Reply-To: "Merilee Kern" From: "Merilee Kern" To: Subject: Minneapolis Star Tribune Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 11:53:53 -0700 Organization: Kern Communications MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_1BA1_01CC689D.D28BC030"; type="multipart/alternative" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5931 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.6109 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_1BA1_01CC689D.D28BC030 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_001_1BA2_01CC689D.D28BC030" ------=_NextPart_001_1BA2_01CC689D.D28BC030 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/128406848.html Should teens be allowed to fly solo? a.. Article by: JENNIFER CONLIN , New York Times=20 Airlines vary on their policies - and fees - for "unaccompanied minors," = rankling some families with their restrictions. =20 It was with a sense of relief that I set out to book my two teenage = children's airfares to camp last month. With Florence now 15, I knew I = would no longer have to pay the $200 round-trip fee required by airlines = like Delta and US Airways for children younger than 15 traveling without = an adult. I also assumed that because Florence would be flying with = Charles, her 14-year-old brother, from Detroit to Boston, he, too, would = be exempt from the fee since she would be accompanying him. But to my dismay, I learned that Delta, which offered one of the = cheapest fares, would still require me to pay the $200 in fees for = Charles to travel as an unaccompanied minor because his sister was not = yet 18. Frantic, I began searching other airlines, happy to discover that = American Airlines allows children 12 and older to travel without an = adult, but disappointed that the airfare was much higher than the = others. Thankfully, further research revealed that they could fly on = Spirit Airlines, which allows a child to fly with someone who is at = least 15. I booked two round-trip tickets. For years I had happily paid the fees most airlines charge for children = to fly as unaccompanied minors. The programs offered considerable peace = of mind. But now, with my youngest a responsible teenager and as = comfortable on planes as in cars, paying up to $100 each way for a baby = sitter on a less than two-hour flight didn't just feel unnecessary, but = also financially outrageous. Airlines in the United States generally require children between the = ages of 5 and their early teenage years to fly in unaccompanied minor = programs. Airline employees not only escort the children on and off the = plane, but also care for them between connecting flights (that is, if = the airline allows them to take connecting flights). Airline personnel = also ensure that the child is safely delivered to the appropriate person = on arriving. The fee ranges from $50 each way on Southwest Airlines to = $100 on most other airlines. After age 11, however, airline policies differ widely. United, = Continental and American allow children to travel alone from the age of = 12, while JetBlue lets them travel solo from 14. Delta, Spirit and US = Airways, however, all require children under 15 to travel in the = unaccompanied minor programs. For parents of well-traveled, confident teenagers, this rankles. "I = think by the age of 14 many children have traveled pretty extensively = with their parents and probably don't need to be baby-sat when they = fly," said Charlotte Wathey, who, rather than pay Delta's unaccompanied = minor fee when her 14-year-old son, William, flew from London to = Michigan in July, booked him on a British Airways flight to Toronto, a = few hours' drive away. British Airways does not require children over 12 = to fly in its Skyflyer Solo program. The fees may be the most pressing concern for parents, but for the = teenagers, the issue is independence. While many children are not ready = to travel alone at 13 or 14, others are eager to show their = self-sufficiency. I wasn't the only one to breathe a sigh of relief when I booked the = Spirit flight to Boston. Charles found the prospect of being treated = like a child -- being escorted on and off the plane and checked on = during the flight -- demoralizing. He grew up taking long-haul flights = from Europe and the Middle East. "It's not like I can't buckle my seat = belt or find my gate," he said. A changing landscape Some airlines seem to understand the dynamics of this changing family = market. "Today, many kids are so well-traveled; we felt it was important = to give parents control over what they think is best for their young = teens," said Stacey Frantz, director of corporate communications for = American Airlines, which a year ago lowered its age limit. "We trust = parents to make the best decision for their teens, ages 12 and up, when = it comes to traveling alone, and we believe parents value this control." But Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Delta, which is among those = airlines with a higher upper age limit, says she believes the airline's = age parameters are appropriate. "There are many travel scenarios that = can crop up that are complicated for adults, let alone young teens, so = we feel it is best to require even this older age group to be in the = program," she said. Elliott did note that the airline occasionally had difficulties handling = teenagers. "I think they are embarrassed to be in the program, and so = they tend to tear off their identifying wristbands and try to race off = the plane rather than wait to be escorted," she said. But it is not only teens who try to skirt the program. Some parents = don't check in their children as unaccompanied minors at the airport = even though they have had to reserve an unaccompanied minor ticket. It = is during check-in that parents must usually pay the service fee, = provide documentation about the pickup person and obtain a gate pass = (parents are supposed to stay with the child until he or she boards and = remain until the flight has taken off). "Usually, we discover [these kids] when they approach airline personnel = confused about something or with a question," she said. "Once we find = them, we quickly transition them into the program, but it is alarming = that their parents have not understood that they have to check them in = with us," she said. Perhaps the best solution is to explain to teens who are required to be = in the unaccompanied program that rules are rules and that part of being = a responsible adult is complying with the regulations. But if you have a = teenager who feels that having an airline employee walk him to his seat = is akin to a perp walk, try to find a more lenient airline as I did, and = you might even save some money. "If parents have to pay extra for their young teen to fly on one airline = versus another, they will choose the cheaper flight," said Tina Wells, = author of "Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right." "And while it is fine to ask the kids to follow an airline's rules," she = added, "teens will still invent their own." =20 ------=_NextPart_001_1BA2_01CC689D.D28BC030 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/travel/128406848.html