Young teen traveling to Orlando alone

[MaryAnnDVC]

I'm sending my DD14 to stay with my niece for a few weeks, and then we'll go down to do Disney and all come back together.

What do I need to do to escort her to the gate and wait with her? And what does my niece need to do to be at the gate in Orlando to pick her up? Do we notify someone ahead of time, or just when we arrive at the airport?

 

[Disneyjosh229]

For you to escort her to the gate, you need to contact the airline to get a pass to go through security without a ticket. As far as I know, your niece can't be at the gate when she arrives. She will have to walk past security (At MCO, this means taking the tram to the "Main Building") to be able to meet up with your niece.

 

[dejavu]

Ask the airline- My DD came home sick from California and I was able to meet her at the gate- I just went up to the ticket counter explained the situation, told them her name & flight #, the agent looked it up asked me for a picture ID and then gave me a pass to get past security- Leave yourself alot of time because this process is just like checking in for a flight and it does add up, waiting in line for security etc...- They generally allow only one person to go- my DH had to wait for us by the baggage claim.

 

[Brian Noble]

Here is NWA's unaccompanied minor service:
http://www.nwa.com/services/onboard/minor/
http://www.nwa.com/services/onboard/minor/faq.shtml

The summary of NW's rules: it will cost you $50-$75. You will walk her to the gate (with a gate pass to get you through security). At the gate, she will be assigned to a Northwest agent, who will accompany her onto the airplane and be sure she is seated. Another NW agent at MCO will walk her off of the airplane, and transfer her to the person picking her up at the airport. You need to provide names of the person checking her in and picking her up in advance. That person will also get a gate pass, and should be at the gate before flight arrival. NW will not release her to anyone else, and will ask for photo ID. If she's on a connecting flight, she will be escorted from arrival to connection departure.

Other airlines have similar policies, but each airline sets their own rules, so check with your carrier.

 

[dizplanner]

14 is on the cusp. Some airlines require the minor escort and charge and for others it is optional at that age. I looked into because my daughter, who is 14, was considering flying to a gymnastics camp this summer. I ended up not needing it when she decided to do a local camp that I could drive to.

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

DS12 flew Delta to visit me (and my mom) while I was spending mom's last weeks with her in Florida. Delta required us to pay $40 each way, in addition to the ticket price for DS to fly as an unescorted minor. My DH had to tell Delta who would be picking DS up at the airport in Sarasota and who would be picking him up upon his retrn to Cincinnati. DH was given a pass get through security to go to the gate with DS and was required to wait at the gate until the plane was in the air. Once I gave flight information and showed ID in Sarasota I was given a pass to get through security to go to the gate to pick up DS. The same procedure was in place when I took DS to back to the airport in Sarasota. I was required to wait at the gate until the plane was in the air.

 

[julfre]

SOme airlines will require her to travel as an unaccompanied minor, most will charge for this. America west does(40 each way for non stop flights). I do this with my niece. If she is traveling as an unaccompanied minor, it is very easy. The person picking her up and dropping her off is on her ticket reservation. You just go to the desk and tell them her name and flight and give them your id to check the name and they give you a pass to get through security. They will require ID again at the gate before they will let her go with you. My niece is 13 and america west still requires her to travel in this method.

TO do this when she is not traveling as an unaccompanied minor is more complicated. Technically, they are considered capable of traveling on their own and you should be meeting them outside security. You may luck out if you get a nice person at the desk who will give you a pass, but they are not required to. I once saw a lady with a 16 yr old trying to get one to walk her son to the gate and she was repeatedly told no that her kid was traveling as an adult and therefore no pass could be given. If you do need to meet her outside security, pick a specific spot or have cell phone, there is typically quite a crowd there and is easy to miss someone.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Here is NWA's unaccompanied minor service:
http://www.nwa.com/services/onboard/minor/
http://www.nwa.com/services/onboard/minor/faq.shtml

The summary of NW's rules: it will cost you $50-$75.

The passenger gets to pay what amounts to $300 per hour, based on the airline Agents spending what appears to be a TOTAL of ten minutes escorting the unacccompanied minor down the jetway and gettting him/her seated on the plane. And my calculation assumes the $50 covers BOTH directions. I have a strong feeling it doesn't.

 

[seashoreCM]

The passenger gets to pay what amounts to $300 per hour, based on the airline Agents spending what appears to be a TOTAL of ten minutes escorting the unacccompanied minor down the jetway and gettting him/her seated on the plane. And my calculation assumes the $50 covers BOTH directions. I have a strong feeling it doesn't.

The airline has to also make sure the kid rendezvous' with the proper person(s) upon arrival.

In addition the airline is responsible for seeing that the kid is not bothered by rude seatmates, and perhaps putting the kid up in a hotel with an adult sitting outside the room in case of overnight flight delays, the latter could mean over eight hours of airline employee time spent with the kid.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

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