If a 12-year-old can't navigate an airport alone, blame the parents, not the airlines. It's not that hard! Congratulations to Southwest for asking young adults to act like young adults.

I agree with this policy. The airlines are not babysitters, if you don't feel comfortable allowing your 12 year old to fly alone. Don't let them fly alone.

MMD: Written like a true ass who doesn't have children.

@MMD: the 12 year old doesn't even have to navigate the airport alone. the parents can help with that. they just have to sit on the airplane. it's not that hard, a baby could do it...

@ndjustin:
Exactly. Why should the airline have to take on the enormous responsibility of a child? I think it's great the other airlines charge fee's for doing so. Southwest clearly doesn't want to accept the responsibility and resulting liability. Refusing to do so keeps everyones costs down, which is a large part of Southwest's business model. If you little darling is not responsible/mature enough to fly on their own with limited supervision, perhaps they shouldn't be flying alone.

@Me:
Written just like an Entitlement B***** who wants special treatment just because they have kids.

Its not that the airlines are NOT providing the service. Its that your child no longer qualifies.

Just like Happy meals. Just like how after 25 or so, you can't claim them on your taxes.

I used to fly alone as a kid, with American. They escorted me till the age of 12. I actually think they should raise the age one more year to cover kids through that age. But all in all, I agree that airline employees have enough to do.

Flying alone was my only option as a kid if I wanted to see my dad - my parents are divorced and they lived far away from each other. I was fortunate that my dad was a flight attendant and was sometimes able to accompany me, but as I got older and he changed routes, that wasn't the case anymore. After I turned 12, I had flown enough to be familiar with airports, and both my parents trained me really well as to how (and whom) to ask for help if I needed it. They also stayed near a phone and I knew I could call them as a last resort. In short, while it can be nerve-wracking for parents to send their kids to fly alone after age 11, if you prep them properly they can usually handle it. And if you think your kid can't, then he/she really shouldn't be flying alone.

@DrGirlfriend: I meant Suthwest should raise the limit to 12. My use of pronouns was unclear!

@Pylon83: Hear, hear. I have flown alone cross-country since I was eight years old. A child who can read is OK in an airport provided they know to ask only uniformed people behind booths for assistance. They are OK on a flight if provided with something to do and... this important, folks... if they know that queasy feeling goes away if they take the right medicine an hour before they get on the plane. I actually didn't know about Dramamine until I saw an ad for it when I was 11....

I traveled alone when i was 12, no problem

Parents bubblewrap their children, we are raising a generation who can't tie their own shoes.

@Me: Just because you have children doesn't mean you're more entitled to special treatment nor are your offspring. If you want to pony up the cash to have a professional babysitter accompany your child (whom by this point should be intelligent enough to navigate an airport that has been planned out in advance by YOU the parent with a map in their hand) then by all means send your kid alone on a plane.

Otherwise, I'll treat your kid just like any other person in an airport. By the way, most airports have staff, guards, and other personnel that are more than willing to point in the direction of where someone is supposed to go if they are lost and ask.

Other than that, too bad. Either go with the child or keep them at home.

@realjen01: Not anymore...with new TSA rules, if your child doesn't fly as a UM, the parents cannnot get a gate pass to drop off/pick up the kid at the gate.

But I agree...I've been flying alone since I was 9 or so. It isn't that hard to look for the gate you should be at.

Nowadays, with all the security, it's a different ballgame than when we were kids flying alone.

Some kids are mature enough to handle it, some are not. If you child is not, travel with them. Especially if there are connections to be made.

Cripes, I was changing planes in Atlanta at 10-11 without an escort. And that was back when pedophiles could roam the gates without a boarding pass....but I guess if you're kid isn't smart enough to handle that....pick an airline that will babysit them. And yes I have two kids and try to raise them to have a brain in their head. Try it, it's good for them!

Why in the hell would you fly your 12 year old kid by himself anyway. That is horrible parenting

You should have to be 18 to fly alone on a plane

not only could i handle traveling without parents when i was 12, i was in charge of my 8-year-old sister. but this was pre-9/11, so i guess it was easier because we didnt have to check in and go through security by ourselves.

@levenhopper: I was just going to ask that. I flew alone at 10 & 11 but my parents could pick me up and drop me off right at the gate. If I had to leave my (immaginary) kid at security, especially in a large airport, I would be nervous. The actual flying wouldn't be an issue - my (immaginary) kid is well behaved enough to sit still and shut up for the length of a direct flight.

I flew alone when I was probably 11 or 12 (same scenario: back then there weren't really any restictions, and my parent's didn't have me accompanied by the airline or anything). I actually missed a connection due to weather, and had to stay overnight alone at the connecting airport to get a flight out the next morning. The airline gave me a coupon to McDonalds and a room at a hotel attached to the airport--they didn't escort me to dinner/the room or otherwise take any responsibility for me whatsoever. The result? Best night ever!!!

@scampy:
What happens on the day that a person turns 18 that suddenly makes them mature enough to handle air travel?

When I was three, I thought it would be really funny to play hide-and-seek with my dad.
In O'Hare.
Twenty minutes before takeoff.

He was not amused.
Otherwise, I have no comment. Sorry.

@scampy: My sentiments exactly. Who sends their kid (under age 10 especially) on a flight by him/herself? wtf.

Kids fly alone all the time. It's not that big a deal. My son has his own frequent flier account at Southwest because he goes to visit his grandparents three or four times a year. If he isn't able to navigate from the gate to his seat alone by the time he's 12, then I have been doing a shitty job as a mother.

@bluebuilder: I'm not saying they have to be 18... but come on, kids should not fly by themselves. Even if they are mature/competent to handle the situation, they're still open to being kidnapped or worse. It's just not smart parenting.

@ndjustin: i totally agree, if your kid can't handle it, then don't let them go. it shouldn't be on the airlines to babysit every minor who wants to fly alone, its on them. i started flying alone when i was 12 too, its really not that big of a deal.

you don't have to leave your child alone...my 15 year old sister came to visit me this summer. My stepmother brought her to OHare in Chicago, and got a pass at security to escort her to the gate. I picked her up in Minneapolis, and all I had to was go to a desk, show ID and tell them I was picking a minor up at the gate. they gave me a pass, I went through security and straight to her gate. we did the reverse when she flew back. as long as there are adults on both ends to drop off/pick up, the child should be fine.

@Me: Hey, I don't have kids and sometimes I can be an ass, but don't lump me in with this guy!

@Superweevil @scampy: When I was 9 years old, I flew from Cleveland to New York to stay with my aunt and uncle for a weekend. It was a mini-vacation for me. Why would my parents come if I wasn't going to see them all weekend?

And, example #2: I went to boarding school in 6th grade, because my dad was in foreign service, we moved around a lot, and it just made sense for my family. My parents aren't going to fly cross-country (or sometimes from abroad) with me just to drop me off at school. I flew 4 or 5 round trips a year alone to and from school.

Airlines have enough problems keeping track of luggage, so I'd never trust one of these outfits to have enough competency to keep track of my child.

I was navigating airports at 12 with no problem.. I am 29 now. It comes down to the parents and the kids, if your kid can't handle the trip alone at that age you should pay for someone to chaperone them that you know or pony up for the cost of the airline having to tote them around.

@Superweevil: I was responding to Scampy's comment not yours, but still...if you restrict a 12 year old any time there is a possible chance he could be kidnapped, your kid is going to have some real difficulties managing him/herself in the world when it is an adult.

The trend to extend childhood through adolescence, making a sharp shift from 'childhood' to 'adulthood' at midnight when they 18 robs people of an important growth stage of their lives.

People get kidnapped at 18 too, maybe we shouldn't let them fly alone until they turn 21.

I personally would never let my child fly alone, for any reason.

@LionelEHutz: Bearing that in mind, never let your child fly US Airways alone in or out of Philadelphia.

@DrGirlfriend: And then someone will come along and whine that 13-year-olds don't get help.

C'mon. Them's the rules. Don't like it, fly with another airline.

@bluebuilder:

What reason would a kid under 18 have to fly by themself. A vacation to Jamaica?

@VA_White:

You should be going to his Grandparents WITH him instead of pawning him off on them

Divorced parents often do not have a choice. Custody agreements almost always have a clause regarding child visitation when one parent moves out of state. Obviously for long distances, the child must fly for it to be feasible.

I know first hand. We have been putting our son on planes unaccompanied since the age of 5. He is now almost 11 and a pro at navigating airports.

None of the information shocks me. But of course I've been dealing with this issue for years and I know the policies of most airlines by heart. And, I know which ones I prefer. My picks are JetBlue, Delta and Southwest in terms of service for UM's. I'm also a former Southwest employee from many moons ago and I know that they will escort a child over 12 if you ask to speak to a supervisor. It may be policy to let them fly alone, but managers and superviors at Southwest are known for going above and beyond when it's warranted. They escort adults when it's needed. Even in cases where the person isn't impaired in some way. There are compassionate people employed at major airlines ;) Are they rare? Sadly, yes.

Again, it's all in how you ask and how busy they are. If it really concerns you, try an airline that will escort children over the age of 12 and pay the fee. Simple.

When I was twelve, I flew together with a thirteen year old friend to Japan. Got dropped off at security by my parents, connected in Tokyo to another destination in Japan. Neither of us spoke Japanese (though obviously there is tons of English in the airports there) and we didn't encounter any problems. If we had, it'd have been as easy as asking somebody in a uniform for help.

Try and raise competent, independent children people. There is no reason a twelve or thirteen year old shouldn't be capable of following signs in an airport.

I apologize for the length of this post, but have a fun story of flying alone back when I was a minor. Granted, I was 15 rather than 12, but still a minor. I was flying with ATA.

I was alone on a series of connection flights, including a route from Indianapolis Int'l to Chicago O'Hare. When we reached Chicago, the plane began flying in a holding pattern around the city until we had to fly back to South Bend, Indiana to refuel. Another 30 mins to get clearance for takeoff and by the time we landed in Chicago, my connection flight (last one of the night) was gone.

I got my luggage and asked the ladies at the airline counter what I should do. After just explaining that I was stranded, 15, and had like $28 on me, they told me they could give me a room at the Hilton for $100. My conversation with them made it abundantly clear they didn't give a damn. Fortunately I had a mini-loaf of banana nut bread my grandmother gave me before departing so I had something to eat while I huddled with my 2 suitcases near the phones trying to contact my family at midnight to tell them I was stranded and no one was helping me.

After a couple hours of phone tag with family members, the two ladies from the counter scurried up to me, all smiles, offering free sodas and asking if there was anything at all that I needed. They hurried off explaining that they were booking me a free night at the Hilton. Moments after they left, my mother called me on the pay phone and asked if I was being taken care of now, because she called corporate and threatened to sue if they didn't fix everything.

I'll summarize by saying I got the royal treatment the rest of my trip. I like to think those bitches behind the counter got their asses chewed and their jobs threatened if they didn't treat me like a king, because they certainly did after mom made that phone call.

Moral of the story: if you get totally shafted by a company not delivering, knowing who to threaten with a lawsuit will get you everywhere.

What's the biggie? When I was a kid and flew alone, they escorted me until I was 12, and then I was flying solo.

@godai: I can claim happy meals on my taxes?

When I was about 13, my younger sister (about 11) and I flew unaccompanied to Hong Kong and we made it just fine, even going through Customs on our own. We were going to visit relatives and there was just no way for my parents to take time off work to go with us.

My sister and I also went to summer camps all over the country when we were kids. Our parents scraped together enough money for us to fly and attend these camps, but there's no way they would have been able to fly with us. They knew we were smart and responsible enough to manage on our own.

I don't have kids yet, but I think it would be important to take at least one trip with my kids first so they get used to the experience of flying before I send them off on their own.

@Buran: Who the hell was whining? I happen to think it should be till age 12 - if you disagree, and want to snark on that, go ahead. I, personally, don't see the need, but whatever floats your boat.

@scampy:

Going to sleepaway camp out of state?

I don't think any airlines should let kids under 18 fly solo. If a child needs to fly somewhere then the parent should be required to take them since that is supposed to be the job as a parent.

It really depends on the kid and the environment they grew up in. I started flying when I was 2 or 3, and fly at least once or twice every year for my entire life (if not considerably more), so flying unaccompanied in the 12-13 range is not a big deal. On the other hand, many people I know don't start flying until much older, and a 12 year old who has never been in a plane before would do well with someone accompanying them.

On the whole flying alone as a minor front, what do you think is better? Spending all summer home alone while the parents are working and the child is on vacation from school, or spending a week or two with family in another part of the country (especially grandparents who are likely to be home anyways)?

@ExecutorElassus: Your story reminds me of a trip I took a few years ago. I was flying standby, and so was a family with 3 kids. They had been trying to catch a flight for 2 days. Finally, when they start calling the names of standby passengers approved for boarding, they call the name of the family. Parents are ecstatic. Kids are nowhere to be found. Mom begs and pleads for the gate agents to page the kids, but there's like 5 minutes to takeoff and there's no time. They release the 5 seats, so I and 4 other passengers were able to get on the flight. Mom was hysterical and *so pissed*. I shudder to think what must have happened when the kids finally showed up.

Meg--"summary," not "summery."

@emilymarion333:

Ever think that part of parenting is also teaching your kids to mature and take responsibility. I hate helicopter parents.