Air Tran vs. US Air for my daughter flying alone

[D L and K's Mom]

My DD who is 15 will be traveling with my parents to Mass for a vacation. She will be traveling back to us ALONE I know she can do it, she is fine with it I am the one having a little problem. The question now is....there are 2 airlines that fly direct US Air and Air Tran. I am going to call to make sure someone is looking out for her anyway (I will pay the extra $) she will not be happy but I will feel so much safer. Anyway which one should I do??? US Air has much better flight times but costs double. Air Tran leaves at 8:45 which would make her have to be at Logan at about 7:00am so she will have to leave the house at 6:00. I know my parents won't mind as they are up at the crack of dawn. Does anyone have a preference of which of these is a better airline to have her fly on. I will pay the extra if it is a better airline for her to fly alone. the airtran plane is much bigger and I think that might be better for her ..less turbulance??? anyone..........

 

[airline2]

she will pretty much have to travel alone because after age 12 they arent considered Unaccompanied Minors anymore. i say go with thw cheapest airline.

 

[ducklite]

Is there a connection? If so, where? That might be the key.

In all honesty I've been on regional jets where I slept the entire time--no turbulence.

Anne

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Nope, both flights are DIRECT that is why I chose those 2 airlines. If I choose AirTran they will allow my Mom to go to the gate with her in case flight is delayed or canceled if I label her an unaccompinied minor. She will also be allowed to get her seat earlier and we will be allowed to go tot he gate to pick her up at our airport. I know she is 15 and is perfectly capable of doing all this on her own but it is Logan airport a huge airport compared to what we are used to. I will feel 100% better if I know my Mom will be waiting with her until her flight boards.

 

[SueM in MN]

I would check that they are also NON-STOP. A friend and I were on US Air last week to go to Tampa. We had to change planes in Chicago on the way there and at Charlotte on the way back. All the flights we were on were continuing to another destination (so they would have been direct flights to whereever their final destination was, but were not non-stop).

 

[kaytieeldr]

First, Sue's right. This is one example of travel industry terminology that many people confuse. A direct flight simply means that (generally) there will be no change of planes en route, but the flight may stop at one or more airports between your departure and your destination. Southwest is an excellent example of this. A non-stop flight means the plane takes off from your home airport and doesn't stop anywhere until the final destination.
Second, you really should call AirTran to confirm their unaccompanied minor policies. While the website lists minimum ages, the lack of a maximum age does not necessarily mean that their policies apply to teenagers. In fact, since you intend to pay for the service, US Airways website DOES include your daughter's age group - you might consider that airline instead. Besides, you/she can select her seat at the time of the booking; on AirTran, those tickets cost more.