3 ms·

"But they obviously went to a lot of effort to take care of the kid, putting her up in a hotel to wait for the next flight, with a UA employee of the same sex c

"But they obviously went to a lot of effort to take care of the kid, putting her up in a hotel to wait for the next flight, with a UA employee of the same sex chaperoning her." How is that a lot of trouble? Isn't that what they were paid to do? Isn't that the minimum obligation? Sure they could have put the kid in a suitcase and kicked it down the Mississippi, but that seems like a high bar for outrage. If they don't intend on informing the parents they should let the parents know, "Over the next 2-24 hours you may or may not know where your child is and we have no obligation to let you know as long as they eventually get to their destination". But I'm sure that may not fly with a lot of parents.

venus 14y ago
> "Over the next 2-24 hours you may or may not know where your child is and we have no obligation to let you know as long as they eventually get to their destination" That is actually pretty close to my expectation? Isn't it close to yours? Let's rewrite to remove the snark: "We will transport your child safely from A to B, accompanied by our staff at all times. We expect it will be according to the itinerary provided but due to operational reasons, there may be changes, which we will attempt to notify you about" And who knows, maybe they did try to call the mother? Everything in the airline industry comes down to checklists; I'd be surprised if there isn't one for this situation, and equally surprised if "try to contact the guardians" isn't on there somewhere.
- kenjackson 14y ago
  Honestly that's not even close to my level of expectation. If you change flight plan you must notify me prior so I can decide where my child goes. Having my child spend the night in a hotel alone with a stranger without informing me is not acceptable.
  - venus 14y ago
    > If you change flight plan you must notify me prior so I can decide where my child goes So what you want is the illusion of control. You want someone to ring you, tell you about the change of plan, so you can say "yes". Or if she misses her connecting flight and has to stay in a hotel, you want to say "yes" to that too. What else are you going to do? "Oh, I can't have her staying in that hotel. Charter a flight back for her immediately!" I have to say, I find this pretty incomprehensible. And I love how none of this is about the child - it's all about managing the neuroticism of panicky helicopter parents.

venus 14y ago

> "Over the next 2-24 hours you may or may not know where your child is and we have no obligation to let you know as long as they eventually get to their destination" That is actually pretty close to my expectation? Isn't it close to yours? Let's rewrite to remove the snark: "We will transport your child safely from A to B, accompanied by our staff at all times. We expect it will be according to the itinerary provided but due to operational reasons, there may be changes, which we will attempt to notify you about" And who knows, maybe they did try to call the mother? Everything in the airline industry comes down to checklists; I'd be surprised if there isn't one for this situation, and equally surprised if "try to contact the guardians" isn't on there somewhere.

kenjackson 14y ago
Honestly that's not even close to my level of expectation. If you change flight plan you must notify me prior so I can decide where my child goes. Having my child spend the night in a hotel alone with a stranger without informing me is not acceptable.
- venus 14y ago
  > If you change flight plan you must notify me prior so I can decide where my child goes So what you want is the illusion of control. You want someone to ring you, tell you about the change of plan, so you can say "yes". Or if she misses her connecting flight and has to stay in a hotel, you want to say "yes" to that too. What else are you going to do? "Oh, I can't have her staying in that hotel. Charter a flight back for her immediately!" I have to say, I find this pretty incomprehensible. And I love how none of this is about the child - it's all about managing the neuroticism of panicky helicopter parents.