So a 15 year old boy and his sister miss their connecting flight. Parental panic ensues.
The Alabama travel agent who booked their $2,000 flight assured their dad that he didn’t need to pay the $75 fee for them to be unaccompanied minors because Blake was 15. That was mistake number one, according to Delta spokesman Anthony Black. Teens must be 18 to accompany a young sibling. Mistake number two: The kids were booked on the last flight of the day – not permitted for kids flying solo, said Black, to prevent exactly what happened in this case – youngsters getting stranded en route…
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So the parents are pissed at Delta, Delta says they were unaware the kids were flying alone.
Delta insists the Sims kids misrepresented their ages, didn’t follow directions from airline personnel and that at every turn Blake indicated they could take care of themselves (anyone who has raised a teenage boy can understand that scenario).
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While I can sympathize with the parents, I really feel its their responsibility to make sure all the correct procedures are followed at the time of booking. And be smart enough to not book kids on the last connecting flight out, even if the booking agent doesn’t advice them otherwise. This summer is the first time my daughter has flown alone. She flies direct/nonstop (as is required when they are under 12). I get a gate pass and stand there watching until the plane is actually in the air. Person picking her up on other end has a gate pass as well and is there to take delivery when they land. ATA moved her (and another girl fly alone) to seats up front and according to my daughter gave them lots of snacks and were really nice to them.
As for these kids, I think they were probably not as upset as their parents were.
Instead, Blake and Briana were eating pizza at 2 a.m. in a hotel room by themselves while their parents, grandparents and other relatives spent the night frantically trying to figure out what they could do to remedy the situation. “I never felt so helpless,” said Ables. Their stepfather went to the Fairbanks Airport to try to get a flight to Salt Lake City (he couldn’t). Calls were flying between Alabama, Alaska and Delta supervisors in Salt Lake City. Ultimately, a retired Salt Lake City police officer, a friend of a friend, collected the kids and took care of them until their flight the following night.
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I realize that not all kids are the same, but at 15, I, and most kids I know, could handle taking a shuttle to a free hotel room.
I realize that not all kids are the same, but at 15, I, and most kids I know, could handle taking a shuttle to a free hotel room.
No kidding. I don’t see what the problem was.
When I was in 7th grade I was already babysitting my 4 younger siblings. This story sounds like the parents should be pissed at the travel agent, but then the agent isn’t the one with the deep pockets so they will go after the airline.
I thought the same thing. At 15, much was expected of me by my parents. This kid could be less than 24 months away from going off to college or doing something really spooky like enlisting in the army.
I was surprised as a freshman in college to see how helpless my roommate seemed to be. Until I spent a weekend at her house and realized how crippling her parents were.
I have seen similar with even older individuals. That is one of the reasons I try to enable my young children to develop these sort of independent thinking skills fairly often.
** I was surprised as a freshman in college to see how helpless my roommate seemed to be. Until I spent a weekend at her house and realized how crippling her parents were.**
I highly doubt it, but it has been over a decade since I’ve lost contact with her so I can’t say for certain. Doesn’t matter, she realized how sheltered her life had been. Sadly, she didn’t have good decision making abilities and tried to rebel, ending up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning.
If I was one of the parents, I’d be pretty worried if that happened – I think any of us would; I know I worry about all kinds of things, whether rational or not. That said, the parents brought a lot of this on themselves and it’s a good lesson of what not to do. The question I have is whether either kid had a cell phone. If so, I don’t see why you couldn’t keep in constant contact, monitoring and directing their situation at every step if need be. We lived overseas when I was younger, so I pratically grew up in airports. If I remember correctly, I was 13 or 14 when I took my first international flight alone with my younger siblings. Like everything in life, there is a rhythm to travel and airports; unless this was the first time these kids had gone anywhere, it’s just not that hard to figure out.
I thought the same thing. At 15, much was expected of me by my parents. This kid could be less than 24 months away from going off to college or doing something really spooky like enlisting in the army.
Possibly less than 12 months away from being given the keys to 2 tons of steel and glass travelling way too fast and close to me on my bicycle.
My parents in FL have asked about having my kids (7-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl) fly from NY down to them during a vacation. Personally, I wouldn’t allow it unless they were at least 16 or so. I’m also reminded of this lyric by Ani DiFranco:
I remember my first trip alone on the greyhound bus
A man put his hands on me as soon as night fell
I remember when I was leaving, how excited I was
I remember when I arrived, I didn’t feel so well.