Unaccompanied Minors

[Family Travel Forum]

Dear Family Travelers and Industry Friends,

We've received a request from CNN to help find a family to be interviewed for a story about children flying solo. Below you'll find a note from producers Peter Fitzpatrick and Liz Choi outlining their needs.

"Thanks for speaking to me today about unaccompanied minors traveling on airlines. I'd really appreciate your assistance and the assistance of Family Travel Forum in helping find a parent with child who does this that we could include in our report.

Here's what we would need:

A parent/child in the New York Metropolitan area to be included in a CNN story on unaccompanied minors who fly solo. We'd like to shoot video ASAP of the child getting ready to go on a flight by him or herself - packing at home and then accompany the family to a New York area airport (NJ, Conn., NY) along with a short interview with the parent(s) at home. If the minor is arriving in the New York area, we could shoot the arrival and unpacking process instead. We'd be happy to send the family a videotape of the story when completed. The interview/shoot would last from 2-4 hours depending on the location of the airport from the family's home."

Please contact me directly at ftf@familytravelforum.com if your family -- or anyone you know with a child traveling unaccompanied this month -- would be interested in being interviewed for this CNN story. I will pass on your contact information and travel details to the CNN staff and they will make the final selection.

Thanks for your time and interest in making air travel safer and better for all families.

Kyle McCarthy
editor

[Beth Gearhart]

Re: your message

I live in Washington DC area so do not "qualify" but wanted to tell you that I just put my 11 year old daughter on a flight as an unaccompanied minor last Saturday to London, England via Virgin Atlantic. This was her second time flying trans-atlantic unaccompanied and there were no problems what so ever. She
first flew unaccompanied when she was 9 years old. The US airlines do not seem to handle unaccompanied minors (especially younger ones) very well judging from the responses I received when I queried them 2 years ago about my daughter traveling home from London unaccompanied. When I contacted Virgin Atlantic there was no problem at all (they even take children as young as 5) and everything was very smooth and organized. There were a total of 5 unaccompanied minors on her flight from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow. Thanks for your newsletter.

[Diane Koeth]

I was contacted about minors flying solo. Since you are looking for children who fly from the NY area , my grand daughter doesn't qualify for what you are looking for.

The reason I am emailing you is that I would like you to know that she flew with Alaska Airlines from Washington State to Reagan International and received some of the best service out of all the airlines that I contacted before she took her trip. It was the only flight that I could get her on that was a nonstop flight which was a relief for me because she didn't have to switch over in any airport. The stewards were very cautious with her especially on her return to Seattle. They sent me to the wrong place to pick her up and since I wasn't there to get her, she was taken to a holding room until I got there. They wouldn't release her to me until I shoed positive proof that I was her grand mother. It was a lot of walking for me in the airport, but it was worth it just to know that my grand daughter was being taken care of.

I would definitely let her fly solo again with Alaska Airlines simply because of the nonstop flight and their prices were the cheapest compared to the other airlines. It's a very hard decision to let a child fly solo and I was on needles and pins from the time she left until the time she got home. I really feel for parents that have to do this all the time!!! I am a grand mother raising a grand daughter.....

[Kristi Zea]

I wanted to send you a copy of this letter which I sent to Delta, and Air France. My daughter Norma had a very difficult experience traveling alone with her friend Eliza this summer, and I think that other parents would be interested in knowing about this.

July 25, 2004


Valery Henry
Corporate Customer Care- Delta Airlines
1010 Delta Boulevard
Department 980-OC1
Atlanta, GA 30320-2980


Dear Ms. Henry,

I am writing you this letter while all of the events of the last 24 hours are fresh in my mind.

On July 24th, my daughter Norma Kuhling (13) and her friend Eliza Simpson (14) were to travel home alone from Paris on Delta Flight 8266 after spending three weeks in Biarritz. Eliza’s mother, Gina Martin, and I accompanied the girls over to Biarritz on the 2nd of July on the Delta/Operated by Air France Flight 11 in order to get them settled with the host family they were going to be staying with while they went to school. Our intention was to return home earlier than our girls. Both outbound and inbound trips involved connecting, at Charles De Gaulle airport, to an Air France flight to and from Paris to Biarritz.

When we booked the flights originally, we decided to book them on Delta because the ticket agent I spoke to assured me that we would be able to have an agent meet the girls at the gate on the return leg of the trip. I knew that the airport in Paris was big, and confusing and since they would be traveling alone, we wanted to have the added security of knowing that they were in the hands of a responsible adult. I told the agent that I would pay for that service if necessary.

When we got to Paris and I re-examined the electronic ticket for the girls, I noticed that there was no mention on their return ticket that the girls were “unaccompanied minors.” We had no time to bring this to Delta’s attention, since the connecting flight to Biarritz was in another terminal, and we were concerned that we would miss the flight.

When we got to Biarritz, however, I did talk to an Air France agent there who said that normally the girls would not be the responsibility of Air France (their cut-off age is 12!) but maybe they could fax ahead and maybe someone would meet the girls at the gate.
I tried to reason with the agent, and asked how it was possible for Delta to have one policy about unaccompanied minors and Air France another, since they were both under the same umbrella organization, Skyteam Alliance. She shrugged her shoulders and said that maybe I should lie about the age of one of the girls, so that Air France could help them!

After spending two planned weeks away in the remote mountains, Gina and I returned to Biarritz to see the girls before we were to fly home. At the Biarritz airport we talked again with Air France agents to try to resolve the issue of who would meet the girls in Paris. Air France was sympathetic but offered no assurances. They suggested we talk with the Delta agents when we got to Paris.

When we missed our connection because we only had 45 minutes, and a strike of the ground personnel at Charles De Gaulle prevented all passengers from disembarking, we had more time on our hands and located the Delta desk. The agents there were very courteous, and understanding. However, they were not well informed about the issue of unaccompanied minors. Once they grasped the problem, they concurred that we should change the girls’ tickets so that they would arrive earlier into Paris on July 24th, in order to facilitate the connection to Delta Flight 8266 from Paris to JFK. They also assured me that the girls would be met at the gate by an agent. I paid 60 Euros for this service. (See receipts attached.)

I had to FED-EX the new tickets, and the signed unaccompanied minor receipt to Biarritz so that the girls would have them in time for their trip home the following Saturday. (See receipt attached.) I also called the host family and informed them that they should allow enough time and bring identification, in order to fill out the unaccompanied minor forms at the airport. I assumed that everything was under control, at this point.

On Saturday, July 24th, I received a phone call from Eliza who told me that they had missed their connection in Paris. I was incredulous. How had that happened? It turned out that no one met them at the gate, and when the girls tried to check into Delta Flight 8266, it was too early. They then “hung out” until the appropriate time to get on Flight 8266 only to realize that they were sitting at the wrong gate! They missed the flight by 10 minutes.

In the confusion thatt followed, no agent was with them, or helped them whatsoever! In fact, when they missed their flight, and one of them was in tears, no one even helped them find the appropriate desk in order to change their tickets! Somehow they found the Delta desk, and finally someone took pity on them, got them tickets on the next flight out (Air France Flight 10) and gave them some food.

When I heard this I was livid, not to mention extremely worried. I called and spoke to a very sympathetic customer service agent, Ms. Sussette Cole in Dallas. I explained the situation to her. She was able to confirm that the girls were indeed on the next flight out, Air France Flight 10. She was even able to confirm that they were on the plane. She agreed that this never should have happened, and urged me to write this letter.

When I met the girls at JFK, Eliza was sobbing, and Norma was very pale and had a fever. Fatigue was a factor, and they thought that they had lost their bags. No one was at the JFK gate either, to help them through customs or to sort out their lost luggage! When I met the girls, we went to the baggage office, and located the bags. They had been sent ahead on the earlier flight: the one the girls had missed by 10 minutes.

Ms. Henry, I don’t know if you have any children, but as a concerned and responsible employee of Delta Airlines, you must realize that there is something terribly wrong with a system that allows for something like this to occur. I am grateful that nothing more dreadful happened to them. Young teenagers should not be allowed to wander around a very busy international airport on their own. Particularly when they can’t even speak the language! You must understand that I would not have booked passage on Delta if I hadn’t been assured of the company’s policy to assist young teens. The fact that I signed a document (which was taken by the Air France agent in Biarritz when the girls checked in) and paid money to permit the airline to act as a guardian for my child was my assurance that my child would be safe. Clearly, this was not to be the case.

I only hope that you and your superiors can effect some changes so that this never happens to anyone else. No company should be permitted to put children at risk. No company can afford that.


Sincerely,
Kristi Zea


cc.: Air France Customer Service
Damian Renaux, BLS Ecole de Francais
SkyTeam Alliance
Family Travel Forum
NY Times Travel Desk