors under 15 years, can’t use ground transportation alone)
That will also differ by carrier, just as connection and other policies will differ. American charges $150 for one or two UNMRs each way.
American Airlines:
- 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
The airline generally requires proof of age for the child traveling alone (birth certificate, passport, etc.). The TSA will likely require this as well.
Q. What documentation do minors require for international travel?
Your unaccompanied minor will generally require his or her own passport for international travel.
Be sure your unaccompanied minor has a letter signed by both parents / guardians (or copy of documentation showing there is one person with sole custody) granting him permission to travel and noting who s/he will be residing with (and I suggest another granting the adults s/he to secure medical care for the minor). The letter should probably be notarized.
US Department of State:
LETTER OF CONSENT FOR TRAVEL OF A MINOR CHILD
Because of increasing instances of child abduction in custody cases, and a growing number of children who are the victims of trafficking or pornography, an immigration officer, airline, or travel company may ask you to provide some form of letter of consent if your child is traveling internationally with only one parent or with another adult, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The sample letter below is a guide only. You may also wish to have the letter of consent notarized.
Link to PDF of sample letter.
LETTER OF CONSENT FOR TRAVEL OF A MINOR CHILD
Because of increasing instances of child abduction in custody cases, and a growing number of children who are the victims of trafficking or pornography, an immigration officer, airline, or travel company may ask you to provide some form of letter of consent if your child is traveling internationally with only one parent or with another adult, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The sample letter below is a guide only. You may also wish to have the letter of consent notarized.
Link to PDF of sample letter.
Q. What if the minor is traveling internationally with another adult (accompanied minor)?
See the letter authorizing travel, mentioned above. As well, you can ask the airline to add a "TCP* note" in his PNR (booking record) to show s/he is traveling with another adult(s) other than both parents (one parent, relatives, friends). It might be useful to do the same for the adult; this also may help the airline to assure they're not assigned different flights in case of travel disruption.
* "To Complete Party"
Unaccompanied Minors
Jul 17, 2007, 6:41 am
#61
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE, BA silver
Posts: 2,906
An airplane is one of the safest possible places to be - the airside section of an airport is close. A child or a teenager are immensely more likely to face dangerous situations in almost every other possible setting - school, home, street, public transportation, internet, and so on.
I think there's still a lot of irrationality regarding flying, and people tend to take a lot of precautions that they don't take in every-day situations which are objectively riskier.
In my opinion the OP should go with his/her feelings, and $100 seems a reasonable price considering all that can go wrong (in terms of inconvenience, not actual danger).
But I sympathize with TA here - there is no rational basis to support the idea that sitting next to a single male on an airplane (of all places) is dangerous. Yes, she might feel more comfortable next to a woman and she has every right to express her preference, but in the end, it's not such a big deal as some here are making it to be.
She is also 13, not 5, so if for some reason she felt uncomfortable with her seat neighbor she can just ask a FA to be reseated. The OP can give her this common-sense advice beforehand and everything will be fine
I think there's still a lot of irrationality regarding flying, and people tend to take a lot of precautions that they don't take in every-day situations which are objectively riskier.
In my opinion the OP should go with his/her feelings, and $100 seems a reasonable price considering all that can go wrong (in terms of inconvenience, not actual danger).
But I sympathize with TA here - there is no rational basis to support the idea that sitting next to a single male on an airplane (of all places) is dangerous. Yes, she might feel more comfortable next to a woman and she has every right to express her preference, but in the end, it's not such a big deal as some here are making it to be.
She is also 13, not 5, so if for some reason she felt uncomfortable with her seat neighbor she can just ask a FA to be reseated. The OP can give her this common-sense advice beforehand and everything will be fine
Jul 17, 2007, 7:09 am
#62
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: SEA/YVR/BLI
Programs: UA "Lifetime" Gold, AS MVPG100K, OW Emerald, HH Lifetime Diamond, IC Plat, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 9,490
But I sympathize with TA here - there is no rational basis to support the idea that sitting next to a single male on an airplane (of all places) is dangerous. Yes, she might feel more comfortable next to a woman and she has every right to express her preference, but in the end, it's not such a big deal as some here are making it to be.
She is also 13, not 5, so if for some reason she felt uncomfortable with her seat neighbor she can just ask a FA to be reseated. The OP can give her this common-sense advice beforehand and everything will be fine
She is also 13, not 5, so if for some reason she felt uncomfortable with her seat neighbor she can just ask a FA to be reseated. The OP can give her this common-sense advice beforehand and everything will be fine
) let me point out that most of the folks who are making "dangerous" inferences are those reacting rather emotionally against the original suggestion.It is indeed first a matter of comfort and individual preference for children and young adolescents. I politely suggest it's a faulty generalization to assume that every 13-year-old would feel "comfortable" in asking the FA to be reseated, presumably in front of the passenger he or she wishes to avoid. Come to think of it, I'd feel uncomfortable trying that myself, although I might be quicker than some 13-year-olds in coming up with a plausible explanation other than "this guy seems really creepy and I don't like the way he keeps asking me questions" or whatever. Speaking from extensive experience as a parent, retired teacher and school principal, I can attest that many young girls (and at least some young boys) are simply going to be more "comfortable" seated next to a female. Political Correctness cannot completely erase the concept of the nurturing mother figure.
There are enough FT threads, e.g. in TravelBuzz, about the "worst passenger you've ever sat next to" to motivate any parent who's not going to be present to take all possible steps to make the travel experience as pleasant and stress-free as possible for her or his child, and I think the original suggestion was a useful one for parents to consider.
Cheers,
Fredd
Jul 17, 2007, 7:35 am
#63
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE, BA silver
Posts: 2,906
It is indeed first a matter of comfort and individual preference for children and young adolescents. I politely suggest it's a faulty generalization to assume that every 13-year-old would feel "comfortable" in asking the FA to be reseated, presumably in front of the passenger he or she wishes to avoid. Come to think of it, I'd feel uncomfortable trying that myself, although I might be quicker than some 13-year-olds in coming up with a plausible explanation other than "this guy seems really creepy and I don't like the way he keeps asking me questions" or whatever. Speaking from extensive experience as a parent, retired teacher and school principal, I can attest that many young girls (and at least some young boys) are simply going to be more "comfortable" seated next to a female. Political Correctness cannot completely erase the concept of the nurturing mother figure.
What I don't agree with is the concept that she should refuse to board unless sitting next to a female (as implied by GalleyGal), or that the airlines (or the government) should step in and make this a policy. Because, as you say, it's about comfort and not about safety.
Jul 17, 2007, 9:52 am
#64
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: HPN
Programs: not anymore! I'm FREE!
Posts: 3,459
After reading this thread I just had to post mrs snic's unaccompanied minor story. Her parents sent her SFO-JFK-(somewhere in europe)-BOM when she was 12. Of course the flight out of JFK was cancelled, so she had to spend the night in a hotel in NY. The airline paid for a guard to sit outside her room. I don't know if airlines charged extra for unaccompanied minors back then, but I'd gladly pay $100 for my kid to get this treatment if I thought she wasn't mature enough to handle a situation like this by herself.
Jul 17, 2007, 11:10 am
#65
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,417
you know this reminds me of my first journey alone.
I was 15.
In fact is was 3 weeks ago.
It was from Hangzhou-Beijing-Washington DC.
It didn't turn out very good.
My first flight was delayed.
Then my flight to DC was canceled.
I stayed overnight by myself.
Made a ton of international calls and finally landed a flight in the morning. (Most people did not get out till 5 days after the flight was canceled. I was lucky)
Went from Beijing to LA.
Late arrival to LA and almost missed my connection. (Ran all the way. Took me 6 min. to get through immigrations, customs and transfer terminals. Almost missed it. But set a new speed record.
Then to top it all off lost my luggage which did not turn up for 2 weeks.
Great first trip.
So my advice is yes get the extra service.
I was 15.
In fact is was 3 weeks ago.
It was from Hangzhou-Beijing-Washington DC.
It didn't turn out very good.
My first flight was delayed.
Then my flight to DC was canceled.
I stayed overnight by myself.
Made a ton of international calls and finally landed a flight in the morning. (Most people did not get out till 5 days after the flight was canceled. I was lucky)
Went from Beijing to LA.
Late arrival to LA and almost missed my connection. (Ran all the way. Took me 6 min. to get through immigrations, customs and transfer terminals. Almost missed it. But set a new speed record.
Then to top it all off lost my luggage which did not turn up for 2 weeks.
Great first trip.
So my advice is yes get the extra service.
Jul 17, 2007, 12:22 pm
#66
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 544
When I was a young child (8), I liked the special attention of flying UM.
As I got older (10?) and more comfortable with flying alone, I tended to get annoyed by the chaperonage. I liked watching the people and planes instead of sitting in the airless, windowless UM room with a TV tuned to sesame street.
By age 12 I was flying as an adult; fine handling irrops myself, comfortable taking vdbs and suggesting alternate routings, etc. (Granted, all this was in an era of reasonably reliable, uncrowded, expensive domestic air travel by today's standards - post-deregulation but Frank Lorenzo hadn't yet run Eastern into the ground, if you get the idea)
A 13-year-old girl of normal intelligence can certainly handle flying alone (lord knows millions of sub-normal adults somehow manage to muddle their way through every year) but experience matters more. If this is her first time flying alone, just pay the UM charge. If she's been flying several times a year since she was younger, it's probably not necessary.
That said, in a time where 'cancelled' is the new 'delayed' and 'delayed' the new 'on-time,' I occasionally wish I could fly myself as a UM again, just to have a dedicated agent who gave a flip when and whether I got to my destination.
(A big
to the posters afraid of men on the plane. There's not a shred of data I'm aware of to support the notion that men in 2007 are any more likely to molest a stranger than men in 1950 - it's unlikely now and it was unlikely then. Fear sells, that's all. I could go on a tangent about how kids aren't given the space to grow up these days, but this isn't the place for it. Suffice it to say that seating arrangements by gender don't factor into the UM calculus for me.)
As I got older (10?) and more comfortable with flying alone, I tended to get annoyed by the chaperonage. I liked watching the people and planes instead of sitting in the airless, windowless UM room with a TV tuned to sesame street.
By age 12 I was flying as an adult; fine handling irrops myself, comfortable taking vdbs and suggesting alternate routings, etc. (Granted, all this was in an era of reasonably reliable, uncrowded, expensive domestic air travel by today's standards - post-deregulation but Frank Lorenzo hadn't yet run Eastern into the ground, if you get the idea)
A 13-year-old girl of normal intelligence can certainly handle flying alone (lord knows millions of sub-normal adults somehow manage to muddle their way through every year) but experience matters more. If this is her first time flying alone, just pay the UM charge. If she's been flying several times a year since she was younger, it's probably not necessary.
That said, in a time where 'cancelled' is the new 'delayed' and 'delayed' the new 'on-time,' I occasionally wish I could fly myself as a UM again, just to have a dedicated agent who gave a flip when and whether I got to my destination.
(A big
to the posters afraid of men on the plane. There's not a shred of data I'm aware of to support the notion that men in 2007 are any more likely to molest a stranger than men in 1950 - it's unlikely now and it was unlikely then. Fear sells, that's all. I could go on a tangent about how kids aren't given the space to grow up these days, but this isn't the place for it. Suffice it to say that seating arrangements by gender don't factor into the UM calculus for me.)
Jul 17, 2007, 12:30 pm
#67
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: ORD
Programs: UA *G
Posts: 1,720
I think this is a question of the maturity level and flying experience of the 13-year old.
If the 13-year old is mature and has experience flying, I say there's no need for the service.. 3 and a half hours is relatively low risk at Denver [this isn't winter!]
When I had just turned 14 I flew BEG-FRA-IAD-BTV without UM service on Lufthansa/United. All of the employees took care of and seemed concerned about me (the purser on FRA-IAD even came up to the upper deck to talk to me about my connection), but then again, I wasn't affected by any IROPs, nor was I on any of the last flights of the day.
If the 13-year old is mature and has experience flying, I say there's no need for the service.. 3 and a half hours is relatively low risk at Denver [this isn't winter!]
When I had just turned 14 I flew BEG-FRA-IAD-BTV without UM service on Lufthansa/United. All of the employees took care of and seemed concerned about me (the purser on FRA-IAD even came up to the upper deck to talk to me about my connection), but then again, I wasn't affected by any IROPs, nor was I on any of the last flights of the day.
Jul 17, 2007, 12:40 pm
#68
Join Date: Oct 2005
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott platinum
Posts: 30
You may find it offensive, but I completely agree with both the suggestion and the policy.
Back to the original question, somewhere between 14 and 16 I might (and did) allow my child to fly unaccompanied without the airline's chaperoning. Partly depends on the child of course.
But at the same time, consider other not-farfetched possibilities. You follow all the rules for booking your child xyz-ORD-IND; you made sure that there were two more flights ORD-IND after your child's. One of those famous and furious summer thunderstorm/hailstorm/tornado events pops up in the afternoon. Your child's IND flights are canceled. It doesn't matter too much because your child's plane has been diverted to, say, OMA or RFD or DSM. Iirc, each of these airports actually closes overnight. Do you want to think via cell phone with your child about a) whether to call the police, b) is the bench in front of the airport safe enough to overnight on, d) is it possible for her/him to get to a motel and you pay for it over the phone? Etc., etc., etc.
If flying chaperoned, United WILL take care of the child and that's worth $99 to me.
Back to the original question, somewhere between 14 and 16 I might (and did) allow my child to fly unaccompanied without the airline's chaperoning. Partly depends on the child of course.
But at the same time, consider other not-farfetched possibilities. You follow all the rules for booking your child xyz-ORD-IND; you made sure that there were two more flights ORD-IND after your child's. One of those famous and furious summer thunderstorm/hailstorm/tornado events pops up in the afternoon. Your child's IND flights are canceled. It doesn't matter too much because your child's plane has been diverted to, say, OMA or RFD or DSM. Iirc, each of these airports actually closes overnight. Do you want to think via cell phone with your child about a) whether to call the police, b) is the bench in front of the airport safe enough to overnight on, d) is it possible for her/him to get to a motel and you pay for it over the phone? Etc., etc., etc.
If flying chaperoned, United WILL take care of the child and that's worth $99 to me.
I agree! I had a child once that was delayed on the only connection of the day lax-iad-bru. The iad-bru was cancelled, my mother in law had paid the fee for my 13 year old son, who by the way is well travelled to be accompanied and a member of staff did stay with my son in the hotel and made sure he was well looked after. Well worth the fee!
Jul 17, 2007, 1:01 pm
#69
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: BOS
Programs: BA GLD for LIfe, AA PLT 2 MM miler, B6 Mosaic, Star GLD; HH Diamond; Marriott PLT, IHG Plat
Posts: 1,368
I have two kids who are very experienced international travelers. My son at age 15 flew from Boston to Sydney (business class) and has flown on his own to Denver and Toronto. My daughter is now 14 and will be flying to visit relatives in Toronto and later in the summer to Washington, DC. In both cases, these are direct flights and my daugher doesn't want us to pay for UMNR treatment. She's flown with us or her grandmother to Canada many times, Mexico quite a few times, Nicaragua, London, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Hong Kong, Bali, Tokyo, Sydney and I'm probably leaving out places. But she's never flown on her own. We're weighing the possiblity of UMNR. She knows her way around airports and how to go through customs, etc. But, she's a pretty girl who is 5'7" and at most 100 lbs. My son on the other hand was 5'11" and not a rail and I didn't think he needed to be accompanied (although my wife did).
But, in response to the suggestion made by one of the posters, I am going to consider asking that she be seated next to a female. The probability of anything going wrong is small, but it is smaller with a female next to her. I worried when my son traveled, but I think the risk is a lot higher if a pretty, slender girl travels alone than a big teenage boy [he's now 6'3" 180 lbs and I'd put him on a plane alone without reservation].
But, in response to the suggestion made by one of the posters, I am going to consider asking that she be seated next to a female. The probability of anything going wrong is small, but it is smaller with a female next to her. I worried when my son traveled, but I think the risk is a lot higher if a pretty, slender girl travels alone than a big teenage boy [he's now 6'3" 180 lbs and I'd put him on a plane alone without reservation].
Last edited by shawbridge; Jul 28, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Jul 17, 2007, 2:03 pm
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,572
I've seen the UA customer service center in DEN reduce a UM to tears when he misconnected and was going to need to spend the night in DEN. My advice would be to book a nonstop from LAX-MKE. There's just too much that can go wrong with a connection, and United is pretty bad at dealing with irregular ops.
Jul 17, 2007, 2:08 pm
#71
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SAN / BAH / TPA
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 1,022
Are we in OMNI yet?
oh puhleease. Is there any historical data showing a trend of young, attractive girls being assaulted while seated next to a man while riding in the confined spaces of an aluminum tube with 100+ potential witnesses?
I'd assume that any hanky-panky would be reported to an FA and the flight would be met by a LEO/FAM and the offender would be hauled off.
Misconnects and IRROPS would be a good reason to fly as a UMNR. However, I don't see how UMNR status would protect them from an assault at FL300. It's not like the FA spends the entire flight minding the youngster. If your child flies by themself, regardless of UMNR status, they will be alone at various times. The only way to ensure their safety is either to fly with them or send a minder/bodyguard.
I'd assume that any hanky-panky would be reported to an FA and the flight would be met by a LEO/FAM and the offender would be hauled off.
Misconnects and IRROPS would be a good reason to fly as a UMNR. However, I don't see how UMNR status would protect them from an assault at FL300. It's not like the FA spends the entire flight minding the youngster. If your child flies by themself, regardless of UMNR status, they will be alone at various times. The only way to ensure their safety is either to fly with them or send a minder/bodyguard.
Jul 17, 2007, 2:47 pm
#72
Senior Moderator; Moderator, Eco-Conscious Travel, United and Flyertalk Cares
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: Fulltime travel/mostly Europe
Programs: UA 1.7 MM;; Accor & Marriott Pt; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 17,831
Even though this is really about children traveling alone, since it doesn't pertain specifically to UA please follow it in the Travel With Children forum. Thanks.
l'etoile
UA moderator
l'etoile
UA moderator
Last edited by l etoile; Jul 17, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Jul 17, 2007, 3:17 pm
#74
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Arizona
Programs: *wood Gold, Marriott Gold, DL Silver, Hilton Silver, F9 Ascent
Posts: 2,419
When I was a young child (8), I liked the special attention of flying UM.
As I got older (10?) and more comfortable with flying alone, I tended to get annoyed by the chaperonage. I liked watching the people and planes instead of sitting in the airless, windowless UM room with a TV tuned to sesame street.
As I got older (10?) and more comfortable with flying alone, I tended to get annoyed by the chaperonage. I liked watching the people and planes instead of sitting in the airless, windowless UM room with a TV tuned to sesame street.
A 13-year-old girl of normal intelligence can certainly handle flying alone (lord knows millions of sub-normal adults somehow manage to muddle their way through every year) but experience matters more.
^For some the challenge begins when driving to the terminal and trying to decide between the Blue side or Red side. Not that I'm still pissed about the schmo who cut across 4 lanes of traffic because he was headed to the wrong side of the DEN terminal building...
Jul 17, 2007, 9:03 pm
#75
Join Date: Jun 2005
Programs: AA Gold, *wood Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 928
I know if it were my child or I was the child....Dad's status wouldn't matter if it meant a connection. I don't get why the OP wants United because of the connection when imo there's a better alternative.
I'd book LAX-MKE nonstop on Midwest and tell your child to enjoy the yummy chocolate chip cookies while she can and the comfy seat.
I'd book LAX-MKE nonstop on Midwest and tell your child to enjoy the yummy chocolate chip cookies while she can and the comfy seat.