Some pretty industrious kids

[Jennasis]

Reminds me of the Simpsons episode where BArt gets a fake drivers license, rents a car and drives his buddies to the defunct World's Fair in Knoxville.

Anyone want to go visit the Wig-sphere?

 

[RitaE]

Yeah - Southwest totally caved on this. I guess its all part of the minors can't enter a valid contract thing but if it were my kid they would not be getting their $700 back. I'd be a little more lenient on the 11yo who was probably just psyched to hang out with the older kids but a 15yo and a 13yo should be fully responsible for such a boneheaded decision and they sure wouldn't be showing a video of them playing around with their iPhones on ABC news the next day.

Sorry kiddos, but if you take a flight to Nashville then you pay for that flight to Nashville and it isn't Southwest Airlines responsibility to put the brakes on the decision.

And I guess as a parent I'd probably be too busy trying to find a babysitter for kids who obviously can't be trusted to be by themselves during the summer to give interviews.

 

[Mkrop]

Maybe this is a stupid question, but if minors don't need ID, why do we keep hearing about young kids who mistakenly get put on the no fly list? Don't these kids get checked for birth certificates at least?

It is the name that gets on the no fly list. They do get issued boarding passes that they show to the TSA agent. But unlike adults that is all they show.

My kids have flown a lot. I always carry copies of their birth certificates but have never been asked.

We just flew back from Vegas last week and it was the first time a TSA agent ever asked my kids their names and if they were with us. Of course, the TSA agent made a joke about it to my 12 yr old about whether he was ours and he said "no never seen them before" and then laughed. Thank goodness the agent took it as a joke. I told him in no uncertain terms was he ever to do that again. That is all we needed was for some agent to detain us bc he was being a smart alec. Luckily the 7 yr old answered correctly, although he is shy so he didnt want to answer at first.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I hope the airline gave them their money back. They really shouldn't let kids that age buy tickets on their own. How much trouble is that agent getting into ???

I wish the airline had NOT given the money back. Like a couple of PPs I do not think this is in any way the airline's fault. And WHY should the gate agent be in trouble? Their job is to sell the tickets, not interrogate the purchasers about why they are buying them or how old they are. Geez, my 13 year old DD has been mistaken for my 11 year old son's mother on a half dozen occasions. An older looking teen ACTING motherly seems plenty old enough to do this.
I bought my own ticket to Florida at 17. DD and her brother have bought their own train fare and taken trains without adults along---SOME children do have the permission to do these things so why should the airlines stop it because a child might not. DO you also think stores should not sell to anyone under a certain age?

I doubt I would ground my kids over this. I think the whole thing is hilarious. I would be having some conversations about personal safety though.

I am thinking the same thing. After I stopped laughing I would point out that she worked pretty hard to earn that money and it is all gone-and I sure wouldn't give her money for going to the movies, etc. for quite a while.

I completely agree with both of the above posts

Oh and isn't possible that he kids DID have ID? Mine have passports and know where to find them.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I doubt I would ground my kids over this. I think the whole thing is hilarious. I would be having some conversations about personal safety though.

Me too. I also don't know if I would let that girl babysit anymore

 

[laurie31]

I wish the airline had NOT given the money back. Like a couple of PPs I do not think this is in any way the airline's fault. And WHY should the gate agent be in trouble? Their job is to sell the tickets, not interrogate the purchasers about why they are buying them or how old they are. Geez, my 13 year old DD has been mistaken for my 11 year old son's mother on a half dozen occasions. An older looking teen ACTING motherly seems plenty old enough to do this.



I completely agree with both of the above posts

Oh and isn't possible that he kids DID have ID? Mine have passports and know where to find them.

My 13 year old was babysitting last week and was mistaken for the child's mother. She asked that person how old they thought she was. The answer - 27.

So yes, if my 13-year-old-who-looks-27 went to buy an airline ticket, I don't think anyone would question it. I've sent my DD to the store for me with my credit card. No one questions that either. She really does look much older than she is.

My kids have passports too, but I'm assuming (the dreaded *assume*...) that since flying was such a novelty to these kids, that they must not fly often, and if they HAD shown ID, they would have been found out as minors. I doubt they knew too much about the rules for what age you have to be to fly alone if they had no clue that Dollywood was nowhere near Nashville.

I agree that Southwest should not have been responsible for refundng these fares. After all...they DID fly!

 

[Minnesota!]

I doubt I would ground my kids over this. I think the whole thing is hilarious. I would be having some conversations about personal safety though.

Ditto!!

I often dreamed of doing something like this (and honestly...still do..). I would say it too a whole lotta cajones for those kids to do it. I would make sure, though, that if there was a "next time" they would be well versed in safety procedures.

 

[gate_pourri]

My concern in this whole thing is about security! How does anyone purchase an airline ticket in CASH - I am assuming that a 15 year old doesn't have a credit card - with no ID and there are no secondary screenings and/or second looks?

I always assumed since 9/11 that if someone paid in cash for an airline ticket, there were extra hoops one had to jump throw to get on the plane. I would hope that these children would have 'jumped' through those hoops and if so, someone should have realized they shouldn't be there.

I can see why Southwest caved, especially if this is a security issue.

 

[golfgal]

My concern in this whole thing is about security! How does anyone purchase an airline ticket in CASH - I am assuming that a 15 year old doesn't have a credit card - with no ID and there are no secondary screenings and/or second looks?

I always assumed since 9/11 that if someone paid in cash for an airline ticket, there were extra hoops one had to jump throw to get on the plane. I would hope that these children would have 'jumped' through those hoops and if so, someone should have realized they shouldn't be there.

I can see why Southwest caved, especially if this is a security issue.

My 15 year olds have debit cards and have since they were 13, same with our 18 year old.

 

[MrsToad]

Is there any rule about having to be 18 to purchase tickets? I would thnk there should be. Also, I thought the ID rules stated that you didn't need ID for children if they were flying with their parents - did I misunderstand and they don't need ID regardless of who they are traveling with?

 

[crashbb]

I get that some kids look older than their age, but if they did look like they were over 18 (or if one of them did), then they should have been asked for ID - which would show that they were not over 18.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I get that some kids look older than their age, but if they did look like they were over 18 (or if one of them did), then they should have been asked for ID - which would show that they were not over 18.

But you do not need ID to PURCHASE tickets. After they are purchased, you may need ID to check in or at security, but not if you are under age. SO where would they "get caught?"
Not that the airline's are responsible for deciding if the kids had permission from their parents to travel anyway. Mine have bought their own train fare and traveled pretty far on their own--with my permission--but the German train workers did not feel any need to quiz my (then) 10 and 12 year olds about whether they had parental permission for the trip--it wasn't their business to parent the kids and they didn't it.