4 ms·

The responsibility lies with the parents. What are they doing sending a child so young alone? United is not a baby-sitting service.

colmvp 14y ago
Why didn't the parents give the kid a cellphone? There's no way I'd just leave my kid to travel alone on a flight, let alone without a cell phone.
- hoi 14y ago
  Still doesn't address the key issue which was noone at United cared enough or had the initiative to deal with the problem of a missing child / missed flight situation and left the children unattended.
- slowpoke 14y ago
  How on earth did people travel some ten or twenty years ago I wonder? You know, before cellphones were widespread or even affordable? For fuck's sake, children aren't dumb. Always treating them as if they are results in them not growing into independent adults. Besides, unaccompanied flights are awesome as a child. I did that once, don't remember how old I was. Flew with the German Lufthansa from my parents to my grandparents. You can't imagine how adult I felt, flying (almost) all alone. I remember the attendants were all friendly and helpful, and the gentleman next to me even swapped his seat with me so I could look out of the window. It was a valuable and memorable experience.
  - gte910h 14y ago
    They are quite awesome. I remember my childhood flights as well
  - GFischer 14y ago
    Me too, I traveled to Europe unattended (from South America) when I was 11, all flight crews were great, passengers were very friendly and it was an awesome experience.
dubfan 14y ago
The child was going to camp. Is it reasonable to expect the parents to spend the money and time to fly to and from the destination? When I was eight years old I flew unaccompanied between Butte, MT and Los Angeles. It involved two different airlines (including United) and stops in Spokane, Portland and San Francisco. I got there and back without a hitch. My parents couldn't afford the extra tickets or the time off from work. Airlines have been dealing with unaccompanied minors for a long time. It's really not hard.
Zarathust 14y ago
United has a service where someone acts as a baby-sitter for the child. The story is about how that service failed and how United Airlines recovered from that failure.
- tylermenezes 14y ago
  "recovered" heh
chris_wot 14y ago
There are such things as services to ensure that unattended children are looked after. United have a duty of care towards the child. Let me put it this way - if a school "lost" a child, they'd be damned sure to raise a ruckus when they found out. United offers a service to ensure unaccompanied minors get to their destination, and they damned well better make sure it works 100% of the time. And if it doesn't, they'd better have smoothly operating contingency plans to fix the matter.
MartinCron 14y ago
They actually are, or they pretend to be. They charge a $99 unaccompanied minor fee.
fingerprinter 14y ago
Are you fucking joking? Yes, perhaps the parents shouldn't have sent the kid, should have gotten a cell phone etc. But there is ZERO excuse for what happened to that child at the hands of United, in a service they provide and charge for. This isn't a black and white issue, though using percentages, fault is 85+% United, 15-% parents.
- masklinn 14y ago
  > This isn't a black and white issue How's it not? As you noted United charge for an unaccompanied minor service[0], the parents believed everything was squared and United completely dropped the ball. Had the service not existed they could have opted to not send the child to camp, try to get what to do drilled into her and sent her on her own or found somebody to accompany. Then they could have been at fault if things had gone wrong. But here? I fail to see how any fault can be put on the parents. We can debate between the fault being 100% United or 80% United and 20% bad luck, but the parents? Not in the presentation of the article. [0] And the complaint letter adds details: > The United personnel who gave her the wristband and instructions told her very loud and clear to “only go with someone with a United badge on and that she would be accompanied at all times”.
  - fingerprinter 14y ago
    I say not black and white b/c as a parent I would have taken extra precautions. The cell phone being a notable one. Also, some written instructions to give to people (police, security etc) in case of emergency is just another that comes to mind. Perhaps they did these (or other things), I don't know, but it didn't sound like it. Even so, you're right. It should be like 99% United, 1% parents.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
masklinn 14y ago
> United is not a baby-sitting service. They are, the parents very specifically opted into (and paid for) United's $99 "baby-sitting" (unaccompanied minor) service. Let me quote from the parents's letter: > The United personnel who gave her the wristband and instructions told her very loud and clear to “only go with someone with a United badge on and that she would be accompanied at all times”. I don't think this even needs additional emphasizing, it stands on its own.

colmvp 14y ago

Why didn't the parents give the kid a cellphone? There's no way I'd just leave my kid to travel alone on a flight, let alone without a cell phone.

hoi 14y ago
Still doesn't address the key issue which was noone at United cared enough or had the initiative to deal with the problem of a missing child / missed flight situation and left the children unattended.
slowpoke 14y ago
How on earth did people travel some ten or twenty years ago I wonder? You know, before cellphones were widespread or even affordable? For fuck's sake, children aren't dumb. Always treating them as if they are results in them not growing into independent adults. Besides, unaccompanied flights are awesome as a child. I did that once, don't remember how old I was. Flew with the German Lufthansa from my parents to my grandparents. You can't imagine how adult I felt, flying (almost) all alone. I remember the attendants were all friendly and helpful, and the gentleman next to me even swapped his seat with me so I could look out of the window. It was a valuable and memorable experience.
- gte910h 14y ago
  They are quite awesome. I remember my childhood flights as well
- GFischer 14y ago
  Me too, I traveled to Europe unattended (from South America) when I was 11, all flight crews were great, passengers were very friendly and it was an awesome experience.

dubfan 14y ago

The child was going to camp. Is it reasonable to expect the parents to spend the money and time to fly to and from the destination? When I was eight years old I flew unaccompanied between Butte, MT and Los Angeles. It involved two different airlines (including United) and stops in Spokane, Portland and San Francisco. I got there and back without a hitch. My parents couldn't afford the extra tickets or the time off from work. Airlines have been dealing with unaccompanied minors for a long time. It's really not hard.

Zarathust 14y ago

United has a service where someone acts as a baby-sitter for the child. The story is about how that service failed and how United Airlines recovered from that failure.

tylermenezes 14y ago
"recovered" heh

chris_wot 14y ago

There are such things as services to ensure that unattended children are looked after. United have a duty of care towards the child. Let me put it this way - if a school "lost" a child, they'd be damned sure to raise a ruckus when they found out. United offers a service to ensure unaccompanied minors get to their destination, and they damned well better make sure it works 100% of the time. And if it doesn't, they'd better have smoothly operating contingency plans to fix the matter.

MartinCron 14y ago

They actually are, or they pretend to be. They charge a $99 unaccompanied minor fee.

fingerprinter 14y ago

Are you fucking joking? Yes, perhaps the parents shouldn't have sent the kid, should have gotten a cell phone etc. But there is ZERO excuse for what happened to that child at the hands of United, in a service they provide and charge for. This isn't a black and white issue, though using percentages, fault is 85+% United, 15-% parents.

masklinn 14y ago
> This isn't a black and white issue How's it not? As you noted United charge for an unaccompanied minor service[0], the parents believed everything was squared and United completely dropped the ball. Had the service not existed they could have opted to not send the child to camp, try to get what to do drilled into her and sent her on her own or found somebody to accompany. Then they could have been at fault if things had gone wrong. But here? I fail to see how any fault can be put on the parents. We can debate between the fault being 100% United or 80% United and 20% bad luck, but the parents? Not in the presentation of the article. [0] And the complaint letter adds details: > The United personnel who gave her the wristband and instructions told her very loud and clear to “only go with someone with a United badge on and that she would be accompanied at all times”.
- fingerprinter 14y ago
  I say not black and white b/c as a parent I would have taken extra precautions. The cell phone being a notable one. Also, some written instructions to give to people (police, security etc) in case of emergency is just another that comes to mind. Perhaps they did these (or other things), I don't know, but it didn't sound like it. Even so, you're right. It should be like 99% United, 1% parents.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]

masklinn 14y ago

> United is not a baby-sitting service. They are, the parents very specifically opted into (and paid for) United's $99 "baby-sitting" (unaccompanied minor) service. Let me quote from the parents's letter: > The United personnel who gave her the wristband and instructions told her very loud and clear to “only go with someone with a United badge on and that she would be accompanied at all times”. I don't think this even needs additional emphasizing, it stands on its own.