{"id":23245,"date":"2019-07-08T14:46:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T19:46:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/?p=23245"},"modified":"2019-07-08T15:53:29","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T20:53:29","slug":"united-airlines-unaccompanied-minor-flyer-boards-wrong-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/united-airlines-unaccompanied-minor-flyer-boards-wrong-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"United Airlines Apologizes for Misdirecting 14-year-old Unaccompanied Minor on to Wrong Flight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several incidents of discomfort, misconduct, ill-treatment and sexual abuse, which happened to minors traveling alone by air in the past few years, not only called for a reform in the airline policies and programs for unaccompanied minors, but also raised questions about the safety of minors during solo air travel.<\/p>\n

In 2016, the conviction of two men on charges of groping minor girls who were traveling unaccompanied on US airlines sent jitters to parents of minors in the US and beyond<\/strong>. A 14-year-old boy, whose unaccompanied travel for a round trip on American Airlines was booked for an additional $300, was denied a decent, safe accommodation for the night in the event of a long flight delay.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Delta Airlines\u2019 codeshare partner, Korean Air ignored severe peanut allergy<\/span><\/a> of two unaccompanied Indian American minors from Atlanta<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, Georgia, kicked them off the flight to Manila and left them stranded at South Korea International Airport.<\/p>\n

Reports of such cases involving unaccompanied minors\u2019 air travel have put forth two contradicting arguments<\/strong>: flight attendants are not babysitters or personal bodyguards on one hand, and airlines should be responsible for safety of unaccompanied minors on the other.<\/p>\n

\"United<\/p>\n

Giving a fresh lease to the arguments is the latest incident in which United Airlines<\/span><\/a> allegedly put a 14-year-old minor on a wrong flight from Newark to Dusseldorf, Germany instead of Stockholm, Sweden.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The minor boy was scheduled to fly unaccompanied from Raleigh, North Carolina to Sweden via Newark<\/span><\/strong>, but he mistakenly boarded a flight to Dusseldorf rather than the scheduled flight to Stockholm due to the last-minute gate change at Newark.<\/p>\n

The moment the unaccompanied minor found himself on the wrong flight, he informed the flight crew about his predicament<\/strong>. The actual SAS flight had departed Newark for Stockholm by the time he was let off to go back to catch it. The real trouble ensued when United Airlines accommodated the boy on a flight to Copenhagen, Denmark with a connection on to Stockholm, according to the minor\u2019s parents and a Business Insider news report.<\/p>\n

The boy\u2019s mother said complainingly, \u201cThe flight to Stockholm from Newark<\/span><\/a> via Copenhagen extended his unaccompanied travel additional 7 hours<\/strong>, which left him fatigued with severe jet lag.\u201d She said further that she had no intimation from United Airlines. When she luckily got connected to an airline representative after nearly an hour, she was put on hold to her dismay.<\/p>\n

Also Check: How to Upgrade from Economy to Business on Emirates Flights for Less<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Being an experienced traveler, he did not panic. If he were 10 years old, the situation would have aggravated further for him. If you purchase an airline\u2019s unaccompanied minor program for hundred dollars or more, the airline is liable for the unaccompanied minor\u2019s safe travel from the origin to the destination. There\u2019s a lot that needs to be fixed,\u201d the boy\u2019s parents remarked.<\/p>\n

United Airlines apologized for the drawback in service<\/strong> and its inadequate attention to the unaccompanied minor, saying, \u201cThe safety and well-being of all of our customers is our top priority\u201d, in a statement to Business Insider.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Better: Airlines\u2019 Unaccompanied Minor Plans or Companion for the Unaccompanied?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There are different airline policies, programs and fees for minors traveling unaccompanied. \u201cThough some airlines have revised their unaccompanied minor policies over time, today\u2019s parents trust a companion a lot more than an unaccompanied minor program. Undeniably, airlines charge exorbitant fees for their service to unaccompanied minors on ground and board. We don\u2019t book unaccompanied minors\u2019 travel online. Rather, we make sure to handpick and book the best itinerary from the airlines having the best unaccompanied minor policy. In addition, we manage a Facebook group<\/a> to help our customers seek a reliable companion for their parents or children traveling alone between USA and India,\u201d said the chief travel economist of IndianEagle.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong>, a leading air-ticketing agency for Indians in USA.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Several incidents of discomfort, misconduct, ill-treatment and sexual abuse, which happened to minors traveling alone by air in the past few years, not only called for a reform in the airline policies and programs for unaccompanied minors, but also raised questions about the safety of minors during solo air travel. In 2016, the conviction of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[233,241],"yoast_head":"\nUnited Apologizes for Misdirecting Unaccompanied Minor Boy to Wrong Flight from USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unaccomapnied minor travel: United Airlines apologized for misdirecting a 14-year-old unaccomapnied boy on to a wrong flight from Newark to Germany.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.indianeagle.com\/travelbeats\/united-airlines-unaccompanied-minor-flyer-boards-wrong-flight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"United Apologizes for Misdirecting Unaccompanied Minor Boy to 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