auh2o

15+ years ago my brother and I were traveling alone and we missed the last connection due to delay. The airline put us up in a hotel with a FA.

If I could only arrange such a trick today...

geo1004

BearX220

I was on an AS flight SJC-SEA a few months ago when, just before departure, a crying, distraught five-year-old girl was brought aboard and plopped into the last open seat -- the window next to me.

The FA disappeared in fifteen seconds, after a couple of perfunctory "there, there"s, to prep for taxi.

I'm a dad. I hate to see a scared, lonely kid, especially one that young. So I made it my business to chat the little girl up, get her talking about things she liked, etc. The tears stopped before we got to cruise altitude and she cheered up -- I found pen and paper for her to color with.

Over the whole two hours no FA came by to check on her once. By the time we landed in SEA little Natasha and I were great friends, and I waited with her until everyone else had deplaned. Only then did an FA surface to escort her off the plane. As she did so, another FA thanked me for taking care of her and gave me a $25. travel voucher.

Lessons:

1. You can't depend on your unaccompanied child getting any special attention or assistance from inflight staff. Kids are at the mercy of FA's whims and neighboring pax. That UM surcharge buys you no extra security, I think.

2. I don't know what happens if that neighboring pax is unfriendly, or God forbid harbors evil intent. My kid will never find out.

3. Any parent who'd send a crying, protesting 5-year-old girl on a flight along ought to be slapped.

DL Platinum

You Go Bearx220!! I find it uterly amazing that a "parent" could send a child __alone__ on a flight like that. From personal experience, I too have had to "take care" of the UM seated next to me. Was it my choice? No. Did I get to attend to the things I had planned to do on the flight? No. BUT, I slept well that night knowing I helped a lttle person with the rigors of flight.

I too, would have liked to have slapped the parent, then the management of the airline for allowing it.

My thoughts and .02$

Eidetic

I think UM capabilities are culture dependent. In Japan, pre-teen UMs navigate complicated subway and train connections alone based on doing it accompanied in earlier years. So I guess the airlines need a UM training program in which the parent goes free as the "trainer".

Catman

Welcome to F-T Bear (or should I say Teddy bear for being nice to Natasha.) The airline presidents should also be slapped for not properly training employees to do a little extra for these young flyers, who in many cases have better manner than some adults on the plane (of course we of the FlyerTalk community would never do such a thing.)

What if a plane lands unexpectedly at another terminal and little Sidney (using an example) uses this as an opportunity to sneak off? The reprecussions and the angry parents would be unbearable.

I have never had to sit next to a lonely children but based on my lonely existance in junior high and high shcool my first thing would be to take out a picture of the cats. Start talking about pets. Then tell the child reworked fairy tales.

And have to admit that sometimes I start crying and don't want to go on the plane, espeically when it's 6 in the morning and I haven't had a decent cat nap yet!


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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!

buck

Eidetic: I agree with the training experience... this week's flight is my 11-year old son's first flight alone but his ninth flight. We made sure he was comfortable with the direct non-stop flight and our friends were at the gate when the plane arrived.

Last year I went down to SJU with my son to accompany him on that flight. Naturally I ended up staying a week on the beach, too (had to take advantage of being there, you know).

My UM story was on a flight BWI to STL. While we were boarding the FA set a young lad (7-8 years) next to me while I was reading a report. Once seated, he pulled a small plastic case out of his carry-on and opened it up to reveal three color-coded medical needles. He wrapped a rubber band around his arm, thumped the vein a couple times, and proceeded to inject himself. Needless to say, I was completely blown away that this "little person" was mature enough to do this. 1/3 way into the flight the FA moved him next to another UM on the flight, but I am grateful to have known him for the 30 minutes or so that he sat next to me.

ffhound

Sorry to have to take a tough line on this one but I would have serious reservations about sending any child on a flight unaccompanied.

Children require constant supervision - something which the FAs simply cannot provide.

cheers Peter

Catman

This message is from RiceChek. She asked me to post it for her, she had problems getting on before:

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As the crowded airliner is about to take off, the peace is shattered by a five-year-old boy who picks that moment to throw a wild temper tantrum. No matter what his frustrated, embarrassed mother does to try to calm him down, the boy continues to scream furiously and kick the seats around him.

Suddenly, from the rear of the plane, an elderly man in the uniform of an Air Force General is seen slowly walking forward up the aisle. Stopping the flustered mother with an upraised hand, the white-haired, courtly,
soft-spoken General leans down and, motioning toward his chest, whispers something into the boy's ear.

Instantly, the boy calms down, gently takes his mother's hand, and quietly fastens his seat belt.

All the other passengers burst into spontaneous applause. As the General
slowly makes his way back to his seat, one of the cabin attendants touches his sleeve.

"Excuse me, General," she asks quietly, "but could I ask you what magic words you used on that little boy?"

The old man smiles serenely and gently confides, "I showed him my pilot's wings, service stars, and battle ribbons, and explained that they entitle me to throw one passenger out the plane door, on any flight I choose."

Thank you for a very funny post, RiceChek.

PS: This yahoo general better stay off the PIP express!!!! He won't know what hit him!



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MEOW! MEOW! MEOW!!!

Karen2

I have four children, who no longer qualify as unattended minors, that I sent a great number of times on United. I had NO problems at all BUT I paid the UM fee each time. I would never send 2 kids who are inexperienced alone through any of those airports, esp. girls. Concerns:
1. Flight canceled due to weather, no accomodations provided, no plane til AM. If you pay the fee, the airline puts them up and chaperones them which is why they are not allowed to be booked on the last flight.
2. Kidnapping - how easy it would be to mislead two girls that were asking directions.
3. Girls get lost, miss connection, have no idea what to do. Or late for connection, have no idea what to do.
4. You get caught in traffic jam, VERY late arriving for pickup. They wander all over airport looking for you...
ad nauseum
I did not let our VERY well traveled daughter fly alone on a stopover flight until she was 16 and had gone over with us several times in various airports how to get from point A to B. And then I was nervous...

Rudi

Kids Flying Solo : Avoiding Trouble and Expense (Most airlines will let children 5 years and older fly alone — for a fee.)

By Tom Parsons Special to ABCNEWS.com
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/trave...s/kidsolo.html

l etoile

Austman: It was very kind of you to look after the UM on your flight. It certainly wasn't your responsibility and many people would have moved seats at the first opportunity. The boy and his parents were fortunate you were there.

I have to agree with those who would never put their children on a plane unaccompanied. There was a news story not too long ago about one airline (Southwest?) that routinely calls Child Protective Services to take care of their UMs overnight because they missed a connection or flight was cancelled.