Unaccompanied minors

[ronturner]

NB I started this thread with a different title, so first reading might be a bit confusing..

I have been investigating the possibility of flying Paris to Orlando via Reykjavik, as we have done in the past. Early August date required. I cannot see any flights except by a connection with Jet Blue resulting in a 3 flight journey.
I am wondering if this route has been canned or paused, due perhaps to 737 delays. Any body in the know or the industry able to help?

[Deleted]

Not in the know as such any more Ron, but I think your hypothesis is correct. The other question is when and how they will be returned to service and whether you'd want to fly on one anyway.

Here's a thought Nantes/Lisbon/Miami? I don't think they do the pre- US clearance at LIS, which could potentially mean joining a long line at MIA and a car journey (or another connecting flight) to Orlando, which I know is not ideal. Norwegian out of LGW?

[bulldog]

Is via Manchester with virgin a possibility. ?

[ronturner]

Thanks Barry and Bulldog for your comments.

I did not tell the full story.Yes, we are off to Orlando and we are coming home to France with our two grandsons 8 and 12.
The plan was for them to go home unaccompanied but with the paid supervision that the airlines offer.
Really surprised to discover that many have binned this activity or restrict it to over 12. This includes BA, Are Lingus and Norwegian. Others such as Delta restrict the airports where this can be done and all charge a fee as much as 300 dollars per kid and/or per flight sector.
Obviously with the boys we want direct or one stop and with an airline that can give a more or less guaranteed connection.

I have also been astonished at the price levels in July. About twice what we have been used to in the winter season.
I found a good solution with Icelandair only to be thwarted by discovering that flights end mid May. Reading between the lines I think this is due to lack of capacity caused by the lack of Max aircraft.
Right that I would not be too keen flying on a Max, but I think that "our" 757 has been redeployed to other routes. The call centre confirmed the flights ending but would not say why.

[ronturner]

So, at the end of the day we had a very frustrating time.
Here is what we discovered.
Many airlines these days do not accept minors under 12. There are more who will accept 12-15.
Most charge a fee which can be £150 per child, or £150 per group or even $250 per child per sector.
Virgin no charge but adult fare.
No airlines will accept unaccompanied minors where there is code share if this means change of airline on route. (EG Orlando/Atlanta/Paris with Delta if part route is AF.)
Most airlines, including Delta will not accept unaccompanied minors if one of the flights,even if on the same airline, is connecting and its the last one of the day. So this rules out the possibility of Paris/Atlanta/Orlando.
Some airlines, such as Norwegian allow unaccompanied minors, but in Europe only.
None of the airlines would accept a booking for mum and two kids coming to France on a certain day, with mum going back on her own, two weeks later, with two boys going unaccompanied on another day. Separate bookings had to be made. (Just another hassle.)
Most airlines will only accept bookings via their call centres and the prices are not the same as on the internet and often much higher. (Virgin is a good example of this where I was looking at $540 for one flight, on my pc, and the call centre were trying to sell it at $730.)


There were a few options left such as Orlando/Amsterdam but the costs were by now, quite high for our dates of travel and in any case me and Mrs T would have to make a trip to and from AMS with the boys. The whole thing was getting out of hand.


Finally we settled on this, Because mum can only get three weeks holiday, she is bringing the boys on a day in June and going back two and half weeks later, direct Orlando/Paris with Norwegian.
The boys go back three weeks after that and I go with them on a cheap no frills no luggage price. I come back on my own a few days later. By far not ideal, but this is a package overall which is about 70% in total of any other option. I will be tired after this but I can stay with someone in Paris before coming home to the Vendéé
The whole business has been stressful and to say the least quite a learning curve.
Must do better next time.


If we do it again next year, the trick will be to book really early, (As if 7 months is not enough!) and see if there is a way we can use the direct Atlanta/Paris flight with mum taking the boys to and from Atlanta. Booking way ahead on Delta on domestic is usually quite reasonably priced.

[viscount]

Thank you Ron for sharing your experiences. While your predicament is a specialised requirement, the process you have gone through is shared and of interest to many who have found themselves doing anything that is just simply not two adults travelling A to B and back to A together by air.

The first couple of days after the boys have had to 'let go' of their mum, presumably the first time she has left them anywhere away from home and flown away, will be quite a trial for them and you. Bet you are both full of anticipation and plans for getting to know them without their mother hovering in the background.

For me an interesting read, thank you.

[northbynorthwest]

Hi Ron, Happy Turkey Day. Regarding the US carriers not allowing unaccompanied minors to arrive at the connecting hub to connect with the last outbound bank of flights, this is due to trying to avoid a situation where the kid(s) misconnect and are stranded at hub until the next day.

The reason for this is to avoid an irregular operation such as bad weather. ATL often gets thunderstorms into the late evening, which could result in diversions or extensive inbound delays, or long backups clearing US customs, all of which result in massive amounts of misconnections. Hotel rooms are in short supply at the best of times, and with an irop like this will result in several hundred passengers sleeping in the concourses. This would be terrible for unaccompanied minors, so the airlines choose to put these restrictions in place.

It should be noted that if unaccompanied kids are delayed and will miss earlier flights to destination, but will arrive at the hub in time for the last flight - then Delta will make sure they are confirmed on the last flight, even if it means buying off another passenger. If the kid(s) do end up having go overnight, the airlines will typically arrange for an employee to stay with them if they are younger. Delta has a Kid’s Club at the hubs, so typically one of the Customer Service people who work there.

Is this covering their tails? Absolutely. But these procedures have come about due to all sorts of horror stories from over the years. So, it is also to protect the kids.

One other thing, Ron. You should have your daughter write a note for you to carry when you travel with the grandkids explaining that she gives you permission to travel with the kids. She should have it notarised - her bank with have someone there who can notarise it. Again, this is something the airlines can (and will) ask for due to all sorts of bad reasons.

[ronturner]

Hi Ian
Thanks for your comments. Yes I figured the reason for rules about last connection flight. Must admit everytime I used Atlanta it has been great in the international terminal although it is one extremely busy place on the individual piers to the point of chaos at sometimes in the day.
Thanks also about the documentation advice. Yes we have this in hand with notorised documents.

Last time I made the journey myself we cleared at Orlando. It was a nightmare. 90 minutes in the immigration queue and still. A further 30 minutes for the bags.its always bad but this time out visit coincided with the government shut down.......
By far, the best is Dublin. But that's a whole new bag of nails for unaccompanied ......